2 pages from inside this book
I'll Go and Come Back
- Subject
- People & Places - United States - Asian American & Pacific I
- Age
- 3-5 years
- Format
- Hardcover
- Pages
- 40
- Publisher
- Candlewick Press (MA)
- Size
- 23.9 cm × 27.9 cm
- ISBN
- 9781536207170
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?
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?
Data provided by BiblioShare.
$26.99In stock at our supplier — delivered within 5–9 days.
What reviewers said
Centering a tender grandparent-grandchild relationship, LaRocca (Where Three Oceans Meet) offers an endearing narrator in Jyoti. . . Warmly patterned and textured illustrations by Palacios (A Song of Frutas), rendered in gouache and acrylic and assembled digitally, further conjure the brown-skinned family and rich dual settings. A loving ode to intergenerational relationships and cultural exchange, beyond borders, years, and language barriers.
Based on LaRocca’s childhood experiences as an Indian American, the well-cadenced text tells a story of international, intergenerational love. Palacios’ digitally assembled illustrations, created with gouache and acrylic paints, are particularly effective in capturing the growing bond between grandmother and child. A vibrant picture book that reads aloud beautifully.
Jyoti and Sita Pati say “I will go and come back” when their visits end, never “Good-bye,” in a satisfying story told with great economy. Gouache and acrylic illustrations with the grainy effect of woodcuts and wonderful attention to textile patterns, exude the mutual delight between grandparent and grandchild. . . . A tender sharing of culture and empathy that bridges generations, and an essential purchase.
The tender relationship between a grandmother and a grandchild extends beyond distance and language. . . The simple yet heartfelt text makes excellent connections between the fun they have in India and in America. . . A loving depiction of familial connection between generations.
More like this
I'll Always Come Back to You
Carmen Tafolla
It All Comes Back to You
Farah Naz Rishi
Hanukkah, Here I Come!
D J Steinberg
Yoga, Here I Come!
David J. Steinberg, Emanuel Wiemans
I Have to Go!
Robert N. Munsch
Plátanos Go with Everything
Lissette Norman, Sara Palacios
I'm Going to Be a Princess
Stephanie Taylor, Jade Orlando
