Review Detail

Nana, Nenek & Nina

Kids Fiction 1942

Over the Ocean to Grandmothers' Houses We Go

November 03, 2022

Overall rating

5.0

Plot

5.0

Characters

5.0

Writing Style

5.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

Nina lives in San Francisco, but her father's mother lives in England, and her mother's mother lives in Malaysia. Sometimes, the family goes to visit the grandmothers, and Nina points out the differences in their lives in opposing two page spreads. At Nana's house, she needs warm jumpers and wellies, but at Nenek's she only needs a light dress and selipar (flip flops). Nana drives to the high street to pop into the shops for ketchup, while Nenek takes her motor bike to the open market for tea in a plastic bag! No matter what life is like in the different countries, one thing remains clear: Nina's grandmothers love her and are glad when she is able to visit and spend time with them.

Good Points

The water colored ink drawings are delightful, and I could spend hours poring over the pages, looking for Nina's small stuffed dinosaur hiding in the background, or gor Nana's little dog. The colors change for subtly for each environment-- a bit more green and gray for England, and a bit more yellow and red for Malaysia. It's clever how the sentences will go across the page divide when describing the two homes, and serves to show the reader that while the grandmothers are far apart, they still have many similarities.

Nina's experiences are based on the author's own growing up in similar circumstances, so there are lots of details that I wouldn't have thought of. Some Malaysian and British words and phrases are used, but the meanings are usually clear taken in context.

I'm a huge fan of books that show strong emotional connections between grandchildren and grandparents, and since many children live far away from theirs, it's good to show that connections can still remain. Sometimes grandparents are close, as in Holler's Finding Moose and Iwai's Gigi and Ojiji, but books like Courtney's Poppy's House and de Regil's Something about Grandma detail the travel that is involved in visits and the differences that children find in their grandparents' environments. Now I want some tea in a plastic bag with a straw!