Horn Book (Thu Oct 03 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Nina's two grandmothers live far away from her and far apart from each other. Though the text does not state exactly where, the dedication ("For my British-American-Malaysian family") and cultural and geographic markers indicate the U.K. for Nana and Southeast Asia for Nenek. Both settings are "somewhere very different" for Nina (whose own view looks like San Francisco). But whether working in the garden, playing board games, or visiting the seaside, Nina is made to feel right at home. Nina's visits with her grandmothers are shown side-by-side on well-designed pages, with an engaging, accessible text and featuring cozy yet vibrant illustrations that were "painted on tea-stained paper, using watercolors, many tiny brushes, and a crow quill dip pen" and digitally edited. Differing background colors, patterns, and cultural motifs signify the two different settings, with the unifying features being open arms and warm hearts. Though the premise is somewhat sentimental, the story avoids mawkishness with the art's eye-catching details and the characters' endearing uniqueness (see Mom's blue-streaked hair). In whichever setting she finds herself, Nina feels secure in her family's love as well as in her own multifaceted identity.

Kirkus Reviews

A child has two grandmothers in two different countries.Nina, a little girl with short brown hair and light brown skin, lives in the United States, while her two grandmothers live elsewhere: Nana in the United Kingdom and Nenek in Malaysia. Through juxtaposed images split across spreads, Nina explores the differences between visiting Nenek and Nana. The background details of the illustrations include many cultural references to both the U.K. and Malaysia, while the text highlights major differences such as language ("Nana asks Nina for some help around the garden," while "Nenek needs some help around the halaman too") and common activities and games. The text is often split across the pages (one page focusing on Nana, the other on Nenek), which can make for a disjointed-though not too confusing-reading experience. Though life with each of her grandmothers is different, ultimately Nina finds love with both of them in this gentle tale. The illustrations are studded with homey details, and the warm tones add to the welcoming and cozy atmosphere. (This book was reviewed digitally.)A lovely story, grounded in visual details, about how identity can be uncomplicated. (Picture book. 4-7)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Simultaneous portrayals cleverly elevate Ferneyhough’s picture book debut, on every spread tracing a child visiting grandmothers “on opposite sides of the world”—England and Malaysia. When light-brown-skinned Nina and her family fly “toward sunrise” from San Francisco to visit white-presenting Nana, she wears her wellies into the garden, plays noughts-and-crosses on Daddy’s old board, and eats beans for breakfast, all shown on verso pages. When she flies “toward sunset” to visit Nenek, who is portrayed with brown skin, corresponding recto pages show Nina wearing her selipar around the halaman, playing congkak on Mama’s old set, and eating beans for dessert. Each balanced spread is full of eye-catching specificities that take readers through daily experiences: in equivalent bathing scenes, a toilet chain and rubber ducky appear in a seafoam-blue British bathroom, set across from lizards on the pale-yellow Malaysian bathroom wall. Balancing images, patterns, and hues, these juxtapositions convey the ease with which Nina lives in three cultures—and the affection she receives in each—in a book that conveys differences and similarities bound together by love, and offers a joyful narrative of multicultural childhood. Ages 4–8. (Aug.)

School Library Journal (Fri Jul 01 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

PreS-Gr 1 —Nina, who is around age five or six, has one grandma in Malaysia and another in England, and gets to visit both in this clever same-and-different book that is Ferneyhough's debut. Images of Nina's home "in-between" the grandmas show the Golden Gate bridge; she flies toward the sunrise for one visit, and toward the sunset for the other. Differences abound, but spotting similarities is also fun and instructive. Food is mostly different but a little similar; sand is the same; temperatures are different; the moon is the same. The most important similarity is the feeling Nina has for her grandmothers, and they have for her. The detailed but clearly drawn illustrations show Malaysian art, English teacups, and American guitars. Mama and Nenek are light brown; Dad and Nana are pale; no one is idealized. Speech bubbles contain short duplicated phrases in Nenek's Malay and Nana's English (with pronunciation help for some words). Even Nana's English isn't the same as American English! VERDICT Nina's comfort in very-far-apart places, her facility with languages, and her love for family mean that this engaging book will widen the world for young listeners and their families, no matter their locations or origins.—Patricia Lothrop