Synopses & Reviews
Piri is a city girl, but every year she goes to visit her grandmother Babi on her farm in the Ukrainian village of Komjaty. There is a lot that Piri finds strange, even scary, in Komjaty, such as the ghost in the form of a rooster who supposedly haunts the cemetery! But Piri loves country life: making corn bread, eating plums right off the tree, venturing out with her grandmother in the early morning to hunt for mushrooms. And during her time with Babi, Piri learns lessons that will stay with her all of her life, about the importance of honest hard work, of caring for the less fortunate, and of having the courage to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.
In these nine stories, Aranka Siegal paints a tender portrait of the love between a grandmother and granddaughter, inspired by her own experiences with her grandmother.Memories of Babi is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
Review
“The love between grandmother and granddaughter especially shines through.” —School Library Journal"Fans of the Little House Books will like Siegal's warm descriptions of work, home, and faith; they will also appreciate the picture of Siegal's loving grandmother-mentor." —Booklist "In a testament to her childhood summertime visits with her Ukrainian grandmother in the pre-World War II Carpathian Mountains, Seigal weaves several stories of country village life. . . . The concepts that yesterday's good, honorable life contains meaning for today remains paramount." —Kirkus Reviews “Most notable is the authors ability to project characters vividly, to write simply without condescension, and to interweave themes without preaching.” —Horn Book
About the Author
ARANKA SIEGAL was born in Beregszász, Hungary. She is the author of the Newbery Honor Book Upon the Head of the Goat and its sequel, Grace in the Wilderness, an NCSS-CBC Notable Childrens Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies. She lives in Williams Island, Florida.