Box of dreams

A mother and child connect with loved ones by post and shared memory in Kazmi's cheerfully told debut. When a child sporting a red dress wonders about the box Mama is packing, Mama says, "It's a balikbayan box. It means return to home, and it's how we share our blessings with our family. This box makes me feel closer to them." The items being packed prompt Mama to share stories of her childhood in the Philippines, picking mangos to eat as an after-school snack and splashing in the Pacific Ocean. Eager to share, the child adds their own items for cousins--plus a wish to visit family in the Philippines. Specific details (e.g., Mama's including a particular, hard-to-find toothpaste in the box) capture the care that goes into the final product, and Almeda's inventive digital images, which show Mama placed in moments of reminiscence while packing the box, add imaginative flair to this straightforward telling with a connective heart. An author's note concludes. Ages 4--8. (May)

A child helps pack a balikbayan box, a package of presents sent by members of the Filipino diaspora to family back home. "Balikbayan" means "return to home," explains Mama to the young narrator. A large cardboard box sits on the floor of their living room, surrounded by canned food, cookies, shampoo, chocolate, and other items. This box is "how we share our blessings with our family" and "feel closer to them, even though we're so far away," Mama says. The child excitedly examines the pasalubong, or gifts. The yellow pencils spur Mama's happy memories as a schoolgirl in the Philippines; readers see a scene of Mama skipping around rice paddles against the backdrop of the cone-shaped Mayon Volcano and trees filled with sweet mangoes. Inspired, the child wants to contribute, too. After gathering a shirt covered with gold stars, a rainbow ruler, and a sparkly jacket, the little one returns to find Mama reminiscing about beloved foods that her family will make with their gifts. As the duo tape up the box, the child slips in one last thing: a wish to visit the family in the Philippines. Almeda perfectly matches the cozy tone of Kazmi's evenly paced, tender tale with warm colors and expressive cartoons that fill each page. This is one big package of love and joy. (author's note) (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.