Nana, Nenek & Nina - by Liza Ferneyhough (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Nina's visits to her two faraway grandmothers-one in Malaysia and one in England-unfold side-by-side, featuring similarities and differences between the two"--

Book Synopsis

***ALA Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature honor***

Nina loves visiting her two faraway grandmas--one in Malaysia and one in England. Spot the similarities and differences between their homes in this cozy and beautifully illustrated picture book!

Nina lives in San Francisco with her parents, and she loves visiting her two grandmas across the world. Follow Nina as her two trips unfold side by side: Young readers will love poring over the details of what is the same and what is different at Nana's home in England and at Nenek's home in Malaysia. In each place, Nina wears different clothes, plays different games, and eats different food. But so much about visiting Nana and Nenek is the same, from warm hugs at the airport to beach days and bedtime snuggles. Nina is equally at home across the world in Malaysia or England, and both of her grandmas love her to California and back.

***Three starred reviews!***
Publishers Weekly Flying Start
Shelf Awareness Best Children's & YA Books
*"Conveys differences and similarities bound together by love, and offers a joyful narrative of multicultural childhood."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

Review Quotes

APALA Honor
Publishers Weekly Flying Start
Shelf Awareness Best Children's & YA Books
Bank Street Best Children's Books of the Year
NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book

★ "This graceful, meticulously detailed picture book is a loving ode to two cultures . . . Young readers will want to circle back to pore over the precise renderings of each place's characteristics and to relive the day with Nana, Nenek, and Nina."--BCCB, starred review

★ "[Ferneyhough's] beloved memories clearly inspire her whimsical, heartwarming debut, painted on tea-strained paper with gorgeous watercolors, all dazzlingly enhanced by her ingenious presentation."--Shelf Awareness, starred review

★ "Simultaneous portrayals cleverly elevate Ferneyhough's picture book debut . . . Balancing images, patterns, and hues, these juxtapositions convey the ease with which Nina lives in three cultures--and the affection she receives in each--in a book that conveys differences and similarities bound together by love, and offers a joyful narrative of multicultural childhood."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Though life with each of her grandmothers is different, ultimately Nina finds love with both of them in this gentle tale. The illustrations are studded with homey details, and the warm tones add to the welcoming and cozy atmosphere. A lovely story, grounded in visual details, about how identity can be uncomplicated."--Kirkus Reviews

"This engaging book will widen the world for young listeners and their families."--School Library Journal

"In whichever setting she finds herself, Nina feels secure in her family's love and secure in her own identity as a contemporary bicultural child."--The Horn Book

About the Author

Liza Ferneyhough is an illustrator living in San Francisco by way of Malaysia, England, Silicon Valley, and Austin, TX. She was born in Kuala Lumpur, and grew up mostly in California, the oldest of four kids in a family with passports from three different countries. She loves drawing locales both far and near, multicultural and multiracial girls, food, plants, letterforms, fairytales, bugs, and other assorted beasties and natural oddities. Nana, Nenek, and Nina is her first picture book.