Namaste Is a Greeting - Hardcover

Subramaniam, Suma

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1536217832 ISBN 13: 9781536217834

Publisher: Candlewick, 2022

Synopsis

Discover namaste’s many meanings in a simple, lyrical text, paired with a charmingly detailed visual narrative about a little girl’s kindness.

Namaste calms your heart when things aren’t going right.
Namaste is saying “You matter.”

What is namaste? It’s found in a smile, a friendship, a celebration. It exists in silence; it can be said when you’re happy or when you’re feeling low. For one small girl in a bustling city, namaste (“I bow to you”) is all around her as she and her mother navigate a busy marketplace—and when she returns with a little plant and chooses to give it to an elderly neighbor, it can be seen in the caring bond between them. In a sweet, universal text, debut author Suma Subramaniam shines a light on a word with significance far beyond yoga class, while artist Sandhya Prabhat makes the concept of mindfulness come alive in delightful illustrations likely to draw children in again and again.

About this title

About the Author

Suma Subramaniam earned her MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and a certificate in popular fiction from the University of Washington. Suma Subramaniam lives in Washington State.

Sandhya Prabhat is an award-winning illustrator and animator whose books include I Am Brown by Ashok Banker, Ignore the Trolls by Jordan Gershowitz, Usha and the Big Digger by Amitha Jagannath Knight, and books in the Om Child series. Originally from Chennai, India, Sandhya Prabhat is now based in the Bay Area.

Reviews

K-Gr 3—A young girl spends the day walking her neighborhood, greeting people with "Namaste" while explaining its various meanings. "Namaste is loving the world," and "Namaste is saying you matter." After returning home, she accidentally breaks the pot her new flower is in and uses "Namaste" to express her emotions about it. The story ends with her giving the repotted flower to a neighbor, because "Namaste is the divine in me honoring the divine in you." The acrylic drawings of her home and neighborhood are rich in detail, from the sidewalk to the textures of the curtains in the windows. The neighborhood is full of people of varied nationalities and abilities. On a few pages the text is the primary focus, with the girl shown as smaller when she feels sad. The journey through her day and to the awareness that her neighbor is lonely, and her subsequent gesture of friendship, show the larger concept behind the titular phrase. VERDICT A great purchase with a simple path to showing children how a word can be a way of living, a greeting, and a blessing, all at once.—Tamara Saarinen

Edition details

• Publisher: Candlewick
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1536217832
• ISBN 13: 9781536217834
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Prabhat Sandhya
• Number of pages: 32