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Many Things at Once

by Veera Hiranandani Publisher: RANDOM HOUSE STUDIO

Award Winner

A family history with more than one inheritance

Regular price $18.12 USD
Regular price $30.21 USD Sale price $18.12 USD
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Hardcover New English

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Awards & Recognition

  • Award recognition

    Asian Pacific American Award winner

    The supplied long description identifies the book as an Asian Pacific American Award winner.

AlbakiReads Editorial

A family history with more than one inheritance

Family stories connect a young girl to her Jewish and South Asian roots, tracing each side through memories of a Brooklyn seamstress, a grandmother cooking dal in Pakistan, and her parents’ meeting in Poughkeepsie. Those histories give shape to the girl’s uncertainty about belonging fully to either background. A butterfly she notices in her yard helps frame the book’s central idea: identity can hold several parts at once, and feelings of difference can exist alongside pride and happiness. Drawing on the author’s family history, the picture book brings multigenerational experience and a child’s sense of self into the same story.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Children ages 4–8 exploring family heritage or belonging
  • Families interested in stories about Jewish and South Asian backgrounds
  • Adults seeking a picture book that opens conversations about holding multiple identities

Themes

Multigenerational family historyJewish and South Asian heritageBelonging and identityFeeling differentFamily stories

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

In this poignant picture book about family and belonging, the child of a Jewish mother and a South Asian father hears stories about her family history. Sometimes she doesn't feel Jewish enough or South Asian enough, but comes to realize you can feel--and be--many things at once.

AN ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD WINNER


Based on the author's own family history, here is a moving story about a young girl from two different backgrounds. The girl's mother tells her stories about her mother, a Jewish seamstress in Brooklyn, New York. She lived in a tiny two-bedroom apartment and sewed wedding dresses shimmering in satin and lace.

Her father tells stories of his mother, the girl's other grandmother, who liked to cook bubbling dal on a coal stove in Pakistan. They tell stories about how both sides came to America, and how, eventually, her parents met on a warm summer evening in Poughkeepsie.

The girl sometimes feels as if she's the "only one like me." One day, when she spots a butterfly in her yard, she realizes it's okay to be different--no two butterflies are alike, after all. It's okay to feel alone sometimes, but also happy and proud. It's okay to feel-- and be-- many things at once.
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Customer reviews

M
AlbakiReads
Malaika Taylor

I highly recommend to for anyone looking for inner clarity

T
AlbakiReads
Thomas DiMassa

Great service and fast service

Great shopping experience! The book arrived quickly, was well packaged, and matched the description perfectly. I would definitely shop with you again

O
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Olivia

Smooth.