The Habibti Pada series tells the story of Pada, a 10-year-old African girl and recent immigrant to the Middle East. Over the course of the two books, Pada makes new friends, learns a new language (or at least a few choice phrases), and wrestles with a new culture. The stories are told intimately and realistically, save for one magical mo­ment that breaks the slice-of-life realism in each book. Pada has to use her newly learned Arabic phrases to overcome these fantastic obstacles and save her friends. Or at the very least, her brother’s soccer ball.