by Kao Kalia Yang
Illustrated by Seo Kim
Carolrhoda, 2019
32 pages
ISBN: 978-1-5415-3836-8
Ages 5-9
A quiet, contemplative story in which a Hmong American girl’s year of simple, joyful discoveries culminates with a gift for her grieving neighbor. Paj Ntaub and her family have just moved into a new house with a garden and a swing. Across the street are elderly white neighbors Bob and Ruth, who often sit on a bench in their driveway. The family’s first year in their new home is a busy one. Paj Ntaub has brand-new twin brothers, and she wants to show them everything: the pretty leaf that she finds in autumn, the snowball that she brings inside in the winter, the worm (named Annette) that she plucks off the sidewalk in spring. From her window, she watches as family arrives to comfort Bob when Ruth passes away. When it’s warm enough, she and her mother venture across the street to visit with Bob, who is sitting alone on his bench. With sidewalk chalk, Paj Ntaub draws an elaborate “map into the world” on his driveway. The route wends its way past her garden, Annette smiling on the sidewalk, and her own home before ending at the street, where the world awaits Bob when he is ready for it. Honor Book, 2020 Charlotte Zolotow Award © 2020 Cooperative Children's Book Center
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