FROM SARAH:

Ten-year-old Naima excels at painting designs called alpanas, but to help her impoverished family financially she would have to be a boy— or disguise herself as one. Excellent (and short!) for all ages.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Naima is a talented painter of traditional alpana patterns, which Bangladeshi women and girls paint on their houses for special celebrations. But Naima is not satisfied just painting alpana. She wants to help earn money for her family, like her best friend, Saleem, does for his family.

When Naima's rash effort to help puts her family deeper in debt, she draws on her resourceful nature and her talents to bravely save the day.

**Description from Amazon: Nominated for the 2017 National Book Award for Young People's Literature ★ Horn Book ★ School Library Journal ★ Publishers Weekly ★ Booklist ★ Shelf Awareness ★ VOYAFive girls. Three generations. One great American love story. You Bring the Distant Near explores sisterhood, fir...

FROM SARAH: 

This is the book I recommend most often when I’m asked about troublesome content in classics. This gorgeous memoir of author Mitali Perkins’s reading life made me glad to be a reader, and eager to read even more. This will be a 2022 Mama Book Club selection in RAR Premium. 

FROM THE PUBLISHER: 

Award-winning children's author Mitali Perkins grew up steeped in stories - escaping into her books on the fire escape of a Flushing apartment building and, later, finding solace in them as she navigated between the cultures of her suburban California school and her Bengali heritage at home.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

A lyrical, captivating retelling of the Palm Sunday and Easter story from National Book Award nominee Mitali Perkins, author of Rickshaw Girl, that is sure to become a beloved tradition for families of faith.

FROM THE PUBLISHER: 

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?

FROM THE PUBLISHER: 

A lyrical, captivating retelling of the biblical redemption story from National Book Award nominee Mitali Perkins, sure to become a beloved tradition for families of faith.

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Twelve-year-old Indian-American Pandita Paul doesn't like change. She's not ready to start middle school and leave the comforts of childhood behind. Most of all, Pandita doesn't want to feel like she's leaving her mother, who died a few years ago, behind. After a falling out with her best friend, Pandita is planning to spend most of her summer break reading and writing in her favorite secret space: the abandoned but majestic mansion across the street.

But then the unthinkable happens. The town announces that the old home will be bulldozed in favor of new—maybe affordable—housing. With her family on opposing sides of the issue, Pandita must find her voice—and the strength to move on—in order to give her community hope.