*Signed Bookplates*

This poignant picture book by debut author Angela Pham Krans and illustrated by Caldecott Honoree Thi Bui (A Different Pond) follows young Mai and her mother’s perilous journey from Vietnam to America to find Papa—who left ahead of them to start a better life for their family. 

No one can make Mai laugh like her papa! She loves playing their favorite game—the crocodile chomp, chomp! But then Papa leaves Vietnam in search of a new home for their family in America and Mai misses him very much. Until one day Mama and Mai pack a small bag and say goodbye to the only home Mai has ever known. And so begins Mai and Mama’s long, perilous journey by foot and by boat, through dangers and darkness, to find Papa.

Angela Pham Krans’s lyrical debut picture book, based on her own experience as a child and powerfully brought to life by Thi Bui’s vivid illustrations, reminds us that love and courage can stretch an ocean and that nothing can keep us apart from those we care about.