When I Visited Grandma

A companion story to When I Found Grandma, When I Visited Grandma by Saumiya Balasubramaniam and Kavita Ramchandran features the sights and sounds of a bustling Indian marketplace.

Maya is finally in India visiting Grandma but everything is so loud. There are so many people always coming around wanting to meet Maya and it is very overwhelming. Also there is talk about an ICU and Maya is confused. Unfortunately, while they are visiting, Grandma ends up back in the ICU and misses out on the end of Maya’s visit.

I love a good intergenerational story. Saumiya Balasubramaniam succinctly captures the nuances of these types of relationships. When Maya visits with Grandma, she’s being rushed and introduced to so many people. It’s too much and she just wants quiet but in India, Grandma, her neighbours and friends are very close and everyone wants to meet. It can be tricky sometimes to want to spend time with your family but also have to spend time with a million other people at the same time. Maya’s feelings felt very familiar to me. I remember the overwhelm visiting with my grandparents when I was younger and feeling like I had to pack in so much all in one short visit.

Saumiya Balasubramaniam takes care with readers when she introduces Grandma being in the ICU. For readers who live with and/or are close with their grandparents, it’s something that may occur in their own lives. She is clear with her language around Grandma’s stay in the hospital and makes readers feel comforted rather than confused and scared.

I love Kavita Ramchandran’s illustrations. They are bright and vibrant and capture the hustle and bustle of an Indian marketplace. The illustrations fill the pages with colours and faces and food and reflect the sensory experience of visiting a new country.