Stay for Dinner
Written by Sandhya Parappukkaran
Illustrated by Michelle Pereira
Published by Abrams Books for Young Readers
This gentle picture book speaks to the anxieties many children have about not fitting in with their peers, and celebrates the ways food can connect us to our cultures and to each other.
Reshma loves dinnertime with her family. Their table is full of squishy splashy curies, crispy crunchy papadums, and heaping piles of rice. Her family scoops and mixes their delicious dinner with their fingers and Ammama always finishes the meal with a complementary burp.
When Reshma is invited to for dinner at her friends’ houses, she sees that not everyone eats like her family. At Phoebe’s house, dumplings are eaten with chopsticks; and at Leo’s house, pasta is twirled on forks. Mama wants to invite her friends to dinner, too, but Reshma is nervous.
Will her friends laugh at the way her family eats?
Primary ISBN: 9781419772870
Publication Date: June 2025
Available As: Hardcover, eBook
Picture Book, Age 04 or older
Community Represented: Indian/Indian American, Unspecified (East Asian)
Themes: Cross-Group Friendship, Cultural Empowerment, Cultural Empowerment & Joy: Celebrations & Traditions, Cultural Empowerment & Joy: Family, Cultural Empowerment & Joy: Food, Family Relationship: Grandparents, Family Relationship: Parents, Own Voices/Lived Experience, Welcoming by Community
Setting: Unspecified (Western Country)
Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: Unknown Arrival
Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience
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Source: sandhyaparappukkaran.com