EGE AND ÁVRA, by Evgenia Mantikas, Elifgül Büyükoral, Nazli Tarcan, Charlesbridge, Sept. 1, 2026, Hardcover, $17.99 (ages 3-7)
A tangled fishing line leads to unexpected friendship in Ege and Ávra, written by Evgenia Mantikas and Elifgül Büyükoral and illustrated by Nazli Tarcan.
While fishing in the Aegean Sea with her grandfather, Ege, a girl from Türkiye, crosses paths with Ávra, a girl from Greece, who’s also fishing with her grandfather. At first, the girls ignore each other, but when their fishing lines cross, they become angry, a little like how their countries have fought for centuries.
But soon an unlikely kinship sparks! Ege and Ávra share laughter, food, and prayer in this story about cultural connection. —Synopsis provided by Charlesbridge
Ege and Ávra is a story of connections across cultural divides.
The story is a simple one, but it carries with it a strong message — even those separated by differences can find shared understanding in the most ordinary of places.
Ege and Ávra was inspired by the real-life friendship if authors Evgenia Mantikas and Elifgül Büyükoral. The two met at university and learned they grew up only 65 miles apart. Both grew up with ideas about each other’s countries only to have those misconceptions confronted by their friendship.
Ege and Ávra is a beautifully realized picture book. The writing is warm with a touch of humor, and the illustrations are charming. Excellent backmatter includes an authors’ note, more about the history between Greece and Türkiye, and a glossary of Greek and Turkish terms.
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