
Rose by the Sea
An Armenian Journey of Courage and Hope
Atheneum Books for Young Readers · Print & ebook · March 3, 2026
Two starred reviews!
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- Who it’s for
- Dzovinar and her sister flee Armenia, cross a desert and ocean, and begin again.
- Themes
- Hope amid tragedy, Family separation, Migration and starting over
- Genres
- Immigration & Moving, Historical Europe, Historical Middle East
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Start with this bookAbout this book
Two starred reviews! Based on the true story of the author’s great-grandmother, this “affectingly gentle” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) picture book about surviving the Armenian Genocide sparkles with hope and heart even amid unspeakable tragedy—perfect for readers of The Proudest Blue and Yuyi Morales’s Dreamers. Rose is what my parents call me: Dzovinar, their rose by the sea.
Continue reading
Dzovinar (“zill-ven-ar”) lives with her family in Armenia, where the hillside is dotted with sheep and the apricot trees bloom every spring. She loves her home—but one day, soldiers storm her village, and she returns to an empty house. Their parents gone, Dzovinar and her sister are forced to flee. Afraid and alone, they journey across the desert, then over the ocean: first to France and then to America, where they hope a new future will bloom. Changed but not lost, Dzovinar takes root in a new land…forever a rose by the sea.
Dzovinar’s Journey
Dzovinar and her sister flee Armenia, cross a desert and ocean, and begin again.
Come here for
- Dzovinar’s childhood home in Armenia and her family’s apricot trees
- Her journey from Armenia to France, then America
Expect
- A picture book based on the author’s great-grandmother’s true story
- A story of family separation and migration after the Armenian Genocide
Where it sits
| Immigration & Moving | 68% |
|---|---|
| Historical Middle East | 28% |
| Historical Europe | 18% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Historical Middle East
- Stories Set in the Middle East
- Immigration & Moving
- Authors
- Rebecca Rose Mooradian
- Publisher
- Atheneum Books for Young Readers
- Published
- March 3, 2026
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Hope amid tragedy · Family separation · Migration and starting over
- Reading lane
- Historical Middle East