Treasure for Lunch

Christine Linge MacDonald, a past director of the Toronto & District
Parent Co-operative Preschool Corporation and a freelance writer, is an
elementary school teacher in Whitby, Ontario.

Shaira pulls her toboggan to school through the northern winter, happily
imagining that she is a sailor pulling a ship. Peeking into her warm
lunch bag, she spies golden potato fritters called “bhajias.” While
her mother is away, Shaira’s grandmother is fixing her lunch, and
every day the sari-clad elder packs a different exotic
delicacy—bhajias, kababs, samoosas. As much as Shaira enjoys these
foods, she is very nervous about what her cheese-sandwich-eating
schoolmates will say about them. Shaira solves the problem by
transforming her sailor fantasy into a pirate tale, where she gobbles
her meal on a remote Treasure Island and buries the leftover
“treasure” in the snow. Her plan works until the snow melts and her
friends discover her subterfuge. Shaira is forced to reveal her current
secret lunch, and is thrilled when her friends find the samoosas
delicious and beg her to bring in more.

Culture and ethnicity are just two of several things that can make
children feel different from their peers. If a young reader does not
personally identify with Shaira’s particular concerns, he or she may
develop a better understanding of a schoolmate’s plight by reading
this tale. A child might also be encouraged to explore and understand
other concerns about being different from one’s peers.

Shenaaz Nanji’s prose is light and lively, and creates a sense of
immediacy. Cathcart’s luminous illustrations, with lovely border
accents, complement the text perfectly. Recommended.