Sadiq Wants to Stitch

“He was happiest when his long needle danced through a maze of multi-colored threads and wondrous patterns came alive under his fingers.” Sadiq’s community is the Bakarwals of Kashmir, India, who travel with their goats and sheep through the year. In sturdy, colorful spreads, Wadia (Saving the Dalai Lama’s Cranes) portrays mountain scenery and the tent where Sadiq lives with his widowed mother, Ammi, who stitches rugs in bright yarn motifs. Sadiq delights in helping Ammi and dreams of more ambitious textile projects, but Ammi is reluctant due to heavy social pressure: “Have you ever seen any other boy in our community stitch?” When his mother falls ill and can’t complete a commission, Sadiq grabs his chance. In prose by Nainy (A Brush with Indian Art) that leans toward the reportorial (“He lifted his tousled head from his pillow”), she delivers triumph for Sadiq and warm gratification in his mother’s prompt about-face, creating a warm picture of gender role resistance. An end note, “The Bakarwals of Kashmir,” further details the ethnic group and its art form. Ages 7–9. [em](Sept.) [/em]