LEWISTON — The timing of “Kiki and Jacques” — a recently published children’s book based on soccer players and Somali families in Lewiston — couldn’t be better, said author Susan Ross.

The book, geared toward students in grades three to eight, was released in August by Holiday House of New York City.

In November, Lewiston High School’s soccer team, made up largely of immigrants, had locals celebrating the school’s first soccer state championship.

“I wrote this book because I read about the Somali immigration to my childhood home,” Ross said Tuesday. “I thought it would be an amazing subject for a children’s book.”

The way Lewiston locals and Somali immigrants have dealt with cultural challenges, while far from perfect, is a success story, Ross said. “Lewiston largely got it right.”

“I see the vibrancy on lower Lisbon Street. I see these kids going off to college,” she said. “I remember how the white supremacy group came up” and how the community reacted with the “Many and One” rally.

“I’m very proud when I see progress has been made, the wonderful soccer team that won the championship with Somali refugee boys,” Ross said. “It’s exactly the tonic America needs today.”

Ross was born in Lewiston-Auburn, and is a 1977 graduate of Edward Little High School. She is a lawyer in Connecticut and spends her summers in Maine.

Her book, “Kiki and Jacques,” has attracted national notice from Goodreads, a book recommendation website, and the American Library Association’s Booklist. The Lewiston Public Library has the book. It’s available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com and Target.

The story is about two middle school students, Jacques from a Franco family, and Kiki, a Somali girl who recently arrived in town. The story provides a way for children to understand what it means to grow up with those who have different backgrounds, Ross said.

In the book, Jacques wants to be the soccer team captain, but Mohamed, Kiki’s brother, is a better player, threatening Jacques’ leadership position.

Then, Mohamed is unfairly accused of robbing a store. “Jacques knows he’s innocent and must decide whether to come forward and tell the truth,” Ross said.

The characters discover they have much in common: soccer, bullying, family troubles. His mother died in a car accident. Her father died in Somalia. In the book, as happened in Lewiston, Somali students are harassed by white students with ham.

To research her book, she visited Lewiston and Portland libraries and interviewed Somali teens at Portland’s “Telling Room.”

Kiki, her main character, “is plucky, strong and outgoing,” Ross said. “The kids I talked to had all those attributes. They’ve been through so much. They have goals. I came away impressed and inspired by these kids. I wanted everyone to know.”

Ross grew up in a Jewish family that embraced different cultures. Her mother was a Holocaust refugee. Her grandparents and parents owned a bridal shop, The Star Millinery, on 13 Lisbon St., a few doors down from a building that today is a mosque.

Since her book was released, she’s been encouraged with a warm reception, especially from teachers, Ross said. She recently spoke at a national teachers convention in Minneapolis where there’s a large Somali community.

Ross will speak at a librarian conference in Augusta in April and at a Camden book festival in August.

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