Taz in the City

Taz in the City is a picture book for children aged 4 to 9 about a nature-loving girl who moves from the countryside to the city and finds a way to feel at home there.

Taz, whose full name is Tasneem, loves her old house: the oak leaves that change colour every autumn, her neighbour's tiny flowers in spring, the earthworms she helps back into the soil after the rain and the rides on her scooter. When her parents tell her the family is moving to the city to be closer to her dad's work, she feels a jump in her tummy. After moving day, she is excited and sad at the same time.

Her mama hands her a paper bag and takes her for a walk to pick up litter, as they used to do at the old house. This small charity, she says, can be their way of introducing themselves to the living things around them. On the way Taz meets blue jays, woodlice, dandelions, ladybirds and a tiny bumblebee, and begins to feel that she could love growing up here after all.

The book helps children talk about moving home and mixed feelings, and shows how small acts of care for a place can help make it home. Written by Lulu Kaissi and illustrated by Nouran Samy, it takes about five minutes to read aloud and is music-free.

A home in the countryside

Once there was a girl called Tasneem, but Taz was what she liked to be called. She lived in an old house in the countryside with her mama, her dad and her baby brother, and she loved the home she had lived in for as long as she could remember.

Every autumn she watched the leaves on the big red oak trees change colour, and as they fell they seemed to wave hello. Every late spring she picked the tiniest flowers from her neighbour's crepe myrtles, which seemed to say "peek-a-boo" as her hands reached each blossom. After heavy rain, she pulled on her rain boots and helped slippery earthworms that had lost their way back to the soil. They seemed to dance for joy in her hands. She zoomed here and there around the neighbourhood on her scooter, feeling the wind in her hair and smelling the fresh grass. She loved growing up there, and she felt that the neighbourhood loved her too.

The big move

One day her parents told her that they were moving to a new house in the city, to be closer to her dad's work. Her parents seemed quite excited about it, but the news gave Taz a little jump in her tummy.

Over the next few months she helped pack up the house she loved so much. Her bedroom, the dishes, the books and the toys all went into boxes. Before she knew it, moving day had arrived. The family piled into the car and followed the removal lorry to their new home in the city. Taz waved goodbye to her house, her trees and all the lovely living creatures that had made it home.

In the city, everything seemed different. Taz felt excited and sad at the same time, and it was confusing. She sat in her new, empty bedroom and stared out of the window.

The small charity

Soon Mama came in and suggested they stop unpacking and go for a walk. She handed Taz an old paper bag. "We'll pick up any litter we see along the way," she said, "just like we used to do at the old house."

Taz had loved cleaning up her old neighbourhood with Mama. But why do it here? "It's not the same," she said, over the busy noise of the street below.

"It is different here," said Mama. "But remember how cleaning up helps us see things we might not have seen before. And this small charity can be our way of introducing ourselves to the living things around us."

Taz took a deep breath, and off they went to explore their new neighbourhood. It was spring, and the blue jays were calling to each other, "Jay! Jay!", as if they were laughing at a funny joke. When Taz bent down to pick up a gum wrapper, she found a family of woodlice underneath it, tumbling like little gymnasts. She passed a row of dandelions on a patch of grass, swaying in the wind as if to a song. Near some crumpled paper she found four ladybirds, which seemed to give her hand tickly kisses.

When their bags were almost full, they walked back home. On her new front step, Taz saw the littlest bumblebee. She felt that maybe she could love growing up here after all, and that this place could love her too.