Q+A with Author Sara Ghannoum

What was your career before you became an author?

I studied chemistry in university and then I worked in research for nanotechnology.

It was so much fun with female colleagues and female empowerment. In fact, I have two papers with my name on it for the heart pacers. I also worked in a lab leading to groundbreaking changes. I worked in medical instruments, endoscopies, etc. We got to travel all over, being in the operating room with the doctor, surgeries, it was such an interesting job. A dream job, still in the sciences, and learned so much.Science teaches you how to use your brain in a different way. I feel like there’s a perspective that I may see or other people may see. I feel that with a scientific background it definitely changes perspective or some things. I love science. There’s an absolute truth about science that’s very beautiful. When I got married, my pregnancy landed me on bed rest, and I became interested in the field of children’s books as a part of family planning.

Where did your love of reading and writing come from?

IC alumna Sara Ghannoum ‘97 is a children’s book author who wrote the Tom Alien series– a cute little alien character with a small alien friend, who learns about the human world through feelings, emotions, and the environment. The four books she has written are Tom Alien, Tom Alien & Friends, Tom Alien & The Plastic Mess, and The Big Cosmic Boom; all of which explore a different topic of childhood development and learning about emotions, relationship dynamics, and real world issues. In fact, this spring, Ghannoum had a read aloud with IC Grade 1 on Tom Alien & The Plastic Mess, in conjunction with the unit of habitats and environments. This goes to show that her books also help this younger age group explore their own world, and learn about issues in a way that they can register more easily. In this Q+A, Ghannoum shares her journey of becoming an author and creating her stories, the messages and impact she hopes her books have on children, and the educational benefits storytelling has in the foundation of early childhood.

I grew up between Beirut and Australia, and that’s where I discovered books. They’re a tool to escape. As a child of trauma of war and relocating, books really were an escape for me. When we moved back to Beirut in 1990 after the war, books were limited. But I was lucky, and my father was a pilot and he would always travel and bring me back books from all over. Also, Roal Dahl and his books– I give him total credit for giving me the love of reading and everything that comes with reading.

What made you decide that you wanted to be an author?

When I moved to Dubai and I started building my life and I got pregnant I thought I’d get family planning out of the way. I had read so many children’s books and I love writing, especially rhyme and poetry. So when I had my daughter, I had never been around babies before. She really symbolized an alien from outer space that was discovering life around earth, and that’s where the idea for Tom Alien came from. I have a scientific background and this is very different from what I’m used to. It was really just an idea that popped in my head one day. I never expected to go down this route but I’m loving it. I’ve never been around the industry before and so there was so much to learn. The challenge attracted me to the idea. I started writing my books when my daughter was 4, and now I am working on my fourth book.

Tell us about your books!

I love Tom Alien so much. He’s so related to my kids, so I feel like I’m raising him with them.

My books reflect my children growing up. My first book, Tom Alien, was about emotions. When my daughter was a baby, everything made her cry. I really just wanted to tell her that emotions are brave. They color our life and they make our life much richer. When she started nursery school, she started making friends and having a social life. My second book, Tom Alien & Friends, was about friendship, bullying, and respecting others. As my daughter grew, she was more aware of the environment and we would discover the environment a lot. Things like plastic in the ocean, pollution, etc. Also, my dad and brother are environmentalists, and I try to reflect those themes in my books, which inspired the third book, Tom Alien & The Plastic Mess. All of my books are in English, and they also have a translated Arabic copy available.

What was the journey and process like to become a selfpublished author?

I had no clue about publishing. I came up with the idea, I wrote it. I didn’t have Instagram as a tool at the time, and I knew only one person with a printing house. He was really helpful. At the same time I asked friends if they had any illustrators. My friend connected me to the illustrator of my current books, and the illustrator is so talented. When she designed the character of Tom Alien and when I saw him I could only think– oh my God! This is Tom Alien! It’s like she dug deep into my brain, and came out with what I wanted and brought it to life.

Questions really got me to the publishers, to know what papers and sizes to choose from and all the other logistics that come with making a book. With publishers, I had options in Lebanon, but since I’m new to this and there is so much for me to learn, I can afford to publish on my own. I am in more control of the outcome. So I chose to self publish and so far it’s going great, and I see how much potential it has. For now it is limited to Lebanon and the UAE, but I hope to expand from there. It was very refreshing building a new career out of thin air, and it was fun and low risk as well.

