Product Description
A Tamil boy explores his love for his grandmother and her colorful sari collection in this tale of expressing your true self.
Another exciting day with Paati begins with a host of fun activities done in preparation for tonight’s party; threading flowers into garlands for decoration, going to the market, and helping her in the kitchen with the scent of sambar in the air.
Through it all the boy finds comfort in Paati’s sari, whether he’s wrapped in its colors for dress-up or clutching its folds for comfort. Each sari holds a story—ones that speak to him, but most important of all they allow him just to be.
With joyful text by Jyoti Rajan Gopal and dazzling art by Art Twink, My Paati’s Sari is a commemoration of how clothing can convey tradition and individuality, and connect us to both our families and ourselves.
From School Library Journal
K-Gr 3-Glorious fabrics unwind before a small boy's eyes as his grandmother pulls sari after sari from an elaborate wardrobe. "My paati's saris are stories./ They whisper the name/ of where they were made and/ how they came to be./ Peacocks preening,/ lotus blooms peeking,/ elephants parading/ -my paati's saris call to me." In Gopal's remarkable South Asian sensory journey, the boy follows her to market, where the fragrant spices call to him, in descriptions that evoke scents and sounds for readers; of peddlers shouting, and a constant swirl of color beautifully limned and expanded upon in Twink's luminously painted illustrations, with backgrounds and foreground patterns like textiles themselves. These foreshadow an uplifting moment of family unity and support at the end. First, the narrator is shown draping a sari like a hood around his head in the third spread, gazing at himself in the mirror. In one of the last scenes, his paati begowns him in a full sari, and both male and female relatives welcome him in this garb: "I twirl/ and sway…/ They see me./ ME." This view of a culture where the gender binary is expressed more fluidly is a welcome and subtle celebration of the shelter the boy finds in both the sari and family. VERDICT An expression of love threaded into the weave and weft of a boy's yearning, this recommended purchase should be on the shelves for use in cross-generational units, LGBTQIA+ acceptance, and cultural awareness.-Kimberly Olson Fakihα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review
A School & Library Journal Best Picture Book of the Year!
A New York Public Library Best Book For Kids of 2022!
PRAISE FOR MY PAATI'S SARIS!
“...A story of love and acceptance.” - Booklist
“A simple yet empowering journey through a cupboard of saris and stories.” - Kirkus Reviews
* “...A buoyant picture book about burgeoning identity and family lineage.” - Publisher's Weekly, starred review
* “An expression of love threaded into the weave and weft of a boy’s yearning, this recommended purchase should be on the shelves for use in cross-generational units, LGBTQIA+ acceptance, and cultural awareness+M35.” - School & Library Journal, starred review
About the Author
Jyoti Rajan Gopal is a writer, mom and Kindergarten teacher. Growing up, she lived in Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, India and China. Twenty-seven years ago, she moved to New York and she now lives in Yonkers in a quirky old Victorian, with her husband and two daughters. Jyoti writes stories that speak to her heart, that reflect her multiple identities, that she wishes her daughters had growing up, that she wishes her students had now. When not writing or teaching, she loves to work in her garden, dance hip-hop and swing, and explore the many New York State park trails.
Art Twink grew up drawing critters they thought up to comfort themselves and their friends, and that mission continues to this very day. For Art Twink, art is for creating community and safety in a world that offers very little of either. After 6 years of w
