Sandhya Parappukkaran
Michelle Pereira (Illustrator)
Hardie Grant Publishing
Rohan loves spending time with his grandmother, making mango pickle and sharing stories.
But when he moves to a different country and learns a new language, words from his first language start slipping away until one day there are none left.
How will Rohan find the words to tell his grandmother a story again?
This story encourages young bilingual readers to take pride in their first language and retain strong ties to their family and culture. Perfect for ages 3 and up.
Awards:
Long listed – 2025 Children’s Book Council of Australia – Notable book.
Resources:
Reviews
Mia Macrossan – “This timely resource is long overdue and will be invaluable for language and cross-cultural studies while both bilingual and monolingual families will find much to share, enjoy and discuss in this splendidly written and sublimely illustrated picture book.”
Lauren Alderman – "Our Harmony Week book of the week. What a special celebration of the importance of first language retention, alongside new language acquisition. Home language is vital to identity and culture."