MY ÔNG NGOẠI’S GARDEN

A little boy chats with his grandfather about the fruits he grows in his garden in Chau’s picture book.

Cal is excited to take readers into his grandfather’s garden. His Ông ngoại (maternal grandfather) learned to grow fruit when he worked on a farm in Vietnam; now, he grows his own fruit. The story unfolds as Cal and his Ông ngoại chat about each fruit Cal picks up, including a soursop, durian, passion fruit, banana, longan, and dragon fruit. Each fruit is identified in English, followed by the Vietnamese word. When Cal and his grandfather finish picking, they have far too much to eat. Though Cal doesn’t like sharing, his grandfather reminds him that “sharing is one way to show people we care.” Because the book has little in the way of description or insight into the characters’ thoughts, the story remains on the surface level: Cal and his grandfather get fruit, then decide to share it. But it’s easy enough to read between the lines—Cal and his grandfather connect through food, and discussing food is one way Ông ngoại passes culture and tradition down to his grandson. The soft-edged digital illustrations by QBN Studios give Cal a doll-like shape, while his grandfather is more realistically rendered. Most of the fruits are shown both on the vine and cut open to help readers identify potentially unfamiliar produce.

A warmly presented showcase of Vietnamese fruit vocabulary.