ACCESS DIGITIZED EDITION
Guide/Reviews Database
PRESCHOOL
Dairman, Tara

Desert Girl, Monsoon Boy

32 pp. | Putnam | May, 2020 | Trade ISBN 978-0-525-51806-8 $17.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-0-525-51807-5
(2) PS Illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan. 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 girl's dusty surroundings contrast with the lush greens and blues of the boy's 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 ­Sreenivasan's research, including ­community members' input into making the book.
Reviewer: Sadaf Siddique | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2020

RELATED 

PRESCHOOL

The Farmer and the Circus
by Frazee, Marla
PRESCHOOL

Bird House
by Gómez, Blanca
PRESCHOOL

The Crow and the Peacock
by Fernihough, Jo
PRESCHOOL

Something's Wrong!
by John, Jory
PRESCHOOL

Grandpa Across the Ocean
by Yum, Hyewon
More

Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?