ALA Booklist (Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2007)

Rupa admires the beautiful saris that Dadima (her grandmother) wears every day, even though she wonders if her grandmother ever feels like wearing a skirt or pants instead. I never thought about it, Dadima answers, going on to explain a sari's many surprising uses: as an umbrella, a pouch for collecting seashells, even a bandage. In the final scenes, Dadima shows her collection of saris to Rupa and Rupa's sister, and she shares the special stories behind each elegant piece of cloth. Stories portraying Indian or Indian American families are rare for this age group, and Sheth's picture-book debut is a sturdy effort. The text consists mostly of dialogue between Dadima and her granddaughters, and the continuous, loving exchange heightens the intergenerational warmth that's extended in Jaeggi's delicate watercolors, particularly in scenes of Dadima and the girls unfurling luxurious lengths of cloth. Young listeners will want to follow the appended, illustrated instructions demonstrating how to wrap a sari. Suggest Rao Sandhya's My Mother's Sari (2006) to children wanting more.

Horn Book (Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2007)

Dadima's descriptions of her sari's versatility capture her inquisitive granddaughter's imagination. While the dialogue is overly formal at times, the text and illustrations convey the pair's warm and loving relationship. The soft watercolors' borders and backgrounds mimic sari patterns. Directions on "how to wrap a sari" are appended.

Kirkus Reviews

Rupa's grandmother wears beautiful saris every day, and Rupa wants to know if she ever gets tired of them. "Never," Dadima answers. A sari, she explains, can become a fan, a pouch for collecting seashells or an umbrella, just for starters. Rupa, entranced, decides to tie a knot in the corner of Dadima's pallu —the end of her sari—to remind her to give Rupa a hug. When Rupa's younger sister Neha appears, Dadima shows the girls more of her saris, explains a bit about each—she still has her first sari, her wedding sari and the one she was wearing when she came to America—and shows the girls how to wear them. "We look like you," Rupa says. Dadima hugs her, and Rupa quietly unties the knot she made earlier. A strong depiction of family, this story shows how meaningful traditional clothing can be. Includes a personal note from the author detailing her own memories and associations with saris as well as photographs and instructions on how to wrap one. (Picture book. 4-7)

School Library Journal

K-Gr 3-Soft watercolor paintings capture the magnificent fabrics of Dadima's saris and accentuate this loving story of a grandmother and her two granddaughters. When Rupa, the older girl, asks if Dadima misses wearing skirts or blouses or pants, the woman responds, "I never thought about it." When she asks, "Why not?" Dadima explains that it is because she can do so much with her sari. She can use the end, the pallu, as a fan for cooling, as a pocket for carrying shells, or as an umbrella in case of an unexpected storm. Inspired, Rupa generates a few ideas of her own, including tying a knot in the sari to remind her grandmother to give her a hug. A wonderful complement to Sandhya Rao's My Mother's Sari (North-South, 2006), this text, too, explains how to wrap the garment.-Alexa Sandmann, Kent State University, OH Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.