Home Is in Between

by Mitali Perkins, Lavanya Naidu (Illustrator)

Overview

In the timely yet timeless picture book Home Is in Between, critically acclaimed author Mitali Perkins and illustrator Lavanya Naidu describe the experience of navigating multiple cultures and embracing the complex but beautiful home in between.

Shanti misses the warm monsoon rains in India. Now in America, she watches fall leaves fly past her feet.

Still, her family’s apartment feels like a village: Mama cooking luchi, funny stories in Bangla, and Baba’s big laugh. But outside, everything is different – trick-or-treating, ballet class, and English books.

Back and forth, Shanti trudges between her two worlds. She remembers her village and learns her new town. She watches Bollywood movies at home and Hollywood movies with her friends. She is Indian. She is also American. How should she define home?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374389444
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	02/23/2021
Series:	The "Between" Books
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	33 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Mitali Perkins has written several books for young readers, including Between Us and Abuela, Forward Me Back to You, You Bring the Distant Near (a National Book Award Nominee, a Walter Honor Book, a South Asia Book Award Winner, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, and a Shelf Awareness 2017 Best Book of the Year), Rickshaw Girl (a NYPL Top 100 Book), and Bamboo People (an ALA Top 10 YA novel). Mitali was born in India and currently resides in Northern California.

Lavanya Naidu is an animator and illustrator from Kolkata. A graduate of the National Institute of Design (Ahmedabad), she has worked with Google, Amazon, Cartoon Network, Godrej and several Indian publishing houses.

Mitali Perkins has written several books for young readers, including Home Is in Between, Between Us and Abuela, Forward Me Back to You, You Bring the Distant Near (a National Book Award Nominee, a Walter Honor Book, a South Asia Book Award Winner, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, and a Shelf Awareness 2017 Best Book of the Year), Rickshaw Girl (a NYPL Top 100 Book), and Bamboo People (an ALA Top 10 YA novel). Mitali was born in India and currently resides in Northern California.
Lavanya Naidu is an animator and illustrator from Kolkata. A graduate of the National Institute of Design (Ahmedabad), she has worked with Google, Amazon, Cartoon Network, Godrej and several Indian publishing houses. Her illustration credits include Razia Learns to Swim (Divya Panicker) and Kittu’s Very Mad Day (Harshikaa Udasi).

Editorial Reviews

★ 01/04/2021

Shanti’s story starts when her family leaves their village in India for an American town “with cold rain and orange and yellow leaves,” and she begins to move back and forth between both cultures: “Remembering the village./ Learning the town./ Again and again./ In Between.” At home, her mother teaches her traditional Indian dance; in town, her friend Tonya, who is Black, takes her to ballet. “Baba taught Shanti Bangla letters”; she reads him The Little Engine That Could in English. Her blue toy elephant accompanies her everywhere, a whimsical, consistent presence. One day, she hits a point of exhaustion: “If only her friends could learn the village./ If only her parents could learn the town./ Again and again./ In Between.” Yet Shanti’s soon ready to go on: “She was good at making/ anywhere feel like home./ Especially here./ In the space between cultures.” Animation-style characters by Naidu (Susie Will Not Speak) reflect emotion clearly, while straightforward writing by Perkins (Between Us and Abuela) shows how Shanti learns to appreciate aspects of her new life while keeping people and elements from her old one close to her heart. Ages 3–6. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

A Junior Library Guild Selection!
A 2022 Notable Book in the Language Arts!
Northern California Book Award Nominee!

"Perkins explores a child’s experience of immigration in a sweet and child-friendly story presented in a beautifully illustrated package . . . 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." —School Library Journal, starred review

"Animation-style characters by Naidu (Susie Will Not Speak) reflect emotion clearly, while straightforward writing by Perkins (Between Us and Abuela) shows how Shanti learns to appreciate aspects of her new life while keeping people and elements from her old one close to her heart." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Reflecting the experiences of Perkins and many other immigrant children, this heartfelt picture book records the push/pull of remembering the old ways while learning the new ones . . . By shining a light on one girl’s story, this vibrant picture book illuminates the experience of many immigrant children." —Booklist, starred review

"National Book Award finalist Perkins’ picture book depicts a tale of immigration and adaptation . . . Kolkata-born, Australia-based Naidu’s illustrations are light and full of motion, reinforcing both the book’s tone and its content. Shanti’s expressions, including wonder, frustration, and exhaustion, are particularly emotive.The book will appeal particularly to children and families navigating this space between cultures." —Kirkus Reviews

"The book compactly conveys the pressure of juggling and code-switching even if there’s joy to be had in both cultures. There’s a bit of a Dora the Explorer vibe to the cartoonish digital illustrations, which will appeal to viewers, and there are plenty of observant and humorous details; audiences will want to look out for Shanti’s beloved toy blue elephant, who appears alongside her in most scenes." —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (BCCB)

From the Publisher

★ 03/01/2021

K-Gr 4—Perkins explores a child's experience of immigration in a sweet and child-friendly story presented in a beautifully illustrated package. Readers meet young Shanti, a girl with brown skin and black pigtails, as she and her parents leave their village in India and relocate to a "town" in the United States. Shanti moves back and forth between cultures, first skipping, then running, then trudging. These changing action words are a metaphor for the labor of navigating between two sides of one's self. Perkins shows cultural examples: the familiarities of the village carried over in food, music, and household habits, along with the new sports, language, and holidays of the town. A refrain repeats: "Remembering the village. Learning the town. Again and again. In between." There are endearing moments. Shanti makes a new friend quickly and enjoys learning with her about town life. But she also struggles with school, misses family, and is the target of microaggressions. The range of emotions shows on her face: excitement, longing, frustration, comfort, and defeat. Naidu's animated style, with bright popping colors, expands on what Perkins leaves untold in her short poetic stanzas and careful words. As the harshness and unfamiliarity of the winter melt away, Shanti feels the warmth of the spring and determines to make her home in a space between cultures. The book ends with a glossary of Bangla words, and an author's note about her own immigrant experience, and her framing of code switching and biculturalism as a gift and a superpower. VERDICT 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.—Clara Hendricks, Cambridge P.L., MA

School Library Journal

2020-12-15
National Book Award finalist Perkins’ picture book depicts a tale of immigration and adaptation.

In the opening spreads, Shanti says “goodbye” to her West Bengal village, with its “warm monsoon rains” and its “green palm trees,” and gives a dubious “hello” to a “town with cold rain / And orange and yellow leaves.” Here, in the United States, Shanti lives a bifurcated life: Inside feels familiar, with Ma cooking luchi; outside feels strange, with “napkins on laps” and “no elbows on tables.” Shanti occupies a liminal space, the “in-between” of the title, ricocheting from kathak dance to ballet, from Bollywood to Hollywood, from harmonium to piano. “Learning the town. / Remembering the village. / Again and again. / In Between.” When a White kid explains T-ball to Shanti and then demands, “Where are you from, Mars?” Shanti “feels tired” at this obviously racist attack. A couple of page turns and some months (judging by the illustrations) later, however, suddenly Shanti realizes she is “good at making anywhere feel like home. / Especially here. / In the space between cultures.” Kolkata-born, Australia-based Naidu’s illustrations are light and full of motion, reinforcing both the book’s tone and its content. Shanti’s expressions, including wonder, frustration, and exhaustion, are particularly emotive. In an author’s note, Perkins explains that such code-switching was exhausting to her as a new immigrant but acknowledges it as a gift as an adult. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8.5-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 9% of actual size.)

The book will appeal particularly to children and families navigating this space between cultures. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews