Susie Ghahremani and her mother, Zohreh Ghahremani, didn't set out to work together. For their 2024 children's book, "Memory Garden," Zohreh's publisher was concerned that Zohreh might not like the fact that the illustrator selected for the project had the same last name.
But it turned out to be her daughter.
Susie, the artist behind Boy Girl Party, is a prolific illustrator of many children's titles — including "Stack the Cats" and "Rosemary Long Ears." Zohreh left her career as a pediatric dentist to become an accomplished writer. Her novel "Sky of Red Poppies" was the 2012 One Book, One San Diego selection.
Now, with their second book collaboration, the partnership is working out in more ways than one. The two don't share drafts or get feedback as they go, but they often work side by side.
"We work together beautifully in that we take retreats together and go find somewhere where our families are not involved, just the two of us — I do the writing, she does the painting. And not on the same subject. I could be writing a novel and she could be painting her own book," Zohreh said. "But we spend time together. And the best part of it, I think if I had to name one thing as the best, is that I feel closer to her and I think we both love each other a little bit more."
Zohreh grew up in Iran but fled the country in the 1970s to pursue her education. Her daughter, Susie, has never visited Iran. But as a family, they kept the Persian springtime holiday of Nowruz alive.
"I grew up with Norouz,” Zohreh said "I thought that was the main holiday for the entire world."
It wasn't until Zohreh lived in the U.K. that she realized other countries and cultures celebrated many other holidays.
Nowruz coincides with the vernal equinox, taking place between March 19 and 21 each year. This year, Nowruz begins when the clock strikes 7:46 a.m. Friday, March 20.
"Well, when I was really young, it just meant a day out of school and wearing a brand-new outfit and being with my family," Susie reflected. "But as I get older, it really feels like the darkness is fading away of winter. It really is an opportunity for things to sort of turn around."
In Zohreh and Susie's new book, "Celebrate Nowruz," the main character, Ariana, has a mother who is on a work trip. Ariana has to take the initiative to build the Nowruz haft-seen, a unique spread of seven symbolic foods.
The foods each begin with an S and have one syllable. Zohreh said that in Farsi, a language of close to 344,000 words, there are remarkably just seven such words: sabzeh (a green sprouting grass), seeb (apple), seer (garlic), serkeh (vinegar), samanoo (a wheat pudding), senjed (a dried oleaster fruit) and somagh (sumac).
Through Ariana's eyes, readers prepare, shop for and bake each traditional element: baklava, garlic, apples and more — in English and in Farsi. She calls on her father and grandmother for help.
The table is also set with a mirror, a book of wisdom, a goldfish, hyacinth flowers, eggs, apples, vinegar, candles, coins and a variety of miniature pastries, cookies and dried fruit.
Susie's illustrations are vivid, relatable and engaging, right down to a peekaboo cat hidden throughout the book.
"You create the picture book, but then it has this other part of its life, which is when you're reading to kids or presenting it to schools or even making additional materials that people can use to learn more or, you know, all the different ways that we try to engage the community itself. And honestly, that's more of a public service kind of thing, and we both have that in our hearts," Susie said. "We love reading to kids, we love visiting schools and talking to kids about this."
Zohreh and Susie wanted to share the holiday with a younger generation and create a book they never had — about a holiday they say transcends borders and time.
"And hopefully, this is that way because it speaks of a holiday that is 3,000 years old and yet every year is brand-new," Zohreh said.
With war in Iran this year, Nowruz feels different for the Ghahremanis and their family.
"Of course this year has been a very difficult year, and right now is a very difficult time to even talk about it. What matters this Nowruz is how it affects our children," Zohreh said. "And also Nowruz has survived so many wars. This is something that has survived for 3,000 years and hopefully it will survive forever."
