Zarda

Description

 

In Morocco, food has never been just food. It is a call from the kitchen, a grandmother’s hands, an afternoon that stretches lazily into the golden hour. It is the couscous that is always ready at the right moment, the mint tea that is always poured with love, and the table that has always been the heart of everything.

Zarda follows Ali, the imagination hero; a joyful, gourmet and wonderfully imaginative little boy of Agafay Books, through the most delicious of all adventures: a nap at his grandmother’s house, where food becomes something far greater than anything on a plate.

Across the pages, rich and vibrant illustrations bring Ali’s dream to life in the most unexpected and delightful ways. A round bread becomes a car, a briouate folds itself into a plane, a Majhool date launches like a rocket into the sky, and a forest of broccoli stretches as far as the eye can see. In Ali’s vivid imagination, the Moroccan table is not just a place to eat; it is an entire universe, waiting to be explored. And at the heart of it all, a glass of atay steams gently, mint leaves tumbling over the rim, as Ali sips slowly with his eyes closed, tasting something that belongs to all of us.

More than a simple book for children, Zarda is a love letter to Moroccan food culture and the collective memory that lives inside every shared meal. Its name is drawn from one of the most celebrated poems of Moroccan Melhoun “Zerda”, the immortal work of the great Houcine Toulali; a timeless ode to the festive table, to abundance, to the joy of gathering around food with the people we love. In a world that moves too fast and eats without thinking, this book invites families to pause, to gather, and to rediscover the extraordinary richness that has always been on our table. Because when a child learns to see a briouate as a plane and a date as a rocket, they are not just dreaming they are learning to love what their ancestors loved, to find wonder in the everyday, and to carry that love forward into their own lives.

Why this book matters:

• — In Morocco, the table is sacred. It is where families gather, where stories are told, where children learn without knowing they are learning. Yet in a world of fast food and forgotten flavors, this connection to our food heritage is quietly slipping away. Zarda is a gentle, joyful act of reclamation.
• — Named after one of the most beloved poems of Moroccan Melhoun, this book roots itself in a cultural tradition that belongs to every Moroccan child
• — reminding them that their heritage is not just something to be studied, but something to be tasted, imagined and celebrated.
• — Ali is not just a character. He is a model. A child who finds wonder in a briouate, magic in a date, and a whole universe in a bowl of couscous. In teaching children to see their food with imagination and gratitude, Zarda plants the seeds of healthy eating, cultural pride, and a lifelong love of local flavors.

 

Why Children (and Parents) Love This Book:

• — Imaginative & Joyful: A dream sequence that turns everyday Moroccan food into rockets, planes and forests; sparking creativity and wonder on every single page
• — Culturally Rooted: Illustrations filled with the colors, textures and flavors of authentic Moroccan cuisine, giving children a world they recognize and parents a world they remember
• — Inspired by Living Heritage: Named after the iconic Melhoun poem Zerda by Houcine Toulali, connecting children to one of Morocco’s most treasured artistic and oral traditions
• — Perfect for Storytime: Narrative storytelling with rhythm and warmth, made to be read aloud at the table, after lunch, or in the drowsy golden hour of a grandmother’s afternoon
• — Bilingual from the first bite: Arabic and English woven naturally together, celebrating Moroccan food culture in both languages simultaneously
• — Sturdy & Beautifully Made: A 190x190mm boardbook built to last, with thick pages made for little hands — for every child aged 2 to 102