Thursday, June 26, 2025

Green Papayas by Nhung N. Tran-Davies and Gillian Newland - ESSENTIAL

Green Papayas by Nhung N. Tran-Davies, illustrated by Gillian Newland. BIOGRAPHY PICTURE BOOK. Red Deer Press, 2023. $22. 9780889955608

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ESSENTIAL

APPEALS TO: SOME

Oma does not know our names anymore. She is old and sick. But, Oma used to live in a land far away where there are green papayas. Her family was poor and she could not go to school, but she read when she could. She grew up and had six children and then war came. She loved her children enough to carry them away. 

Tran-Davies tells a tremendous personal story of love and sacrifice. It is her voice in this story within a story. It is not poetry, but the wording is beautiful enough to be poetry. The oriental style of illustration by Newland  could not be more beautiful. 

The main characters are Vietnamese refugees. 

MOMMAC


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