At first Jyoti finds India so different from home that she has a hard time enjoying her visit, especially during the day when her cousins are at school. But eventually she and Sita Pati, her grandmother, connect despite knowing little of each other’s language (Tamil and English). They make rangoli designs with sand, play games (competitive Pati sometimes “counts wrong”), and drink warm milk with saffron to encourage sweet dreams. By the time the visit is ending, Jyoti doesn’t want to leave. Sita Pati says “Poitu variya?” (Will you go and come?) And Jyoti replies “Poitu varen” (I’ll go and come back). When Pati arrives in America the following summer, she also feels out of place and lonely until she and Jyoti again connect over the same simple activities: shopping for and cooking food, playing games (this time it’s Jyoti who occasionally employs creative scoring), and sharing cocoa at bedtime to bring sweet dreams. When it is time for Pati to go home, Jyoti doesn’t want her to leave but they make the same reassuring promise, to go and come back. The tangible love that develops between a grandparent and grandchild who live far apart is demonstrated in moments that feel both culturally and geographically specific yet also universal. ©2022 Cooperative Children’s Book Center    (Ages 3-8)

A tender, beautifully illustrated story about a girl in America and her grandmother in India, whose love stretches between languages and cultures—and across the world.

When Jyoti visits her grandmother halfway around the world, she is overwhelmed by the differences between India and home. At first she feels lonely and out of place, but soon, despite a language barrier, she and Sita Pati are able to understand each other. They form a bond—looking at books together, making designs with colored sand, shopping at the market, playing games, eating chapatis, and sipping warm milk with saffron to bring sweet dreams. When it’s time to part, Jyoti doesn’t want to leave, but then she remembers that in Tamil, people don’t say goodbye, they say “I’ll go and come back.” Sure enough, the two reunite the next summer when Pati visits Jyoti in America, and it’s Jyoti’s turn to make her grandmother feel welcome. Can they create some special memories that will last until the next time they see each other?