Review by Booklist Review
In an author's note, Dairman explains that this story was inspired by the lifestyles of the Rabari people who live in northwestern India. Their lives, as we see in this very simple yet poignant book, are intimately connected to the environment. Young readers will find the jaunty rhyme of the narrative fun to follow as they are visually treated to detailed panels depicting the lives of a girl who lives in the desert and a boy who lives in a village where monsoon rains can force migration. The book juxtaposes the ways in which fabric, routines, chores, and traditions are different in the dry and rainy environments, shaping the lives of the inhabitants. Expressive faces and dynamic gestures complete the meaning behind the spare text on each page. When rain and dust storms force both groups of people into a single location, the union is a happy one, but the implications of continued environmental change linger underneath.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Beginning with "White sand./ Green field," side-by-side spreads and horizontally split pages compare the lives of two children in northwest India--one from Gujarat, one from Rajasthan. Traditionally pastoralists, an author's note explains, the Rabari people are moving away from nomadic life, a change that "brings many changes." A girl lives amid desert tents, gathering wood and water, while a boy lives in a lowland village and attends school. Short rhyming lines by Dairman (The Great Hibernation) reveal what happens to each group when the weather turns nasty: on top of a split page, there's a sandstorm ("Sand blows in"), on the bottom, a monsoon ("flooding floor"). The girl takes cover in the family's tent--"Tie the flap!"--while the boy ducks into his rapidly flooding house: "Seal the door!" When conditions grow unbearable, both groups trek to higher, greener ground--and there, their families meet. Digitally painted spreads by Sreenivasan (Diwali) feature angular graphic forms and jewel-toned hues. The colors intensify as the weather worsens: the light from the desert sandstorm turns everything orange, and the blues and greens of monsoon country deepen. While introducing the diversity of the Indian subcontinent through thoughtful juxtaposition, this collaboration also confronts the threats that extreme weather poses to various ways of life. Ages 4--8. Author's agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary. Illustrator's agent: Stephanie Fretwell-Hill, Red Fox Literary. (May)
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Review by Horn Book Review
In this beautifully rendered study of contrasts and commonalities, Dairman imagines a girl and boy from two different biomes in India. Split pages portray the girl going about her day collecting firewood with her family, embroidering patterns with her grandmother, and eating family meals under the desert sky (the back matter indicates that the community is the Rabari nomadic tribe). The yellows of the girls dusty surroundings contrast with the lush greens and blues of the boys village environment. As heavy monsoon clouds threaten to burst, he attends to his day -- going to school, herding goats with his grandfather, and splashing in muddy puddles. As the weather brings about sandstorms (for the girl) and floods (for the boy), both families are forced to move to higher ground -- where the children finally meet. Intersecting panels highlight their parallel stories, while the spare rhyming text complements the arresting visuals. This book not only examines climate change through the eyes of communities whose lives and livelihoods depend on the weather, but also provides a starting point for conversations on gendered roles as well as about migration as a form of survival -- and how our lives are interconnected. The back matter notes Sreenivasans research, including community members input into making the book. Sadaf Siddique July/August 2020 p.111(c) Copyright 2020. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Dairman draws inspiration from the Rabari people, an Indigenous group of nomadic herders and shepherds that live in northwest India, to showcase how two children live and thrive in the era of climate change. Clipped couplets imagine a nomadic desert girl and a village-dwelling boy and how their lives intersect when the former's family travels in search of water and the latter's family seeks to escape it. Paneled pages compare and contrast the children's experiences. "Patterned veil. / Covered hair" depicts the girl's mother with a flowing veil and the boy's father winding a turban on. "Trek for water. / Head to school" reveals two different journeys. Readers see how extreme weather threatens both ways of life before, at the end of the book, both children find higher ground and dance together: "Thirst quenched. / Dry and sound. // Round the fire, / songs of joy." Bangalore-based Sreenivasan's extensive research is evident in her saturated, detailed illustrations of families, plants, animals, and nomadic and village life. Dairman's author's note provides context and emphasizes that extreme dry and wet weather "will continue to put…lives…in very real danger." Text and illustrations work beautifully in concert: Desert and monsoon scenes each have a distinctive color palette--golds, rusts, and reds; violets, greens, and blues--and variations in page composition and panel placement create necessary narrative tension. A beautiful and important book about climate change featuring those who are most affected by it. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
