Words Between Us

by Angela Pham Krans, Dung Ho (Illustrator)

Overview

From Angela Pham Krans (Finding Papa) and Dung Ho (New York Times bestselling illustrator of Eyes That Kiss in the Corners) comes a poignant picture book that tenderly portrays the intergenerational bond between a boy named Felix and his grandma that’s cemented over food—and flash cards—when Grandma comes to live with Felix’s family from Vietnam. Perfect for fans of Drawn Together. 

Felix and Grandma have always lived oceans apart—until the day Grandma arrives. Felix is so excited to meet Grandma and spend time with her.

Except she doesn’t know English!

And he doesn’t know much Vietnamese!

But maybe they can connect in other ways—like over their shared love of pizza.

One day, when Grandma gets lost and doesn’t know how to ask for help, Felix decides to teach her English. And by working together and teaching each other, they just might learn to share words as well.

This tender and heartwarming story from Angela Pham Krans and Dung Ho shows how love transcends language and how food and flashcards can bring family together.

Finding Papa by Angela Pham Krans and Thi Bui has been named the 2024 Asian/Pacific American Award Picture Honor Book by the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063224544
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/03/2023
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	116,962
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Angela Pham Krans is the award-winning author of Finding Papa, which received ALA’s Asian/Pacific American Honor Award for Literature. Her other titles include Words Between Us and Another Word for Neighbor. Angela enjoys writing humorous and heartfelt stories that highlight relationships between family, friends, and community. When Angela isn’t writing, she enjoys traveling, trying new recipes, and spending time with family. Angela lives in Atlanta with her husband, Hamilton, and their rambunctious dog, Archer. You can connect with her at angelakrans.com.

Dung (pronounced Dzung) Ho is a New York Times bestselling illustrator based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Her work focuses on children’s books. She also loves to draw interesting characters with unique personalities. When she’s not drawing, she enjoys cooking, watching movies, walking, and tending to her plants. Visit her at : https://www.dungho.me/.

Editorial Reviews

10/09/2023

Humor and empathy guide a Vietnamese American boy’s attempts to acclimate his grandmother to a new home and language in this tenderhearted title. When Grandma leaves Vietnam to live with Felix’s family, he makes his favorite food for her first special dinner: “ ‘Peet suh,’ Grandma said. It was her first meal in America and the first English word Felix taught her.” Shared activities deepen their connection, but when they’re briefly separated during a visit to the city’s biggest festival, “Felix didn’t like Grandma being scared” (“People were very nice, but they didn’t understand me,” Grandma notes), prompting Felix to begin teaching her English. Pham Krans and Ho build a well-paced story around simple scenes in which the two characters bond—looking at photos, playing music, caring for a pet, gardening—and experience moments when “they didn’t need to say anything at all.” Buoyant digital illustrations capture domestic family life and busy city scenes. A recipe for Vietnamese pizza concludes. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"There is a beautiful sense of symmetry in Felix and his grandma’s relationship as they connect over their interests and lovingly support each other through challenges. Ho’s digital illustrations are simply stunning... a heartwarming tale of intergenerational bonding." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"This story of a Vietnamese American family and Grandma’s immigration to the United States has all the right ingredients: beauty, warmth, and relatability...Krans’s text feels down-to-earth and authentic, deftly conveying respect for Felix and Grandma as both learners and as experts in their different ways. Ho (Eyes that Kiss in the Corners) uses a palette of complementary yellows, blues, greens, and reds to show the joyful home of this Vietnamese American family...Recommended for every collection, but especially those with immigrant populations" — School Library Journal (starred review)

Words Between Us is a tender, respectful depiction of a frequently occurring situation as older generations migrate to the U.S. The illustrations are colorful and add a sense of whimsy while capturing the strong, loving bond between Felix and Grandma. The recipe at the end is a bonus in this delightful story. — Booklist

"Humor and empathy guide a Vietnamese American boy’s attempts to acclimate his grandmother to a new home and language in this tenderhearted title. Pham Krans and Ho build a well-paced story around simple scenes in which the two characters bond—looking at photos, playing music, caring for a pet, gardening—and experience moments when 'they didn’t need to say anything at all.' Buoyant digital illustrations capture domestic family life and busy city scenes." — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

★ 10/27/2023

PreS-Gr 3—This story of a Vietnamese American family and Grandma's immigration to the United States has all the right ingredients: beauty, warmth, and relatability. Felix meets Grandma for the first time when she moves from Vietnam to live with Felix and his family. He teaches her all sorts of things, like how to play the drums and care for his pet iguana. Grandma teaches Felix, too, like a song from her childhood and how to grow a vegetable garden. But when they get separated at a festival, Grandma realizes there is one more thing she'd like to learn: English. Krans's text feels down-to-earth and authentic, deftly conveying respect for Felix and Grandma as both learners and as experts in their different ways. Ho (Eyes that Kiss in the Corners) uses a palette of complementary yellows, blues, greens, and reds to show the joyful home of this Vietnamese American family. English/Vietnamese flashcards in hand-lettering with child-like crayon drawings are sprinkled throughout the pages and plaster the bookends. A recipe for "Vietnamese pizza" at the end gives readers the opportunity to learn right alongside Felix and Grandma. VERDICT Recommended for every collection, but especially those with immigrant populations.—Hillary Perelyubskiy

School Library Journal

★ 2023-09-23
A child of Vietnamese descent helps his grandmother get acclimated to their home in the United States.

Felix meets his grandma for the first time when she arrives from Vietnam to live with his family. The two quickly bond over pizza, music, and gardening. One day, Grandma gets lost at a city festival and, because she doesn’t speak English, can’t ask for help. Felix finds her and, later, decides to teach her English. He makes flashcards for different words, helping his grandma learn new words until “words became phrases. And phrases became sentences.” With a stronger command of English, Grandma begins to make new friends and navigates their world with greater ease. There is a beautiful sense of symmetry in Felix and his grandma’s relationship as they connect over their interests and lovingly support each other through challenges. Ho’s digital illustrations are simply stunning. Vivid colors and sunlight permeate each scene, creating a sense of warmth and joy that thrums through the book even during difficult moments. Eye-catching visual details, from the various people in the crowd scenes to the flashcards in the endpapers, add depth and personality to the world they live in. The tale wraps up with a recipe for Vietnamese pizza, just like the one that Grandma makes.

A heartwarming tale of intergenerational bonding. (Vietnamese-English glossary) (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews