#OwnVoicesPictureBook Archives -

Picture Book Review – Amah Faraway

February 17, 2022
goodreadswithronna
Ages 4-8, Children's Book Reviews, Children's Books > Social Situations > Family Life > New Experiences, Culture and Customs, Diversity, Family & Relationships, Family ties, Girls & Women, Grandparent - Grandmother, Juvenile Fiction, Multicultural stories, Multigenerational, Travel & Adventure

AMAH FARAWAY

Written by Margaret Chiu Greanias

Illustrated by Tracy Subisak

(Bloomsbury Children’s Books; $18.99, Ages 4-8)

★Starred Reviews – School Library Journal, Shelf Awareness

Cultural connections, intergenerational love, and adventure-seeking await readers in author Margaret Chiu Greanias and illustrator Tracy Subisak’s touching Amah Faraway.

Since “[v]ideo chats [aren’t] the same as real life,” Kylie is nervous about visiting her Amah who lives so far away in Taipei, despite their weekly time together online. Once they arrive, Amah encourages Kylie to explore the city together, “Lái kàn kàn! Come see!” But Kylie finds everything strange: Amah’s apartment, dining with her extended family, city life, the night market. Everywhere they go, Kylie hesitantly “trail[s] behind Amah and Mama.”

Amah Faraway int1 — Interior art from Amah Faraway written by Margaret Chiu Greanias and illustrated by Tracy Subisak, Bloomsbury Children’s Books ©2022.

But on the day they visit the hot springs, something changes for Kylie. Dipping her toe in the warm water, she relishes in the joy of that moment and, in the days to follow, all the other experiences Taipei has to offer. From this point on, Greanias cleverly flips the lines of the story, repeating the same lines as the first part, but this time in reverse order with slight changes in context and punctuation to emphasize Kylie’s wholehearted embrace of the culture around her.

Amah Faraway int2 — Interior art from Amah Faraway written by Margaret Chiu Greanias and illustrated by Tracy Subisak, Bloomsbury Children’s Books ©2022.

Amah’s welcoming refrain has now become Kylie’s. “Lái kàn kàn!” she calls out to Amah and Mama as she leads them to the places Amah has taken her before, only now Kylie sees them with fresh, new eyes. Energetic lines in a soft color palette weave through the book which includes Taiwanese Mandarin text in speech bubbles inviting readers to join in on the fun.

Included in the back matter are the Taipei sights mentioned in the story, meanings behind Taiwanese foods, and a note from both the author and illustrator about their experiences visiting their own grandmothers in Taiwan.

An engaging story set in a vibrant, diverse city, Amah Faraway illustrates how to face your fears by leaning on familial love.

Reviewed by Armineh Manookian

Picture Book Review – A Gift for Amma

October 19, 2020
goodreadswithronna
Ages 4 and up, Children's Book Reviews, Family & Relationships, Girls & Women, Guest Blogger, Guest Post, India, Juvenile Fiction, Mother & Children Relationship, Multicultural stories, Parent - Child, People & Places

A GIFT FOR AMMA:

Market Day in India

Written by Meera Sriram

Illustrated by Mariona Cabassa

(Barefoot Books; HC $16.99,
PB English or Spanish $8.99, Ages 4-9)

★ Starred Reviews – Foreword Reviews, School Library Journal

Few picture books will trigger your wanderlust more than the beautiful A Gift for Amma: Market Day in India, written by Meera Sriram and Illustrated by Mariona Cabassa. The story follows a young girl as she shops at an outdoor Indian market to find a gift for Amma—or Mother. But really, it is a celebration of color, the senses, and love.

2020 06 Gift for Amma Interior — Interior spread from A Gift for Amma written by Meera Sriram and illustrated by Mariona Cabassa, Barefoot Books ©2020

Each spread introduces readers to not just the various items in the market, but to a vibrant color palette of dizzying loveliness. Pink is not just pink. It is lotus pink, like the flowers and sweet treats the girl considers buying for Amma. Likewise, green becomes peacock green, and orange become saffron orange. But, in such a poly-chromatic world, how can a gift of any one color ever suffice? This is the question the at heart of the story—and it is such a good one that you might suddenly look at your black and white wardrobe and ask yourself: What was I thinking?
e

AGiftForAmma Interior lotuspink small — Interior spread from A Gift for Amma written by Meera Sriram and illustrated by Mariona Cabassa, Barefoot Books ©2020

Readers will also love the final two spreads, which provide more information about not just the merchandise available at the outdoor markets of Southern India, but about the history of outdoor markets themselves.

A Gift for Amma is the perfect antidote for these days of remote learning and armchair traveling. It will give you hope. There is still so much waiting for us in the days ahead. And—if we are lucky—they will be very colorful.

Guest Review by Margaret Finnegan, author of We Could Be Heroes.

Click here to order a copy of A Gift for Amma.

Disclosure: Good Reads With Ronna is now a Bookshop.org affiliate and will make a small commission from the books sold via this site at no extra cost to you. If you’d like to help support this blog, its team of kidlit reviewers as well as independent bookshops nationwide, please consider purchasing your books from Bookshop.org using our affiliate links above (or below). Thanks!