The Train Home

Nari’s city household can be a challenging place: “Nari’s parents bicker,/ her grandparents chatter,/ and her little sister whines.” Readers see East Asian–presenting Nari gazing out her window at an elevated train. Maybe the train can carry her to a quieter place? As the cars rumble past, she boards one, then steps out its doors into a bower overgrown with twining blooms, moths, and other wildlife. In these woods, a child-size nest offers a place to “sleep and dream in the treetops.” The next stops see the child visiting a coral reef, a houseboat, a library—scenes portrayed in muted blues, greens, and golds, that, despite their activity, carry a sense of solitary quiet. The subway’s chrome siding and vintage signage offer piquant contrast to the lush natural surrounds. When the train carries Nari far into outer space, where “everything is beautiful,” she wishes her family were there, and it’s not long before she is ready to be back among them. Kim (The Grandmaster’s Daughter) affirms the push and pull of life for a city child who loves her family and finds needed sanctuary in the quiet of her own company. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)