Raising Kids Who See That Every Story Matters

You know what's funny about having a mixed family? The way "home" becomes this beautiful, complicated thing. Growing up between Syria, Saudi Arabia and Europe, I learned early that home isn't just one place. I can still hear the sound of the mosques' call to prayer in Saudi Arabia, and taste the sweetness of the mint tea we served guests after dinner in Syria. Jason had lived the polar opposite of my story — he was born and raised in Wisconsin and hadn't really left the American Midwest outside of a few family vacations.

We were only in our early 20s when we met, but we clicked on something fundamental: if we ever had kids, we wanted them to understand that the world is much bigger than our hometowns. While Arabic is deeply woven into my identity and family history, we made the bittersweet but practical choice to make French our family's bridge to this bigger world. It's not unusual when we gather with uncles and aunts and sisters and grandparents for the same conversation to involve three languages, and eventually everyone gets there. Plus, the reality of raising kids in the US meant we'd have access to French immersion programs, books, and resources that we simply couldn't find for Arabic.

Jason doesn't speak much Arabic (though predictably he's able to convey exactly what he wants to eat and drink), and even though I can wing a parent reading session with Max's Petit Section class at school, I didn't grow up speaking French. With a lot of trial and error along the way, we've made it work — and the shared language has opened so many doors and adventures.

We've come to find that embracing multiple languages is often the same as embracing diversity in traditions, music, and culture. Through books and audio and conversations, our kids are learning that that "different" isn't just okay; it's something to celebrate. Those dinner conversations about how families live around the world, the explanations about different foods and faiths and holidays…they're all tiny pieces of a bigger picture we're all trying to paint for our kids. While French may be their gateway to multilingual living, we make sure they know about their Arab heritage too — through stories, food, music, and the precious (and all too rare) time they spend with our Arabic-speaking family.

Finding ways to build bridges feels especially important and urgent now, when the voices of those who believe in separation and walls are as loud as ever. Of course we can't solve for everything with books — we all know that. But books are an important piece of raising kids who see that every story matters and is worth hearing.

That's where you come in. We don't pretend to know all the wonderful Francophone stories we should be sharing (though we have several strong Will et Max-approved recommendations to get started with). What's a story you or your kids love that we should share? A harder-to-find book we can help track down? Drop a comment below or email us at coucou@willetmax.com. We want your suggestions, requests, and ideas!