Mango Memories

Here is a completely captivating picture book that celebrates family, tradition...and mangoes!

Every summer, the branches of a little girl’s favorite tree droops heavy with mangoes. And this year, she is finally old enough to help her family harvest them.

Her brother shares a memory about his first time mango picking: his father holding him steady as he reached high above for the fruit. But when the girl climbs the tree, she becomes too dizzy. Then her grandma shares a mango memory: learning, many years ago, to toss a stone that knocked the fruit from the branches. But when the girl throws her stone, she keeps missing.

How can this little heroine create her own mango memory if she can’t even pick a mango?

Narrated by a determined young Indian child, and set in a lush mango grove, here is a picture book that honors generational traditions and beautifully introduces young readers to a culture with which they may not be familiar.

Sita Singh writes heart-warming stories with a South Asian backdrop. She is the author of Birds of a Feather, illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman, which was a Dolly Parton Imagination Library selection. Another upcoming picture book--Indigo Hands--will be published by Anne Schwartz Books in Fall 2024. Born and raised in Ahmedabad, India, Sita now lives in South Florida with her family.

Nabi H. Ali is a Tamil-American illustrator who enjoys creating diverse works that showcase an array of cultures and people. He is the illustrator of several picture books, including Laxmi’s Mooch, which received three starred reviews, was featured on The Today Show, and was a New York Public Library Staff Pick, A Charlotte Huck Honor Book, and a ALSC Notable Children’s Book. His other illustrated picture books include Beautifully Me and We Move the World. Nabi lives in California.