Age: K-3rd grade
Tough Issues: Poverty
Location: Vietnam--author is Vietnamese refugee
Family: Mother and daughter

Truly an astounding picture book that presents a more mature issue for younger audiences in every beautiful way imaginable. A mother and daughter share a loving bond so strong and selfless that they attempt to convince the other of their future together. The daughter observes her mother's coarsened hands, her blistered feet, and her strained eyes as she tirelessly works. With love in her heart, the daughter assures her mother that she will stay with her. But the mother sweetly tells the child that all her efforts are to see her daughter travel beyond their small town and be educated. The daughter acknowledges her mother's desires and is determined to make her proud.

As a read-aloud, the rhyming text, the repetition, and the exchanging dialogue allow this beautiful story of hope and love to captivate all listeners--especially those who identify with the characters. The illustrations offer a delicate amount of realistic hardship paired with soaring birds, blooming flowers, and vines growing out of a book and reaching toward the sky. A fascinating contribution to children's literature.