Astrid Kamalyan grew up in Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia, and carries fond memories of her summers there, including her childhood participation in the carpet-washings of June. She brings this sweet remembrance to life with infectious joy in her debut picture book, Bábo: A Tale of Armenian Rug-Washing Day, illustrated by Anait Semirdzhyan (The Arabic Quilt).
The book's careful pacing builds anticipation: " 'IT'S TODA-A-AY!' I love this day," the story opens. Family members pull the rugs into the street and soak, soap, and scrub them, Kamalyan animating the adventure with frequent onomatopoeia ("Woof-woof! Giggle, giggle. Cluck-cluck!") and bustling action verbs: "We hop. We mop. We plop." Her use of repetition creates a pleasing rhythm throughout the text ("Brushes bop-bop-bop"), and nearly every page captures a sensory delight: the texture of the dried cherry plums the protagonist eats before cleaning the rugs; the "bubbly clouds" atop the soap-covered rugs; the garden air that smells like "simmering rose jam"; and the sound of a chicken who steals the show. A glossary is provided for the Armenian words and phrases Kamalyan works seamlessly into the text.
Semirdzhyan, also Armenian, captures the action with broken, energetic lines; bright pops of color on an earth-tone palette; and vibrant depictions of the handwoven rugs, one a "wool-and-silk dragon carpet." The story closes with a "sunny apricot pie" treat in the kitchen. At the center of it all is the girl's beloved Bábo (grandmother), who is "sunnier than the sun." This story of intergenerational warmth should leave readers with a smile. --Julie Danielson, reviewer and copyeditor