Book Description
for A Sari for Ammi by Mamta Nainy and Sandhya Prabhat
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Two sisters living in Kaithoon, India, where their father dyes thread with which their mother weaves beautiful and distinctive saris, want their mother to be able to keep one of her own saris to wear instead of her worn out shalwar kameez. “If we keep the saris, how will we eat?” their mother asks. The girls decide to use the money they’ve been saving in their gullak to buy the sari. “This money can buy Ammi a towel, not a sari,” says older sister Sadaf after they count it. They decide to collect and sell old things to the scrap dealer, and add that money to what they have. “This money can buy Ammi a dupatta, not a sari.” They help their aunt dye thread, and add the money they earn to what they have. This money is “just enough to buy Ammi a sari!” Spirited storytelling propels a satisfying tale, which is followed by an author’s note telling more about Kaithoon, a town in northern India known for its fabric and saris made by skilled craftspeople. The richly colored illustrations are digitally created. (Ages 3-7)
CCBC Choices 2022. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2022. Used with permission.