SOURGRASS

Sofia and May share a special friendship that weathers both distance and time.

The fence that separates the girls’ houses becomes the door to friendship. After spending spring and summer playing in a nearby field of sourgrass and making a game out of spitting sourgrass stems, the two resolve to be best friends forever. After May moves away, the children initially exchange letters, but May stops writing, and Sofia wonders if she’s been forgotten. When the sourgrass blooms the following spring, however, Sofia tastes one of the flowers and is reminded of the strength of their bond. Soon, she receives a note from May, and a potential new friend appears by the fence. The lovely, poetic text conveys the depths of childhood friendships and the pain of life’s inevitable changes. Readers will wonder, right along with Sofia, whether May will return her letters. Warm illustrations, rendered in chalk pastel and watercolor, are every bit as vibrant as a blossoming friendship or a summer day. One particularly stunning image spans two pages and shows Sofia observing a stem of sourgrass growing through a crack in the fence. The flower lights up the page, a smudge of yellow playing across Sofia’s nose, while warm oranges and pinks soften the scene. Lim and Maydani offer a realistic yet hopeful depiction of ever changing, meaningful childhood bonds. Sofia is Black, while May presents white.

A gentle tug at the heartstrings.