I appreciated the cultural exploration of how different people express love for one another. Make sure to read the backmatter for the author's own experiences of her Vietnamese family dynamics. I think this book will start many important conversations for families. ( )

Not what I was expecting it to be. Still a good book for kids but not the tool I was hoping for with working with traumatic situations and acceptance/love for kids. ( )

Ayoung Vietnamese girl discovers the varied ways in which her friends and family express their love for one another.

Looking for a special place to keep her feelings, Thương asks her friends where they keep their love for their parents. Her friends, a diverse array of children, share the ways they convey affection. These include a vocalized declaration like “I love you” as well as nonverbal actions that demonstrate appreciation and respect. Each of these examples is symbolically linked to a body part. One friend keeps it in his head and explains that trying his best and learning new things make his parents happy. Another friend keeps it in her heart, as doing fun things with her parents makes her happy. Thương also observes members of her family listening carefully, gardening, and cooking her favorite meal. This exploration of expressing familial devotion provides opportunities for social-emotional learning by connecting actions, both physical and emotional, with love. The gentle and affirming tone doesn’t prioritize one form over another and subtly introduces the ways culture can influence our expressions and how we reciprocate affection. The friendly cartoon illustrations are done in a cheery mix of bright pastel colors, which reinforces the soothing comfort of unconditional love. Thương is Vietnamese, and her friends have a range of skin tones and hair colors. A Vietnamese rhyme reflecting the story’s theme is reproduced in the backmatter along with an English translation.

A sweet and charming tale that validates different ways of expressing love. (author's note, Vietnamese glossary) (Picture book. 4-8)

-Kirkus Review

Where Thuong Keeps Love by Thu Buu
Series: No
Format: Hardback
Stars: 5
Recommend: Yes
Would Reread: Yes

I won the book from a LibraryThing giveaway.

I give honest reviews and all my opinions are my own.

For more of my reviews go to Heavenly High Seas Books
https://heavenlyhighseasbooks.blogspot.com/ ( )

Digital art is simple, colorful, and works well with the story. Nice big pages in this book and it's a plus that it's a hardcover. Enjoyed reading Buu's inspiration for the book and her own story of sharing with her class before it was published. At the end of the book are also two songs and a short Vietnamese translation guide of family members. There was clearly an intention to include ethnically diverse characters. Carlos is one of them and he's also obese. The story is a nice and different exploration of love and our culturally different expressions of it in a fictional story. Personally, I most enjoyed seeing traditional activities of gardening and cooking included and done within a multi-generational family.