NEW CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOK CELEBRATES THE ARMENIAN CULTURE
Daily Press, Virginia
March 18 2015
As the world reflects on the Armenian tragedy of 1915, Pomegranate
Publishing has released a new children’s picture book, Mariam’s Easter
Parade, which celebrates joyous traditions of the Armenian culture.
April 15, 2015 marks the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide
in which four million Armenian residents are estimated to have died
in Ottoman Turkey.
Written by Marianne Markarian and illustrated by Margaret Markarian
Wasielewski, Mariam’s Easter Parade is a light-hearted story of young
girl who might be too small to help with the Easter preparations,
but she is clever enough to celebrate with her own special parade!
“While it’s important to acknowledge and remember the lives lost to
the genocide, it’s also important to celebrate the traditions of the
Armenian culture, which continues to thrive in a diaspora that extends
from the former Soviet Republic to the United States and Canada,”
said publisher Marianne McCarthy.
Easter is a major holiday for the Armenia people. Not only do
they celebrate their Christian religion, but they also mark the
occasion with food, festivities, and egg-fighting contests. Using her
grandmother’s life in “the old country” as inspiration Markarian has
crafted a story that displays with cultural accuracy how Armenians
in the Ottoman Empire celebrated Easter.
The illustrator is an award-winning artist and member of the Cincinnati
Art Club. Her work has been exhibited in New York, Detroit, Cincinnati,
Florida, and Chicago. Her vivid pastel illustrations portray the
beautiful countryside and colorful dress of the Armenian people in
the early 1900s.
The book is available at Amazon.com as well as independent bookstores
throughout the country. For more information, visit the company’s
website at
From: A. Papazian