WAITING FOR HANAMI

Everyone has a story to tell.

Impatient to find a spot in the busy nearby park, Sai, a young Japanese girl, races ahead of her parents. Looking up, the family sees a lacy canopy of cherry blossoms, or sakura. Today they’ll celebrate hanami, the annual cherry blossom observance in Japan. But Sai is also waiting for a family reunion with dozens of multiracial relatives, who crowd around and above Sai. Nervous and shy, Sai sees another child looking lost: Avi, a boy with brown skin and locs. The two begin talking, and readers learn that Avi, who uses his pen to tell stories, is an artist just like Sai, who helps her parents connect customers with the perfect kimono fabric in their shop. They draw strength from each other and use their shared talent to uncover and depict their family’s stories in a creative family tree. Takahashi’s prose occasionally glosses over explanations (how exactly does Sai know what fabric to pick out for the customers?). On the whole, though, the narrative is pervaded by a sense of warmth and love, while the illustrations effectively immerse readers in this flowery world, with the relatives varying in skin tone and facial features. An author’s note provides information on hanami.

An affectionately drawn tale of family.