Memory, borders, and identity come together in this book about the power of stories to connect us and to share a lived heritage.

This picture book begins with a girl whose grandmother, her Momo-la, is visiting—a
collector of things and a teller of stories.

She takes her granddaughter to visit particular storehouses of memory: The Museum of Natural History, The Museum of Art, and the Space Museum, where the duo find connections from the objects on display to Momo-la’s own life. It emerges that Momo-la carries with her a set of artefacts from her life as a Tibetan refugee, and the stories associated with them, to pass on to her grand daughter growing up in a city far away from the place that her grandmother called home.

In her author’s note, Mamta Nainy writes about how her own grandmother had a box of objects that she carried with her from her home in Pakistan during the Partition of India. Each time she opened that box, she told me these stories. And through these stories, I discovered more about my grandmother. As I grew up, I understood that my grandmother was keeping her memories safe. She was her own museum!

She concludes her note by saying, This is a story about the power of these stories that we keep close and hold on to. I hope it encourages you to think about your family histories, share your stories, and be your own museums.

My Momo-La Is A Museum
Written by Mamta Nainy
Illustrated by Violet Kim
ISBN: 9781915244635
Publisher: Lantana Publishing

You can buy a copy here or find it at a library.

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.