Reading: Marie Fritz Perry April 16, 2005

Local author Marie Fritz Perry will give a presentation about her book ?A Gift for Sadia,? at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 16 at River City Books in downtown Northfield. A reading and book signing will follow the presentation. Both events are free and open to the public.

?A Gift for Sadia? is the story of a young Somali girl as she moves from a refugee camp in Kenya to an elementary school in Rochester, Minn. The book follows Sadia as she begins to learn English and other facets of American culture. One day, while walking home from school, Sadia finds an injured goose near Silver Lake and learns about the joys of friendship while bringing her newfound pet back to health.

Fritz Perry was inspired to write the book while working as an artist-in-residence for the Rochester Public Schools. In her work with English as a second language students, Fritz Perry met Zeinab Hasan, a Somali woman who lives in Rochester and who inspired Fritz Perry with her ability to overcome obstacles and her struggle to fit into a new culture, vastly different from the one she had known all her life.

?A Gift for Sadia,? Fritz Perry?s first children?s book, has gained popularity in the Minnesota Somali community. But the book has lessons for all children trying to learn about the world and be accepted by their peers, and for anyone who, at one time or another, felt like he or she simply didn?t fit in.

For more information and disability accommodations, call River City Books at (507)-646-7754.