Bábo
A Tale of Armenian Rug-Washing Day
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Join Tato and her family as they help Bábo (grandmother) on rug-washing day, in this sweet and playful picture book tribute to Armenian cultural traditions.
Little Tato sneaks a few cherry plums before racing off to help Bábo—her grandmother—with a favorite chore. Each year Tato looks forward to washing the family rugs. With bubbles and suds floating like clouds and snowflakes, Tato and her siblings help Bábo scrub the rugs clean.
With lively text and vivid illustrations, Astrid Kamalyan brings her charming childhood memories to life by inviting young readers to spend a day full of fun and love with an Armenian family.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Seldom has a domestic chore looked as irresistible as rug-washing does in Kamalyan's buoyant family tale. The outdoor ritual takes place under the watchful eye of grandmother Bábo as, "on the sunlit street... we will soak, soap, and wash the rugs." There, Tato the narrator, along with siblings and a neighbor, all portrayed with pale skin, make a game around textiles spread out for their annual cleaning. Once the soapy rugs have been jumped on and scrubbed, "Swoosh. We glide./ Swoosh. Droplets splash..../We twirl. Bubbles pop-pop-pop." More about the heirlooms is revealed: as they work on "Mom's favorite rug," a sibling explains that it was a wedding gift from Grandpa. Semirdzhyan's lively illustrations, digitally rendered to mimic pencil and watercolor, retain a looseness in keeping with action-oriented text as the work leads to satisfaction: "We all bit into sunny apricot pie. Powdered sugar flies." A glossary, author's note, and more about Armenian carpet-weaving conclude. Ages 3–7.
