Mepani

A slice-of-life story with a feminist message about a young Indian girl and her sisters managing a bustling house full of boisterous guests on a busy Saturday.

Saturday mornings start early for Meena. She and her sisters watch the sun rise while drinking chai before they clean the house and then head to the grocery store . . . while their brother gets to stay in bed. As the guests arrive, including Meena’s favorite cousins, the women crowd into the kitchen to cook. The doorbell rings nonstop as family, neighbors, and friends fill the bustling house. Once fresh chapatis are made, dinner begins--for the men. But Meena spots an empty seat at the table and decides today is the day she makes an important change.

Meena’s Saturday by Kusum Mepani, with exuberant illustrations by Yasmeen Ismail, is the charming story of a family’s weekend ritual, a love letter to the gatherings of community and family, and an example of how changing long-standing traditions can start with you.

Kusum Mepani has been migrating her entire life. She was born in Kenya but moved to a small town in England when she was little. She grew up in the crowded, crazy, loving house seen in this book, surrounded by so many cousins, uncles, and aunts that she can’t even remember all of their names. She moved to London as a teenager and then began a career in finance that took her to New York and finally California, where she now lives in a crowded, crazy, loving house filled with a husband, two sons, a dog, and some fish. The one constant in her wandering life has been her love of reading, but this is the first book she has written. She hopes you enjoy it.

Yasmeen Ismail is an Irish-born, Bristol-based award-winning author, illustrator, and animator. Yasmeen studied at art school in her hometown, Dublin. After graduating, Yasmeen moved to London, where she worked on many different projects ranging from advertising and short films to children’s publishing. After a few years of working in London, she changed careers and began writing and illustrating picture books. She loves to work with anything that will give her bright colors and good marks on the page. Yasmeen loves to experiment and expand in all areas of her work and is constantly trying new ways to improve her writing and drawing. Yasmeen has illustrated over fifteen books and written twelve. You can find her drinking coffee when she’s not painting or writing. She lives in Bristol with her husband, their two little children, and Betty the cat.