A Garland of Henna

“Bajaj sensitively explores the frustration children encounter when trying new tasks. With gentle coaxing from her family, Nikita learns to trust herself and take pride in her henna art. Dynamic illustrations filled with traditional floral designs of creeping vines, blossoming flowers, and paisleys trail across the pages. The hues of henna—which is dark green when first applied and dries to a warm red—are reflected in the earthy colors throughout the story. A warm and tender tale of family traditions.”

“Born into ‘a long garland/ of teachers and keepers of art,’ a girl worries over her early efforts at rendering henna designs in this rhythmically narrated and lusciously drawn tale. . . . Henna art motifs swirl throughout Sreenivasan’s gold- and olive-hued digital drawings, offering henna portraits of Nikita’s family, while Bajaj’s prose amplifies various aspects of henna art in this connective work.”

“The familiar picture book theme of persistence is given a fresh, distinct style here, as garlands of henna designs wind through the textured, vibrant art, eventually culminating in a triumphant spread that sees the smiling faces of Nikita, Nani, and Mom beaming from flowers. Nikita is a wonderfully relatable protagonist, and her frustration, fear, and pride are deftly conveyed through body posture—the hunched shoulders and locked knees as she marches off in anger will surely be recognizable to any kid or caretaker. . . . A compassionate look at the effort it sometimes takes to get the family…