Amah Faraway

Description: Nervous about visiting her grandmother in Taipei, Taiwan, a young girl soon adjusts to her unfamiliar surroundings and enjoys the adventure.

Brief description: Tracy Subisak is the author and illustrator of Sorry, Snail and award-winning Jenny Mei Is Sad, and the illustrator of several picture books including Amah Faraway and This Book Is Not For You!. Her books have been featured in publications such as the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. She is of Polish and Taiwanese heritage and a believer that stories connect us all in some way. Tracy currently resides in Taiwan with her buddy-for-life Matty and turtle Ah Dou.

Review Quotes:

"A heartfelt homage to her Taiwanese heritage that binds multiple generations on either side of the globe. . . . Margaret Chiu Greanias and Tracy Subisak delightfully, inventively present a hesitant child's transformative reunion with her Taiwanese grandmother on the other side of the world." --Shelf Awareness, starred review

"Subisak's watercolor, pencil, and ink illustrations lovingly show details from Taiwanese life and culture. Ranging from multiple vignettes per page to full spreads, they possess an almost cinematic storyboard quality while supporting the mirrored narrative symmetry that has the hot spring visit as its midpoint. . . . This is a poignantly emotional and highly relatable story for children whose grandparents or other family members might live far away, but also one that teaches universal lessons about overcoming fears of the unfamiliar." --School Library Journal, starred review

"An au courant portrayal of a transnational childhood." --Kirkus Reviews

"A sympathetic portrayal of long-distance family ties." --Booklist

"Encouraging openness toward new experiences amid a centering of one child's diasporic shift in cultural perception, this contemporary tale tenderly spotlights the strengthening of an intergenerational relationship." --Publishers Weekly