Why does reading matter?

A book is just like a teacher, it’s there to help you navigate better. Books expand your vocabulary and brain. With more vocabulary, you can understand the world around you and your emotions. You can understand yourself better. You can see a character going through a problem and learn how to solve that problem through that character, and apply it to future issues you may face. It gears you up to navigate through life.

What messages do you hope that your books send to children?

Tom Alien & The Plastic Mess is most relevant to international affairs. When it comes to real world issues, I think we should all be obsessed with the issue with the environment. Plastics.There’s an urgency that should be addressed. Children can be great at policing adults and though some argue it’s not the responsibility of a child, at the end of the day, children can help educate other children with books.

Tom Alien is more about feelings, and Tom Alien & Friends crosses into social dynamics. I would hope to send the message that it’s okay to ask questions. Asking questions is what lead me to my life today. There’s a certain courage we have to use to ask a question. The sillier we think the question is, the better. You are gaining confidence through that. You really should ask questions all the time, and I feel like it’s not highlighted enough.

The Big Cosmic Boom is a children’s book that’s a bit heavier in addressing the tragic events of the Beirut blast 2020. How did you navigate putting together the story?

I remember when the explosion happened, I was in Dubai. We kept getting these videos. It was like watching a really bad Hollywood movie. For that month, and I speak for most, if not all Lebanese people, all that we did was watch videos and cry all day. I remember I was burning the kids’ food daily. My brain was not where it is normally. Being so far from a country that needs you so much really messes with your head. It was so traumatizing and we also felt like we didn’t have the right to be, because we didn’t live it. It was also the guilt aspect knowing that your parents lived something atrocious, while you’re far away and safe. I really believe in the healing power of books. I know a lot of people who lost a lot.

Writing the cosmic boom was very cathartic. I was crying while reading it to my husband when I was working on it. I felt like the relief came out when I saw people reacting really positively. It was so well received by people who needed it, and it was very therapeutic. The book is available for free download on my website. Additionally, therapists actually use that book to feel with their younger patients with trauma. It’s very rewarding in a way that I would never have expected. Books also heal the author.

Tell us about your read aloud experiences!

I’ve been doing read alouds with IC for 3 years in a row now. Twice online, and once in person. For example this semester, we read the plastic book for the environmental unit in Grade 1. Last year in the summer I was there for 2 days at IC, and I did several sessions for Grades 1-5, with the plastic and friendship book.

Also in October of 2021, The Bahrain Office for the International Peace Institute in New York City asked me to read the plastic book. They wanted to take part in the release of the book. We invited IC, the American School in Bahrain and Dubai and so we did a reading with over 10 ambassadors of Bahrain. We even had class from IC. It was a very nice session where we discussed the environment and raised awareness on the environment. It was one of the best events and I’m so glad IC was a part of it. How does it feel to be doing what you do, and do you hope to continue being an author?

I saw people with a 20 year period who saw a lot of potential in Tom Alien. Also, when the teachers at IC ask me for readings at their class and I know the standards at IC are really high, that also gives me more confidence in what I’m giving out. It’s really rewarding.

When I see children look at me, it’s also rewarding in a very sweet way. They look at me in awe, asking me, “are you really an author!?” I hope that it stays as rewarding and I hope kids like them as much as they do now. At the same time, I’ve always wondered if I have a novel inside of me. I’m okay with doing this, since I’m working on my own time and I’m very flexible.

How do you remember your time at IC, and how has it influenced your life?

I came back to Beirut after the war. There were still sandbags in front of the building.There was no proper garbage disposal. It was quite depressing for a 10 year old to be. IC was a gem in the middle of a nightmare of a city. The campus is so beautiful.There was that safety aspect.

I remember some teachers there, Miss Zena Zakaria, she was just phenomenal.

IC had amazing teachers– it really affected my character as well. I was so grateful to be at IC.

Everyone is different and yet they are able to see through that and are able to cater through that. It’s like a safe space for me.

Also, my best friends are some of the closest people in my life. They’re all from IC. The friends that I made at IC– if they hadn’t been there for me I don’t know where I’d be without them.