Singh, Simran Jeet. Vaisakhi to Remember, A. Japneet Kaur, Illus. Penguin Random House/Kokila, 03/2025. [32]pp. Picture Book. Trade $18.99. 978-0-5938-5908-7. GRADES Preschool–2. OUTSTANDING.
A Sikh child moves to a city far from their bustling village in Punjab filled with people, pattern, and color. The first-person narrator misses their Nani, her stories, and Vaisakhi, the spring harvest festival, where baskets of bountiful harvest, musicians, and people swirl into a patterned tapestry that fills the page. The child now lives in a city filled with buildings instead of people. Unsure of what Vaisakhi will be like this year, the child’s family drives to a gurdwara, a Sikh place of worship and community space, where the child hears familiar music and tastes familiar foods while playing new games with new friends. Now it is the children who are swirling across the page as they play and find new traditions that connect them to the old. Richly detailed, watercolor illustrations float and move on the page where a new detail emerges with each read, making this an excellent lap read but still versatile for a readaloud. Back matter includes an author’s note about the significance of Vaisakhi, translation of Punjabi words, and a recipe. A beautiful story of finding joy, community, and belonging in the diaspora. Recipient of an Asian/Pacific American Picture Book Honor.
Catherine Pyun—Berkeley Public Library