With its pages encased in generous swirls of gentle blue and pink, this is a book that tells Shreya—a second-generation migrant’s story.

At home, she delights in her mother’s touch, and sees her sari fan out like a “magic carpet” around her mother. Shreya comes across as confident, safe, and snug in contentment, within the four walls of her house.

When she steps out, though, Shreya shrinks, riddled with worry, as she meets the stares and whispers that the people down the street send her way, when they spot Shreya and her mother walk past,

Through Shreya and her mother, the author Sandhya Parappukkaran surfaces the dilemmas that children often face: How much of myself do I want to show the world? What if the world doesn’t like what it sees?

While Shreya wonders why her mother chooses not to dress like everyone else, her mother tries to make her daughter understand her reasons. In the process, Shreya’s mother role models what it is like to carry oneself, one’s heritage, one’s past and present, with pride. This seems distilled in the moments when Shreya’s mother holds her child close, even when the child resists, and yet not letting go of the memories that her sari is symbolic of.

Paired with the author’s whimsical text, illustrator Michelle Pereira’s lush art sets the tone for readers to journey with Shreya. Right from the little details such as a man lounging on his balcony reading a book with the trademark orange-and-white cover associated with the Popular Penguins series, or a woman on whose face the light from her laptop screen bounces off, Pereira’s illustrations draw a reader into a world of dreams and adventure, discomfiture and resolution.

By showing us just enough of the story without telling it all, the author-illustrator duo help us travel into the mind-space of a little girl, where imaginary horses gallop and caterpillars crawl, waiting as she makes her way to her joy, acceptance, and the comfort of home.

Amma’s Sari
Written by Sandhya Parappukkaran
Illustrated by Michelle Pereira
Published by Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing, Australia
April, 2022
ISBN: 978-1760509910

You can buy a copy of Amma’s Sari here.*

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Awards: CBCA Notable Book

Karthika Gopalakrishnan is the Head of Reading at Neev Academy, Bangalore, and the Director of the Neev Literature Festival. In the past, she has worked as a children’s book writer, editor, and content curator at Multistory Learning which ran a reading program for schools across south India. Prior to this, Karthika was a full-time print journalist with two national dailies. Her Twitter handle is g_karthika.