Having grown up as a third culture kid between the Gulf and North America, I never thought I'd embrace my Lebanese heritage, culture, and dialect until I had my daughter. Suddenly, it mattered so deeply. I wanted her to speak it, share it, and grow up connected to it. A mother tongue is more than a first language. It is the language of memory, of comfort, of belonging. As the only Lebanese speaker in our home, it sometimes felt isolating, speaking to my baby in a language no one else around me could understand or respond to.

Language became more than words; it was a bridge to family, memories, and identity. I wanted to share it through stories with my daughter, but most children's books were in Modern Standard Arabic, which I could neither read nor understand, and I couldn't find anything in Lebanese phonetics either. The few I found were either paperbacks too delicate for little hands or simple vocabulary lists, rather than the contextual stories that help children learn language best.

With nothing that fit what my family needed, I began translating stories from English as I read, often turning to my mother for the Lebanese words and expressions I didn’t know. Three generations were suddenly part of the same story: my mother’s voice, my translation, and my daughter listening.

This inspired me to create Targhil. These books exist because of my mother's knowledge, patience, and love for the Lebanese language and culture that guided this project. I am also grateful to my sister Adeline, whose careful eye and dedication helped bring them to life with the care they deserved. I hope these stories bring as much joy, connection, and curiosity into your home as they have to mine, and to my daughter's.

Carla Saliba

In Lebanese dialect, "targhil" means to learn to speak with ease, to find fluency. The word also carries a deeper cultural meaning: it refers to the rhythmic, melodic cooing of a courting pigeon, a sound rooted in the traditions of Beirut's pigeon keepers and passed down through generations. We loved the layered meaning, a word about finding your voice, rooted in something distinctly, charmingly Lebanese. Targhil is built on a belief that learning a mother tongue is more than learning words: it is an invitation to reconnect with family stories, precious memories, and the heritage that shapes who we are. It reflects a Lebanese way of celebrating progress, the joy of small achievements, the encouragement of families, the "Bravo" and "Yes, you can!" that helps every child grow into who they are becoming.