I have found several picture books of late. One of them, A Garden in My Hands is a sweet, contemporary book that explores the Indian culture of one child’s family. While the mother of the story shares her own stories about the family, their culture, and more, the little girl watches them come alive as her mother applies to her hands some henna. There is a little humor and a lot of love. Meera Siram has tapped into a special world to share with those of us not familiar with it. And all of this comes alive with the illustrations of Sandhya Prabhat. These images are boldly colored and detailed. Everything is busy, happy, moving and grooving! They ae sweet, loving and pop. The world of our young narrator is wonderfully represented.
The culture of Siram can be read to most ages, but most likely the five and up crowd would be more appreciative to the style and length of the text. Good for a classroom setting or a one-on-one reading situation; and the older readers can do by themselves or with a bit of assistance.
Another book by Siram is Our World: India illustrated by Neethi. It is a board book that would be a good introduction for the younger children if they want to read more about India and the culture of the country. And since I have enjoyed both, I plan on finding more by them. A Garden in My Hands was read via an online reader copy but is currently available.
