Today we welcome Sabrina Shah into The Reading Realm to talk about her gorgeous new picture book MUSIC OF THE MOUNAINS, which is illustrated by Manal Mirza…

Before we settle down in The Reading Realm to talk about your new book, what’s your drink and snack of choice? 

Oh, that’s a great start! If given the choice I would have a hot cortado but my usual is a cup of chai and a plate of hot crispy pakoras. They are like fried veggie fritters or onion bhajis. 

Without giving too much away, what can you tell us about MUSIC OF THE MOUNTAINS, which is illustrated by Manal Mirza? 

It’s essentially an intergenerational story told through a diverse, cultural lens, exploring the bond between a young girl and her grandfather. It’s about their connection through a musical instrument and the challenge of learning something well when you struggle to believe in yourself and your own talents. 

Roohi’s most treasured time of day is when ‘the sun settles behind snowy peaks’. What’s your most treasured time of day and why?

I’m hands down a sunset kind of girl. Much like Roohi, it’s the colours and hues created that are stunning so I have a keen interest in sunset photography. It’s a peaceful time of day if I can catch it (when it’s not dinner time at least) and it’s a time when family come together. Whether that’s for food first or for dusk prayers (Maghrib) so it’s a feeling that the day is coming to an end, to reflect upon it and be thankful for it. If you get a stunning sunset along with it, that’s the cherry on top. 

The relationship between Roohi and Neeka Baba is beautiful! What inspired it? 

I’ll try and not get too emotional here but it resonates from my own father. I wasn’t able to meet/spend too long with either of my grandparents as they lived so far away but I was inspired by the bond my father had with my own daughter and my niece. They were both born close together and so we have two baby girls in the family (after a whole tribe of boys!). It was lovely to see them grow and play with their Neeka Baba. The music element came from both my parents. My mother listened to the rabab and my father who always encouraged my creative arts side when I was a child. He bought us a keyboard, ignored my beginning ‘noise’ when I got my guitar and took me to many auditions to perform. I loved sharing that time with him. It was ‘our’ thing. Both my parents passed away recently, my father a few months before this book was published but he knew I had dedicated it to him, so that’s all that matters in the end. This book is a poignant ode to their love, encouragement and belief in me.

I learned  alot from the story about the rabab, which is a traditional lute-like instrument played in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India. Did you play an instrument as a child? Is music still important to you now? 

The first instrument I ever played was a recorder (IYKYK!) but I quickly moved into the keyboard and guitar. Guitar is probably the one which I stuck with to this day and it resonates with the rabab too. Rabab is harder for me but everything comes with practice. Music has always been a huge conduit of expression for me. As a screenwriter, a musical score can hugely impact the way I write. It can inspire, influence and actually ‘write’ whole scenes or chapters for me. There’s an emotional connection for me, much like muscle memory, so if I hear a particular music piece or song, it will evoke many emotions or memories etc, as I’m sure it does for most people. 

I loved all the intricate, delicate illustrations by Manal Mirza. Do you have a favourite one you could tell us about?  

I love the poignant illustration the moment Roohi gathers herself. That illustration, in my opinion, encapsulated that moment where she finds her inner pocket of peace and listens to her heart. I hope readers take that little pause with her and feel the emotion for the next beautiful moment on the next page.

What was your journey to being a published author like?

Goodness where do I start? I’ll fast track the ‘I’ve been writing since I was a child, education was creative writing heavy’ part and jump to working at the London publishing houses. I was living and breathing books, day in and day out, giving backlist titles a new life whilst creating special edition prints. All the while I was jotting away manuscripts but I only got to focus on trying to get them published after I had my baby daughter in 2020 during the Covid-19 lockdown era. Twitter was my writing heaven as I found my village, my people! Along with joining the Society of Children’s Writers and Illustrators who had a wonderful KidLit group whom I met with every Wednesday to hone my craft, I just started to hustle. I entered competitions, pitch contests, mentorships and every other opportunity I could find under the sun to shout to the world that I’m a hardworking BIPOC writer and I’m not going to give up having our voices heard in children’s publishing. I was so thankful when Lisa Rosinsky from Barefoot Books gave my story a chance in 2022 and the rest has been bringing Roohi to life in MUSIC OF THE MOUNTAINS. 

As an author, I’m not going to lie and say it was all flowers and cotton candy because I had many setbacks along the way as well. I lost count of the number of rejections and no replies to queries, got back into the trenches after my first agent and learned a very gut wrenching lesson after working with a publisher. This is just a snapshot but every challenge either makes or breaks you and I know the journey has only just begun. So here’s to being a hustler and climbing my own mountain. 

Can you think of three ways in which teachers might use this book in their classrooms?

We have some great teacher/classroom discussion guides created for this book on the Barefoot Books website under my title. We hope students can explore new instruments such as the rabab and how rhythm and sounds are different across the music spectrum. Also how music is used in celebrations or festivals around the world in which discoveries of different cultures, traditional and geographical areas can be explored. I would love the SEL elements of the book to also be discussed in terms of how a child may feel under pressure, such as learning something new or performance anxiety. 

Finally, can you describe MUSIC OF THE MOUNTAIN in three words? 

Cultural, Courageous, Heart-warming