A Lemon for Safiya

A little girl and her family help a lost and confused stranger to find her way home in this moving story about compassion, ageing and identity.

They reached a giant lemon tree.

The old woman sat up, tapping an urgent finger against the window.

'Haye! Haye! Hanna zarr'et ha. Haye!'

'She's saying that Hanna planted this tree,' Mama said, as Dad pulled over.

'It's a beautiful tree, shajrah jameeleh,' Mama said to the old woman.

When a little girl, Safiya, and her family help Maryam, a lost and confused stranger by the side of the road, to find her way home, they begin to understand who she is and the rich and remarkable life she has lived. Through kind-natured Safiya, we come to see Maryam, a woman who had been made invisible by society because of her ethnicity, race, religion, language, age and now dementia.

With Arabic text interspersed throughout, A Lemon for Safiya is a wonderful exploration of language, diversity and culture.

About the Author

Jemima Shafei-Ongu is a Sydney-based writer who is passionate about picture books. She believes in their power to create connections with readers of all ages through honouring and celebrating diverse cultures and experiences.

Jemima has a professional background in psychology and teaching. She also has lived experience as an 'in-betweener', being a child of diaspora in Australia, influenced by her Lebanese family and acquired Turkish family. In her writing, she explores disrupted connections, driven by a deeper need to cultivate a sense of belonging and inclusion.

She is the author of A Lemon for Safiya and Aslan and Benny, both publishing in 2025. She also co-authored the picture book Shirin and Amir and the Dragon Smoke as part of a project with the Australian National University to promote inclusive health messaging about ways families can keep safe from bushfire smoke.

When she's not writing, Jemima enjoys long walks by her local river, watercolour painting, learning the derbake, and playing lip-sync battles with her adult daughters.

She lives on unceded Dharug country with her partner, their mini schnauzer and whichever of their three daughters is in the country at the time.