School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-One afternoon during India's monsoon season, a young boy is bored when his grandmother, his parents, and his brother turn down his plea for play. Finally, his grandfather is willing to fold paper boats, which they sail in a washtub. They take a walk through the rain and swing in the banyan tree. The boy asks eagerly if Dadaji had the same experiences when he was a child and he wonders if things will still be the same when he himself is a grandfather. As in Sheth's My Dadima Wears a Sari (Peachtree, 2007), Jaeggi's soft watercolors underscore the warm relationship between generations and the feeling of belonging that an extended family grants. This beautiful and atmospheric picture book makes a great addition for all multicultural collections. Pair it with Uma Krishnaswami's Monsoon (Farrar, 2003) for a storyhour about India's rainy season.-Monika Schroeder, American Embassy School, New Delhi, India (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
In this picture book from the creators of My Dadima Wears a Sari (2007), a young boy in India wants to play outside in a monsoon shower, but everyone in his family is too busy to join him. At last, the boy's dadaji (grandfather) is free for fun, and together they sail toy boats in courtyard tubs. After the rain subsides, the two stroll through the streets, and Dadaji reminisces fondly about the monsoons of his youth. The cyclical rhythms of the rain season echo the story's larger themes of time's passage and the links between generations: Dadaji remembers swinging on the same village banyan tree where the boy plays, for example, and as he listens to his grandfather's stories, the boy begins to imagine his own future: Will monsoon come when I become a dadaji? Jaeggi's atmospheric watercolors nicely translate the sensory details in the words. From the boy's cozy home during the storm to the sunny, rain-refreshed streets, the scenes give a strong sense of everyday life in the boy's Indian community, as well as the sweet bond between grandfather and grandson. Children of all backgrounds will easily recognize both the boy's delight in the dramatic rainstorm and the warm intergenerational relationship. In a lengthy, personal author's note, Sheth shares her own childhood memories of monsoons. Those seeking picture books specifically about Indian culture will find more suggestions in the Read-alikes: India in Picture Books.--Engberg, Gillian Copyright 2008 Booklist
