The Seasons of Parastoo

by Rashin Kheiriyeh, Rashin Kheiriyeh (Illustrator)

Overview

When Parastoo’s mother must go away for the winter, the cycles of nature give Parastoo hope that her mother, like the birds, will return in the spring.

Parastoo loves the colors that make up her world, and especially loves the blue swallows in the tree outside her window. She’s sad when they fly south for the winter—and this year is hard because her mom has to go away for a while, too. Fortunately, her grandparents take great care of her, and she continues to find joy in the wonders of each season. But she longs for spring, when her mother will return just like the swallows.

Celebrating the cycles of nature, this warm family story offers a reassuring message about how seasons of nature—and life—come and go, each with their own special beauty.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593108918
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	08/06/2024
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.31(w) x 10.31(h) x 0.36(d)
Lexile:	AD530L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Rashin Kheiriyeh (rashinart.com) is an award-winning illustrator, author, animator, and painter who has published over ninety children’s books in more than a dozen countries. In 2023, she was nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, and she has received fifty national and international awards, including the Sendak Fellowship Award, the Bologna Book Fair New Horizon Award, the Golden Apple Award (Slovakia), and the FAJR Film Festival Crystal Roc Award (Iran). She has a Doctorate in illustration and an MFA in graphic design. She’s the artist for Sugarland (Shekarestan), the most popular animated TV series in Iran, and a lecturer in the University of Maryland art department. She was born in Iran, and now lives in Washington DC.

Editorial Reviews

05/06/2024

Parastoo, a child whose name means “swallow bird” in Farsi, loves the swallows that live in the tree outside her window—“They are the bluest blue she’s ever seen, like a little piece of the sky.” In mixed-media paintings, Kheiriyeh (This Baby. That Baby.) shows Parastoo and her mother gazing at the birds darting and swooping outside. In the summer, the birds fly among the blooming flowers, and in the autumn, they head south. So does Parastoo’s mother, a nurse who travels to the border to care for soldiers. The swallows and Parastoo’s mom will be back in the spring, so Parastoo makes a calendar and checks the days off to help the time pass more quickly, and her grandparents think of amusements to ease the period of longing. In spreads tinged with electric hues, the wind seems to always be blowing; autumn leaves dance, the ribbon on Parastoo’s mother’s hat flies, and, as Parastoo and her grandfather work on a project, their scarves wave. In every season, the beautiful blue that Parastoo loves appears somewhere in the artwork. Waiting is difficult, but the swallows always return—and so does Parastoo’s mother, in this loving meditation on the progression of seasons and missing a loved one. Ages 3–7. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Spreads tinged with electric hues. . . . In every season, the beautiful blue that Parastoo loves appears somewhere in the artwork. Waiting is difficult, but the swallows always return—and so does Parastoo’s mother, in this loving meditation on the progression of seasons and missing a loved one.” —Publishers Weekly

“Bright, dynamic illustrations feature blue and orange motifs throughout, lending the book a feeling of vibrancy even in moments of sadness. The passing of the seasons parallels the separation of mother and daughter, and moments of melancholy are enlivened by hope. . . . A rich story that urges readers to hold on to hope.” —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2024-05-17
A young girl is enchanted by the beautiful blue swallows outside her window.

Parastoo loves to watch the birds, which look like “a little piece of the sky.” In summer, she admires them from her mother’s lap as they dart among the pink, orange, and yellow blossoms. In autumn, she’s unhappy that the birds fly away. Her mother explains that they migrate south, where it’s warmer, and her grandmother reassures her that they will return. Soon, Parastoo’s mother, a nurse, must leave for the border. Parastoo’s grandparents step up to take care of her. In her dreams, Parastoo flies with the swallows to visit her mother and to see the important work she’s doing treating injured soldiers. Her grandfather encourages her to make birdhouses for the swallows’ arrival in the spring. Spring comes, but the birds don’t, and Parastoo worries they’ve lost their way. But soon she’s heartened by the chirping of the swallows and the long-awaited arrival of her mother. Bright, dynamic illustrations feature blue and orange motifs throughout, lending the book a feeling of vibrancy even in moments of sadness. The passing of the seasons parallels the separation of mother and daughter, and moments of melancholy are enlivened by hope. Characters are brown-skinned, and though geographic locations aren’t specified, the book’s dedication hints at an Iranian setting.

A rich story that urges readers to hold on to hope. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews