MANY THINGS AT ONCE

A Jewish Indian girl learns about her family’s history.

As the young narrator looks at old family photographs, her parents tell her stories about her grandparents. Her maternal grandmother was a Jewish seamstress in Brooklyn, while her paternal Indian grandmother liked to cook “spicy sai bhaji and bubbling dal.” Her maternal grandfather escaped the pogroms in Poland, while her paternal grandparents fled their home during the Partition of India. Years later, her parents met in New York. They tell her she’s lucky “to be both Indian and American, to be both Jewish and Hindu, to be part of many things at once.” But the girl sometimes feels as though she doesn’t quite fit in anywhere—she doesn’t know the words to the Hebrew songs at Passover, and she doesn’t understand Hindi like her relatives do. At school she learns that no two butterflies are exactly the same. As she considers this idea, she realizes that she, too, is unique and part of many things at once. This thoughtful portrait explores the doubt that many interfaith and biracial children feel about not fully belonging. Hiranandani gives her young protagonist room to appreciate both of her religions and cultures and to accept herself. The scrapbook-esque illustrations, which shift between pictures from the family’s album, memories, and present moments, offer a nice visual touch that tells a story of its own.

A quiet reflection on belonging and acceptance.