in celebration of Children’s Book Week & in support of CDG research

This story is about the adventures of a little boy on a quest to collect “glycan fruit”, which his body needs to remain healthy and happy. Along the way, he and friends find the solutions they need to reach the Sugar Tree Forest and return home.

A.Z.’s Adventures to the Sugar Tree Forest is inspired by the determination of children with CDG, who live and thrive in a non-CDG world. Individuals with CDG overcome adversity every day. The message of the book is that of inclusion, teamwork and perseverance.

What is CDG? Congenital disorders of glycosylation are a group of rare genetic disorders where glycans (sugar trees) are missing or unable to attach to proteins that are essential for healthy cell function, which can affect mobility, speech, cognition, and various other functions within the body.   

Nare Garibyan was born in Yerevan, Armenia and lived in Tallinn, Estonia as a young child. She grew up in Glendale, California, where she has been an active member of the Armenian community for most of her life. She has a bachelor’s degree in English from UCLA and a master’s degree in college counseling from USC. She is an academic counselor at Glendale Community College. Nare is also a published poet and has an extensive writing resume.