This month we invited Monika Singh Gangotra to our blog to tell us more about her new book - The Gifts That Grow, published by Owlet Press and gorgeously illustrated by Michaela Dias-Hayes.
I grew up in a small costal town in Australia and although there was a small Sikh community, there was little representation in books and media that I had access too. Rarely did I ever see children or characters like me (a South Asian child of immigrants) or my family in the books I read. Living the way we lived, caught between two distinct cultures in the clothes we wore, the food we ate and the languages we spoke, Eating pizza on a Friday night and watching Bollywood movies.
Having the privilege to bring those worlds together for children that are growing up in a world like mine set the stage for my journey as a children’s book author.
The Gifts That Grow is a Sunflower Sisters story that is based on the true story of my maternal grandmother and I.
My nani (grandmother) travelled from India to live with us and with her she carried a little seedling plant from her Jamun tree back home. She would tell me that the tree itself would take so long to bear fruit that the person who plants it would rarely get to taste the sweet fruit. I watched her for years taking care of the Jamun tree she planted in our backyard. Watering it, removing the weeds, visiting is throughout the day and tracking its growth. These words and the lesson they carry have impacted my life immensely and is one that I hope to carry on to my children. One of looking after our world for future generations to enjoy even though we may not benefit from it ourselves.
Within the pages of this book, it is my hope that all readers will understand this universal message and its significance in how they can take care of their environment and community, in a completely selfless manner, and empower them to do so. To give them hope, to learn about a culture that may not be their own or feel a sense of belonging in seeing similarities to their own lives.
I hope that my books act as both windows and mirrors for my readers whilst also sending a powerful message full of warmth, love, education, empowerment, acceptance and kindness.
Further, The Gifts That Grow is a story that also highlights the beauty of inter-generational relationships, learning about other cultures and assimilation of immigrant families, the importance of celebrating girls being born, and understanding it is ok to carry lessons into our own lives taught by our ancestors and further to our children that serve us and to leave behind outdated views that do not serve purpose or acceptance and love.
Follow the author Monika Singh Gangotra on Twitter here.
Follow the illustrator Michaela Dias-Hayes on Twitter here.