Age Range: 3 – 7 years
Grade Level: Preschool – Grade 2
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Candlewick (March 29, 2022)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1536207179
ISBN-13: 978-1536207170
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2023 Massachusetts Book Award Winner
A Bank Street College of Education
Best Book of 2023
A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2022
A tender, beautifully illustrated story about a girl in America and her grandmother in India, whose love stretches between languages and cultures—and across the world.
When Jyoti visits her grandmother halfway around the world, she is overwhelmed by the differences between India and home. At first she feels lonely and out of place, but soon, despite a language barrier, she and Sita Pati are able to understand each other. They form a bond—looking at books together, making designs with colored sand, shopping at the market, playing games, eating chapatis, and sipping warm milk with saffron to bring sweet dreams. When it’s time to part, Jyoti doesn’t want to leave, but then she remembers that in Tamil, people don’t say goodbye, they say “I’ll go and come back.” Sure enough, the two reunite the next summer when Pati visits Jyoti in America, and it’s Jyoti’s turn to make her grandmother feel welcome. Can they create some special memories that will last until the next time they see each other?