In rhyming text, the narrative highlights both the religious elements of the family's lives-the portrait of Ganesha on the wall the statues of Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu on the mantle the prayers offered in the puja room-and the loving ties that bind the children to their grandparents. Melanie Ho is the author of Journey to the West: He Hui, a Chinese Soprano in the World of Italian Opera.Two young children visit their grandparents in India in this gorgeous bedtime book, bidding goodnight to the objects and rituals around them, and to their loving elders. Mistry draws the children and their grandparents resting peacefully with Ganesha looking down on them from a star-filled sky. Goodnight, sweet Ganesha and stars up above. Mistry’s final illustration is particularly beautiful. With artwork that is impressively detailed, full of color, depth and texture, Mistry is an equal partner in this book.Įach illustration is vivid and rich whether it is a city skyline with a full moon and planes flying in the air or a scene from Nana’s story about a peacock stealing its blue plumes. Goodnight Ganesha is an opportunity to explore traditions that may or may not be similar to the ones we personally experience.īut whether the text stimulates new discussions or conjures the familiar and the sentimental, readers-young and old alike-are certain to be mesmerized by the artwork by Poonam Mistry. In her author’s note, Salomon writes about the nostalgia of the nighttime routine as well as the universality of it, even as they may differ from country to country, from culture to culture. Goodnight Ganesha, Nadia Salomon, Poonam Mistry (illus), (Philomel, August 2021) Salomon, who was inspired to write the book based on her own childhood experiences, continues the book with a similar soft, rolling rhythm until the night sky is illuminated with stars and the children finally close their eyes. So we hustle upstairs to brush our teeth. “It’s bedtime!” says Nana – voice raspy, but sweet. “You’re it!” huffs Tata – face red as a beet. The children also undergo their nighttime routine with their grandfather and grandmother. In every scene, the narrators observe something different: the evening breeze, a baby gecko, golden idols on the mantle. Two children play this game with their Nana. And while many are used to the rhythmic lines of “goodnight room, goodnight moon”, in Goodnight Ganesha, Nadia Salomon takes young readers through a different “goodnight game”.
It’s a familiar nighttime ritual: the sun has set, the kids are in pajamas, the toys are still.
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