Book Review: Multicultural Children's Book Day 2024

My Favorite Memories by Sepideh Sarihi , Julie Völk (Illustrator) Blue Dot Kids Press A child's favorite things have to fit in the suitcase her parents give her as the family prepares to move to another country. The girl realizes she can't take her aquarium. She can't take her friend or the bus driver who sings songs on the bus. She tells her mother she cannot go. Black line drawings with some colored items here and there give this emotional story just the right balance of somber tone and sanguine feeling. The child puts pieces of her past in bottles (since her suitcase cannot contain all she wants to bring with her to her new home) and sends them out to sea noting that the ocean is everywhere. Readers see the child in her new home with the red bike her father gives her, so she can go see the ocean there too. A pensive sort of waiting concludes the book as the child watches for the bottles. A touching and heartfelt immigration story that children will relate to. I was provided a free digital copy by the publisher of this book in exchange for my unbiased review. #readyourworld #kidlit