Babu's Song

Review
By Midwest Book Review

Stuve-Bodeen, a Peace Corps volunteer in the 1980s, is the award-winning author of Elizabeti’s Doll and its sequels, Mama Elizabeti and Elizabeti’s School. Babu’s Song, written for ages 4-8, is an honest look into the heart of the soul and the ties that bind us to those we love. Babu knows the deepest desires of his grandson’s heart, and Bernardi knows the value of his grandfather’s love. The actions each take to test and honor their relationship with another, and the mistakes they make in the process, drive Stuve-Bodeen’s story in a direction that will spark reader empathy for their struggle and the unexpected resolution. As Bernardi’s remorse is greeted with Babu’s forgiveness and acceptance, a stronger bond forms between them, giving way to a flood of loving expressions that will both satisfy and surprise in the end. Boyd, an illustrator with a fine arts degree, is the illustrator of LEE & LOW’s Bebop Books imprint. Free of hard lines and outlines, his easy-flowing watercolors give Babu’s Song, his first picture book, an emotional internsity. His artistic style captures the sense of scene in this foreign land, generating a fluid energy and movement scene after scene