"We take everything to the waste bins.
Close by, the bird feeders on Nana's
apple tree are empty. I look for our
regular hummingbird, but it isn't
there today."
How lovely to read stories of immigrant families that connect their life today to the life they lived before moving. The little girl who shares her story here is happy to be working in the garden with her Nana. As they work, her Nana shares the names of the flowers they are planting and stories from her homeland. Her granddaughter loves that best.
Today they are planting geraniums, only a few compared to what they planted in the gardens they created for playing when she was a child. There were no parks or playgrounds where she lived. As a young girl, Nana planted flowers of every color - and trees, too. As they work together, the young girl allows herself to imagine how that garden might have looked. There were pots filled with flowers, a fish pond, and beautiful fragrances emanating from every corner.
While they are watering, they talk about all the fruit trees they grew ... apricots, cherries, persimmons and even a pomegranate tree! Nana says her favorite was the mulberry which her granddaughter has never seen. The two continue talking and sharing stories as they spend extra time in Nana's garden.
As they carry what is waste to the bins, they talk about the birds that visit and look for food in their feeders. They will fill them when they have taken time for an apple snack and a rest. As they rest, Nana shares that she cannot return to her old garden. They have made the choice to plant a new one where they are now.
Notes from both author and illustrator (mother and daughter) speak to their heritage and culture, and the memories shared by family who have moved to a new and welcome place.
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