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Hello, friends! For our last review of AAPI Heritage Month, we’re reviewing MY DADIMA WEARS A SARI, written by Kashmira Sheth and illustrated by Yoshiko Jaeggi, a lovely tale of tradition and cultural dress celebrating its 15th anniversary of publication.
Rupa’s dadima (Hindi for “grandmother”) wears a sari every single day, morning and night, at home and around town. She wears cotton saris and silk saris, tucking the pallu - the end of the sari - in tightly or letting it flow in the breeze. One day, Rupa asks Dadima why she doesn’t wear Western-style clothing like Rupa’s mother and little sister, Neha, and Dedima replies simply that she’s never even thought to, as she loves her saris and finds them very useful. For example, her sari can be used to fan herself and her granddaughters in the heat, or protect them from rain, or form a makeshift pouch for collecting seashells. When Neha joins them and asks her own questions about Dadima’s saris, the girls’ grandmother invites them to see the three most important saris of her life, and learn how to tie a saris of their own.
A beautiful look at cultural dress, and the ties it can have to one’s identity and memories. Sheth’s text balances nicely between conversational and poetic, highlighting the bond between the family as well as their emotional connection to the saris. Jaeggi’s pastel-heavy watercolors create charming characters and a beautiful sense of motion in the fabrics, though I feel it fails to capture the vibrance of color in traditional saris; Dadima’s red-and-gold wedding sari, for instance, reads as a faded rose rather than a rich scarlet. Backmatter features an author’s note on her own connection to saris, as well as photographic instruction on how to tie one. The length of the book makes this best for older elementary readers, as it does take a little more time to finish, but JJ loved the artwork. Overall, this is a lovely way to pay tribute to the cultural relevance of saris, and we enjoyed it. Baby Bookworm approved!
(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)
(Publisher: Peachtree Publishing Company)
Happy Anniversary, Peachtree Publishing Company! We love your books!
Author R.M. Romero (THE GHOSTS OF ROSE HILL ⭐️), joins us on this week's Fully Booked to discuss fairy tales, poetry, and Prague 🎧
http://ow.ly/XHtC50IXRuM Peachtree Publishing Company
We have a new book at our StoryWalk in the Pondhawk Natural Area next to Spanish River Library! In "Lali’s Feather"🪶 by Farhana Zia, published by Peachtree Publishing Company, Lali sets out to find feather a home, but one bird 🐦 after another rejects it. Once Lali decides to keep the little feather and discovers all the things she can do with it, the other birds begin to recognize its value. Learn more about our award-winning StoryWalks at
https://www.myboca.us/1975/Visit-Our-StoryWalks
Are you looking for some new books to add to your child's library/book collection? Check out these new titles from Holiday House Books for Young People and Peachtree Publishing Company.
https://bit.ly/37MThGN
"Rosie is a sixteen-year-old girl with Down Syndrome who's fighting for little freedoms and tolerance and love. A beautiful, "engrossing" YA debut from author Mel Darbon."
This is a thoughtful, engaging, and tender YA story, now in paperback (which we are waiting for), but we still have it in stock in hardcover. It is so very rare to have a Downs Syndrome lead character in any chapter book, so this is a real step forward and kudos to Peachtree Publishing Company for publishing it! You will love Rosie and root for her from the get go!
March is Women's History Month! In honor of that, we present Frances Perkins, who became the United States Secretary of Labor and first female member of the United States Cabinet on March 4, 1933. Young readers can learn more about her in these two biographies:
THANKS TO FRANCES PERKINS: FIGHTER FOR WORKERS' RIGHTS - by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Kristy Caldwell, published by Peachtree Publishing Company
ONLY WOMAN IN THE PHOTO: FRANCES PERKINS & HER NEW DEAL FOR AMERICA - by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Alexandra Bye, published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster
https://www.btsb.com/search/SearchResults.php?SearchType=KN&cmbSearchField=summary&txtSearchString=frances+perkins
Hello, friends! Our book today is THE STORY BLANKET, written by Ferida Wolff and Harriet May Savitz, and illustrated by Elena Odriozola, a tale of generosity and community.
In a small village in the snow-covered mountains - the nation is not identified, but context clues suggest somewhere in Eastern Europe - there lives an old woman named Babba Zarrah. The local children love to gather at Babba Zarrah’s home to hear her stories, cuddling together on a cozy blanket affectionately called “the story blanket”. One day, Babba Zarrah notices that one child, Nikolai, has a hole in his shoe. She resolves to make him a new pair of warm socks, but laments that she has no wool yarn. She decides to take a bit of wool from the story blanket, and secretly leaves the new socks on Nikolai’s doorstep. She then notices that the hardworking postman could use a new scarf, and the grocer’s shawl is threadbare, among others. Suddenly, mysterious knitted gifts are appearing at people’s homes, and the village children have noticed the story blanket getting smaller and smaller. What happens next is a lovely lesson in kindness and how caring for others is just another way to care for ourselves.
Simple yet sweet. While this appears to be an original story, it has the comforting feel of a classic folktale and makes for a gentle and heartwarming reading experience. The illustrations also have a rustic folk-art look about them, using thin lines and colorful textures to create often-humorous visuals. The cast all present as white with exaggerated features; it was nice to see some larger body types represented, though it’s unclear how realistic these are meant to be. The length is great for a storytime, and JJ enjoyed it overall. This one is humble in tone and ex*****on, but no less edifying or enjoyable for it; Baby Bookworm approved!
(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)
(Publisher: Peachtree Publishing Company)
Happy pub week to THE BOY WHO MET A WHALE by Nizrana Farook (out tomorrow from Peachtree Publishing Company)! Nizrana spoke to Thushanthi Ponweera about creating a fictional land based on her home country of Sri Lanka, her favorite middle grade books, and more:
http://ow.ly/gYke50HIpzm
How exciting to see ‘The Littlest Yak’ on Wellesley Books Top 10 Picture Books & Young readers.
So lovely to see this adorable book being enjoyed in the US too ❤️
Words by our own
Illustrations by
Published by SimonKIDS and Peachtree Publishing Company in the US.