The jasmine sneeze

Kaadan presents a charming tale of a naughty kitty who learns a valuable lesson. Haroun loves living in his city of Damascus. Everyone there loves him, pets him, and feeds him treats. The problem is, everywhere Haroun goes, the smell of jasmine follows. Everyone loves the scent of blooming jasmine except Haroun. It makes him sneeze, and he can't sleep with all that smell. So he devises a plan to quell the smell, hiding his old stinky fish and chicken bones at the base of every jasmine plant. This angers the jasmine spirit, who then punishes Haroun with a mustache made of jasmine! Now the poor kitty can't escape the smell. After the townspeople sadden because the beautiful, fragrant smell is gone from their city, Haroun removes the bones, and the curse is lifted. Kaadan illustrates this whimsical tale with bright, bold colors of pink, blue, and green, and plenty of adorable goggle eyes. Great for reading out loud, and not a bad choice for multicultural reading.--Camargo, Rosie Copyright 2018 Booklist

PreS-Gr 2-In Damascus, Haroun the cat relishes his life sleeping in a courtyard and participating in moonlight karaoke with other cats. However, he is allergic to jasmine, the city's nickname sake. He offsets the offending odor by placing leftover bones in the decorative plants' pots. This cures his sneezes, but the green-haired Jasmine Spirit is offended and punishes him by growing multiple plants from his nose. When humans are upset by the garbage stink in the air, Haroun suffers the afternoon sun and removes the offending trash he planted. While he naps, Jasmine Spirit sees how loved the cat is by the community and is pleased by his penance, and removes the nasal vines. When he wakes, Haroun decides that jasmine isn't so bad after all and he seems to be immune-until the final page brings a large "Aachooo." The fluffy, fat cat with pop eyes is endearing, and Kaadan's droll cartoons are infused in rich colors and patterns. VERDICT An amiable folktale set in Syria and suitable for one-on-one and small group sharing.-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.