A Vaisakhi to Remember
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A new picture book from Simran Jeet Singh, A Vaisakhi to Remember celebrates community and heritage as a young girl looks for points of connection in a new country through the joyous Sikh spring harvest holiday of Vaisakhi.
In our village, the best day of all was Vaisakhi, the spring harvest festival . . .
When a Sikh family moves from their village in India to a faraway city on the other side of the world, a girl yearns for her grandmother's hugs, her goat Ramu, and the lush fields filled with yellow flowers and wheat. How will they celebrate Vaisakhi in her new and unfamiliar surroundings?
But the girl soon discovers soothing touchstones—a special outfit, a trip to gurdwara, delicious food, and new friends—that make gathering for Vaisakhi still the best day of all.
With gorgeous, intricate illustrations by debut children’s book illustrator Japneet Kaur, this touching story from Simran Jeet Singh shows us that while life changes, home is where we build community and carry traditions forward.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A kaleidoscope of events and perceptions swirl around a young protagonist on Vaisahki, the Sikh spring harvest festival, in this telling that occurs partially in memory. The narrator first recalls awakening in a field to the nudging of a goat and the sounds of peacocks calling. Arriving to the village on "the best day of all," the child remembers "everyone joining, dancing together" to celebrate harvest as well as preparing foods and listening to "stories of hope and renewal and heroes." But now, living in a big city where small flowers, not harvest, represent spring ("No green fields. No pet goats"), the narrator wonders how the family will celebrate. Kaur's dense, jewel-like watercolor illustrations expand moments beyond Jeet Singh's bustling text, leaning into group scenes and linking celebrations: "new friends and shared memories, with old foods and new games." Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. An author's note and recipe conclude. Ages 4–8.
