WOW Review: Volume XV, Issue 2 • Page 2 of 9 • Worlds of Words

Introduction and Editors’ Note

This culturally and linguistically rich collection of seven picturebooks depicts family and community stories marked by deep caring across generations.

Five titles describe children visiting their grandparents and extended families. In Amah Faraway (2022), young Taiwanese-American Kylie travels from San Francisco, U.S. to visit her Amah in Taiwan. While Kylie is used to seeing her grandmother on the computer, flying to Taipei is a different and slightly scary experience. Through linguistic changes in the speech-bubbles (involving Taiwanese, Chinese Mandarin, and English), the book cleverly shows how Kylie and Amah reconnect as they visit some of Taipei’s most famous sights. Similarly, in Mariana and Her Familia (2022), Mariana drives across the U.S.-Mexico border to visit her mother’s family. Uneasy in the beginning, Mariana learns that she has always been part of the familia, despite speaking another language and living in a different country; familia is familia. With a twist, I’ll Go and Come Back (2022) depicts Jyoti visiting her grandmother Sita Pati in India. When it is time to return home, Jyoti says in Tamil: “Poitu varen,” which means I’ll go and come back. This phrase transitions readers to the second half of the book describing Sita Pati visiting Jyoti in the U.S. This story shows different generations learning from each other. During Sita Pati’s visit Jyoti reciprocates her grandmother’s actions, making sure her Amah feels as much at home in the U.S. as she does in India.

Slightly different, Holding On (2022), narrates the story of a young girl’s summer vacation at grandma Lola’s house in the Philippines. The story revolves around the importance of sharing Tagalog songs and family “remember when” stories to help Lola remember; to help her hold on to her memories particularly during those recurrent days of silence and stillness. In another twist, Telling Stories Wrong (2022) focuses on a grandfather who keeps changing the story of the Little Red Riding Hood as he interacts with his granddaughter. “Not even close, Grandpa!” she says, reminding Grandpa that Little Red Riding Hood finds a wolf in the forest, not a giraffe. Together, they enjoy the power of sharing and re-imagining stories.

Moving away from the focus on visiting grandparents, the sixth story within this issue is set in Ohio by the side of the road. Watercress (2022) tells the story of a Chinese immigrant family who collects as much watercress as they can to navigate economical hardships. However, the young girl struggles with the fear of being seen by others or associated with eating free food: “Free is hand-me-down clothes and roadside trash-heap furniture and now, dinner from a ditch.” Her mother’s childhood stories around life in China during difficult times support the young girl in better understanding her family history and creating new family memories around watercress.

The seventh title, The Can Caravan (2022) depicts a Romani community in the UK coming together to help Mrs. Tolen rebuild her home. After Mrs. Tolen, beloved member of the community, breaks her hip, her old caravan is not safe to live in anymore, but Janie, referred to as komli chavvie [kind child] knows what to do. Inspired by her field trip to an aluminum recycling plant and family and community funds of knowledge, Janie and her community gather knowledge, skills, and resources to turn Mrs. Tolen’s old vardo into the very first can caravan.

As we gathered the reviews for this issue, we noticed that all seven picturebooks have female protagonists. This pattern, which can create an unbalanced representation of intergenerational relationships, encouraged us to share a list of titles that involve young male characters:

A Different Pond. Phi, Bao. Bui, Thi, Ill. Capstone Young Readers, 2018. ISBN: 978-1623708030
Drawn Together. Le, Minh. Santat, Dan, Ill. Little Brown, 2018. ISBN: 978-1484767603
A Drop of the Sea. Chabbert, Ingrid. Nieto Guridi, Raul, Ill. Kids Can Press, 2018. ISBN: 978-1525301247
Eyes That Speak to the Stars. Ho, Joanna. Ho, Dung, Ill. HarperCollins, 2022. ISBN: 978-0063057753
The House of Lost and Found. Widmark, Martin. Dziubak, Emilia, Ill. Floris Books, 2018. ISBN: 978-1782505426
I Talk Like a River. Scott, Jordan. Smith, Sydney, Ill. Neal Porter Books, 2020. ISBN: ‎978-0823445592
Julian is a Mermaid. Love, Jessica. Candlewick, 2018. ISBN: 978-0763690458
Last Stop on Market Street. De la Pena, Matt. Robinson, Christian, Ill. G.T. Putnam’s Sons Books, 2015. ISBN: 978-0399257742
Monsoon Afternoon. Sheth, Kashmira. Jaeggi, Yoshiko, Ill. Peachtree, 2008. ISBN: 978-1561454556
Mr. Frank. Luxbacher, Irene. Groundwood, 2014. ISBN: 978-1554984350
My Baba’s Garden. Scott, Jordan. Smith, Sydney, Ill. Neal Porter Books, 2023. ISBN: 978-0823450831
A Plan for Pops. Smith, Heather. Kerrigan, Brooke. Orca Book, 2019. ISBN: 978-1459816145
When Grandpa Gives You a Toolbox. Deeniham, Jamie L.B. Rocha, Lorraine, Ill. Union Square Kids, 2020. ISBN: 978-1454932321

For additional thematically related titles, please visit WOW Dozen: Intergenerational Global Families in Picturebooks.

Please consider submitting a review for our future issues. The editors welcome reviews of children’s or YA books that highlight intercultural understanding and global perspectives around these themes:

Volume 15, Issue 3 – Open theme (Spring 2023) – submission deadline April 15, 2023. The editors welcome reviews of global or multicultural children’s or young adult books published within the last three years that highlight intercultural understanding and global perspectives.

Volume 15, Issue 4 – Themed issue on global perspectives around food (Summer 2023) – submission deadline is June 1, 2023. The editors welcome reviews of global or multicultural children’s or young adult books published within the last three years that highlight intercultural understanding and global perspectives, especially perspectives influenced by individual and community practices that involve food.

María V. Acevedo-Aquino and Susan Corapi, Co-editors

Hsiao-Ping Wu, Texas A&M-San Antonio, Invited Reviewer

Authors retain copyright over the vignettes published in this journal and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under the following Creative Commons License: