About The Book

This series is inspired by the adventures of Maryam, an American multiracial child who lives in Queens, New York. It highlights the diversity and multiculturalism of the City of New York by focusing on Maryam’s encounters with children who come from various racial and ethnic backgrounds. Each book takes place in one of the many beautiful parks in the city.

The goal of the series is to help children understand that there are many more similarities that exist between people than differences. They also learn about different cultures and immigrant communities that call this unique and vibrant city home. In this book, Maryam goes to Flushing Meadows Corona Park with her parents and baby sister Emmy.

Her typical family outing in the park is soon transformed into a beautiful multicultural playdate with Maria. When the two girls and their families start sharing food and stories, Maryam realizes the beauty of friendship that transcends cultural barriers.

About The Author

Dr. Salma Waly is a professor of education, a global citizen, and a life-long learner. For the past 15 years, she has taught students from almost every continent, including children, adults, and refugees. Currently, she trains and supervises teachers and creates educational programs in the US and internationally.

Dr. Waly also recently started Universal Narratives, an education platform and podcast to amplify the voices of global educators. She lives in New York City with her husband and two daughters where they enjoy exploring different neighborhoods and learning about many cultures, foods, and languages.

About The Illustrator

Mariam Hobeldin has a Bachelor of Science in Visual Communications from the American University of Sharjah and a Master of Arts degree in Rhetoric from Carnegie Mellon University. She is both an illustrator and Graphic Designer. Her work ranges from logo design and print design to children’s illustrations and medical illustration.

She is passionate about anything to do with communication and is inspired daily by her three beautiful children. Mariam has lived in many countries throughout her childhood and adult life and visited many more which influenced and strengthened her design and illustration skills. Originally from Egypt, Mariam grew up in Los Angeles, USA, Scotland, UK, Abu Dhabi, UAE, and Cairo, Egypt; then moved to Dublin, Ireland when she got married. She later moved to the USA and lived in Pittsburgh, PA, Long Island NY, Memphis TN, and Columbus, OH.

She currently lives in Leeds, England, UK. Mariam met Dr. Salma Waly, the author of Maryam The New Yorker, in Pittsburgh, and they became close friends since. Their dream was to collaborate in making a book together one day, and now their dream has finally come true.