A World Away! Home Is In Between by Mitali Perkins

 

"GOODBYE HOME!" SHANTI WAVES TO WARM MONSOON RAINS AND TO THE GREEN PALM TREES OF HER VILLAGE.

In only one sleep and a long airplane ride, Shanti finds herself in what seems like another world, with cold rains and chilly winds scattering red and orange leaves from the trees and tall brick houses--a town where there is no one she knows. In her apartment, it's like the village they left behind, the same stories in Bangla and Mama's luchi for dinner, but outside in a restaurant, she must keep a napkin in her lap and her elbows off the table when she orders a bowl of macaroni and cheese. But her father's laugh is big, like always. Then, when they call their relatives at home, they are celebrating a holiday that the people in the new town don't know. In the new town the children are dressed in odd costumes and trick-or-treating, while Shanti only gives out candy at the door.

"NEXT YEAR, JOIN US," SAYS TONYA.

And at Christmas, Santa leaves a stocking for Shanti--at Tonya's house! Although it is a different kind of dance, Shanti joins Tonya at ballet class. Shanti watches Bollywood movies at home and Hollywood movies with Tonya and her friend Malcolm. And when it snows, Shanti and Tonya join Malcolm in his snow fort, throwing snowballs. One kid on the other team is impressed.

"YOU CAN THROW! DO YOU PLAY TEE BALL?"

"WHAT'S THAT?" ASKED SHANTI.

"BASEBALL, SILLY! WHERE ARE YOU FROM? MARS?"

Suddenly, Shanti is tired of being in between. Where does she belong? Where is home? She sleeps.

And when she wakes, she sees the same blue sky that is above the village and above the town. It's spring, with warm sun and green trees in the town.

And Shanti sees that she can be home wherever she is, in Mitali Perkins' sensitive story of an immigrant child learning to be at home wherever she is, Home Is in Between Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021).

It's a big world with many different places just a sleep and a short journey away, as portrayed by artist Lavanya Naidu's charming pictures of kids being kids on both side of the globe and the families that nurture them everywhere. Between them, artist and author give youngsters an idea of what it feels like to be the immigrant, the stranger in a strange land. Says School Library Journal, "This book can serve as either a validating mirror or an illuminating window. A warm read-aloud, it is a must-purchase for all picture book collections."