Saliman and the Memory Stone

"Saliman and the Memory Stone is based on the true story of a Yemeni Jewish family who emigrated to Israel in 1881, a time known as the First Aliyah. Unlike the later Yemenite Jewish migration of 1949, this migration consisted of only about 200 people, among them the ancestors of the author's friend's family. In this fictionalized version, perfect for young readers, we join six-year-old Saliman as he, with his family and community, leaves their village behind.

As all migrating children do, he must say goodbye to the familiar, but he takes a small stone from his home to remind him of all he's left, calling it his memory stone. Small enough to fit in his pocket, he holds it to his cheek at night and memories of home comfort him. Sometimes he draws images with it of his Yemeni home in the sand or on cave walls. Through all the dangerous days and nights, he holds onto this small treasure, bringing it into his new life to always remind him of his first home.

Leaving one morning at dawn, his family began walking through the Yemeni desert sandstorms, sleeping out under the stars, sometimes with so little food the family shared a single pita bread. We follow their path by ship up the Saudi Arabian coast, then by foot across Egypt and finally up the Mediterranean to the port of Jaffo, a journey that lasted from the end of one Sukkot to the beginning of the next. The journey was difficult, with hunger, thirst, illness, and poverty. But from his young point of view, the nights of singing, dancing, and poetry were joyful, and he was surrounded by the protective love of his community. Throughout, Saliman trusts they will succeed and arrive safely in Jerusalem and indeed they do. While the hope was they would find a land of milk and honey, the author's note reminds us of the struggles the community experienced when they arrived.

Ptahia, an Israeli illustrator of more than twenty children's books, created the atmosphere of Yemen over 100 years ago by using the traditional colors of Yemenite fabrics and jewelry combined with a textured brush. Readers can immerse themselves in Saliman's village and follow the map of the family's actual journey on the endpapers. Saliman and his family are dressed in their traditional conservative garments, all with head coverings. Their warm earthy skin tones are typical of the Yemeni people. The back matter includes the history of Jewish Yemeni migration to Israel, a glossary, and a recipe for kubaneh, a classic Jewish Yemenite bread.

This book's focus on migration makes it ideal for all young children, opening opportunities for discussion about the immigrant experience. In addition, this selection is perfect to enhance activities focusing on Jewish life around the world. A worthwhile choice for family reading time and all children's book collections."—Association of Jewish Libraries

"Saliman is a young boy when his family decides to emigrate from Yemen to Jerusalem as part of the First Aliyah in 1881. He takes a stone from his home’s foundation so he’ll remember where he came from. The trek is long, hot, and hard. Eventually they arrive at the golden city of Jerusalem.

The text is simple and melodic. The full-page color illustrations are bright and beautiful and make clear the love of family and the difficulties of the journey. Ages 4-7."—Historical Novel Society

"Sal­i­man, his fam­i­ly, and much of his Jew­ish com­mu­ni­ty know that it is time to leave Yemen and return to their roots in Israel. They make the long trek on foot through the hot, dry desert with laden camels and great hope. Before leav­ing, Sal­i­man plucks a stone from the foun­da­tion of his house and car­ries it with him so he can remem­ber where he’s from. The sense of com­fort his home has always brought him can now accom­pa­ny him on his jour­ney. The group walks for months, and they are often tired, hun­gry, or ill. They sell their don­keys to pay for the por­tion of their jour­ney that involves sail­ing on the sea. When they have noth­ing left, they hold tight to their mem­o­ries — mem­o­ries of song, dance, and their warm and famil­iar home.

Final­ly, they arrive in Jerusalem and start new lives — bet­ter ones, they hope. They con­tin­ue to cel­e­brate Jew­ish hol­i­days with spir­it and joy.

An author’s note explains that Sal­i­man’s Jour­ney was inspired by the true sto­ry of two hun­dred Jews who trav­eled from Yemen to Jerusalem in 1881 as part of a wave of immi­gra­tion known as the First Aliyah. They had faced hard­ships in Yemen and, when they arrived in their new home­land, there were even more chal­lenges to over­come. The author also describes the 1949 aliyah in which a sec­ond, larg­er group of Yemenite Jews immi­grat­ed to Israel by plane after the estab­lish­ment of the State. The author pos­es ques­tions about mem­o­ry and the role of immi­grants in the devel­op­ment of Israel. She encour­ages read­ers to speak with their fam­i­lies about their own histories.

The detailed col­or illus­tra­tions depict life in Yemen, the tra­vails of the jour­ney north, and the group’s arrival in Jerusalem. The author includes a recipe for kubaneh, a type of Yemenite bread."—Jewish Book Council