Matal “The Mischling Princess” Baker's Reviews > I'll Go and Come Back

I would like to thank Candlewick Press for an early eARC of I'LL GO AND COME BACK.

After having already read several of Rajani LaRocca's books (both PB and MG), I had high expectations for I'LL GO AND COME BACK. Once again, LaRocca delivered with a beautiful PB illustrated by Sara Palacios. What I truly love about Rajani's writing is her ability to show both the commonalities and the differences in cultures. .

In this book, a young girl named Jyoti visits India with her parents and ends up spending a lot of time with her grandmother. Before leaving India, instead of saying 'goodbye', Jyoti tells her grandma 'Poitu varen' - 'I'll go and come back'. Likewise, after her grandmother visits her in America, she tells Jyoti 'Poitu varen' before she leaves. These two words really reveal a lot about the culture and the importance that family, and especially how visiting family members, plays in each individual's life.

I absolutely loved how LaRocca showed how what may seem "normal" to someone living in their own culture can be a little overwhelming for visitors from other countries.

As an anthropologist, I am familiar with many cultures and languages. Unfortunately, I am not fluent in any of the languages, cultures, or names used in India. The book itself does not specifically state that Sita Pati is the grandmother, but I presumed that she was based on:

1) how Sita Pati was introduced alongside the list of cousins and aunts and uncles;
2) reading the books description online; and
3) the age differences pointed out by the illustrator.

The first time that Jyoti's name appears is on page 12, and it was included at the beginning of a foreign language sentence. I have to admit that I am more than a little embarrassed to say that when I first read the book, I didn't realize that Jyoti was her first name until I read the book's online descriptions. Once again, I am not an expert in Indian cultures, languages, and names.

I was not familiar with 'Rangoli', but could presume that it was an art form based on the illustrations. I really hope that LaRocca will write a PB based primarily on Rangoli in the future that will will introduce readers to its cultural history.

LaRocca and Palacios did a fantastic job. The former wrote a culturally important PB, while the latter brought the author's words to life. I highly recommend this book. I especially recommend this PB for young readers with non-Indian backgrounds so that they can be introduced to the beauty of Indian cultures and family ties.

**This review appears on both Edelweiss+ and Goodreads.**