My Language Is a Garden

In a dreamy, metaphor-driven picture book—inspired, per an author’s note, by Alaraj’s husband’s attempts to teach their children Arabic—a caretaker invites a child to learn “my language” by connecting their mother tongue to the larger world of places, objects, and tangible experiences. Rhyming, metaphor-peppered lines offer sensory details around the adult narrator’s perceptions of the vernacular: “My language is a garden,/ a passage by the sea./ It’s a jungle./ It’s a forest, with every kind of tree.” In turn, Wada portrays figures across varied landscapes—from a flower-filled field and a sand-swept desert to snowy mountains and the starry cosmos. In a heartfelt tribute to the roots, rhythms, and reasons behind learning and speaking one’s heritage language, this uplifting text addresses the work of raising a child connected to their family’s culture. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. An author’s note concludes. Ages 6–8. (Feb.)