Molly Misses Nainai

The evolution of the picture book genre in Canada has seen a noticeable increase in the variety of subject matter that authors have explored, particularly in relation to representing the perspectives and experiences of people from different Asian backgrounds. Some picture books, such as Kimberly Lee’s Boys Don’t Fry, Flo Leung’s The Tray of Togetherness, and Richard Ho’s Two New Years, introduce readers to cultural traditions, holidays, and cuisine through engaging stories that are narrated from young people’s perspectives. Others have focused on illuminating specific histories, stories, and mythologies pertinent for those communities—such as Helaine Becker’s Pirate Queen: A Story of Zheng Yi Sao—or the psychological and emotional impact of immigrating to another country for both the first generation and their descendants, such as Jessica J. Lee’s A Garden Called Home and Mark Sakamoto’s Shizue’s Path.

A recent addition to this body of literature, Emma Chen’s Molly Misses Nainai is a gentle and moving story about a young Chinese girl named Molly and her relationship with her grandmother who has returned to China due to her visa’s expiration. Through its exploration of Molly’s close bond with her grandmother, the book takes readers through Molly’s psychological and emotional journey in coming to terms with her grandmother’s absence and finding ways to sustain the vibrancy of their relationship despite the immense geographical distance that separates them.

The story is narrated with language that young readers will find easy to understand. At first glance, the story may appear fairly straightforward and deceptively simple, but it successfully conveys the complexity of thoughts and feelings that arise when two people miss each other. In the book’s first scene, Molly puts on her winter coat and goes outside with a small suitcase, pretending that she is going on a flight to visit her grandmother in China. The subsequent pages delve into Molly’s various memories about the time that she has spent with her grandmother, both in China as well as in Canada after her family has emigrated. Because her grandmother has been a warm and steady presence who has brought Molly joy and comfort for as long as she can remember, her absence is especially difficult because of their long and close relationship.

Huang’s illustrations complement the story by supporting the progression of its plot as well as conveying Molly’s interior journey from despondency to acceptance. The book’s publication details indicate that the illustrations were created through the use of digital media, but they appear strikingly natural and do not detract from their narrative impact. The illustrations achieve a good balance with the accompanying text and help to convey the appropriate tone throughout the story.

For example, when Molly leaves her house at the start of the story, the accompanying two-page illustration shows her walking away, with the neighbourhood surrounding her. The expansive surroundings and night sky above her all accentuate her smallness, isolation, and loneliness. Later in the story, several illustrations contribute to the narrative’s emotional impact by evoking Molly’s recollections of her grandmother. The illustrations depict Molly and her grandmother together and are drawn with soft lines and gentle colours that evoke warmth, comfort, and familiarity which convey the shared affection between the two of them. They are shown together in various activities: Molly plays on the swing while her grandmother looks on happily; Molly helps her in the kitchen while her grandmother cooks; and Molly snuggles contentedly in bed with her grandmother while she reads a story and sings a lullaby.

The latter part of Molly Misses Nainai reveals that Molly’s bond with her grandmother will always remain strong. Her grandmother’s absence has left a significant and irreplaceable gap in Molly’s daily life that will always remain as speaking with her grandmother over a video chat or sending letters can never substitute for having her here. Nevertheless, the story ends on a hopeful and uplifting note as Molly comes to terms with her grandmother’s absence and derives some comfort from the fact that they can still keep in touch, even if she cannot be physically present. Molly still misses her grandmother a lot, but the lullaby brings them together as it evokes their shared memories of their time together.

Molly Misses Nainai would be a welcome addition to any library that would like to build its representation of literary voices from different cultural communities, broaden the coverage of themes in its picture book collection, or increase its inclusion of stories that deal sensitively with intergenerational relationships and the impact of familial separation. The book effectively explores themes in a way that avoids didacticism or moralizing by focusing on the elucidation of Molly’s feelings and actions which are suitably understandable and realistic as she is a young girl. The publisher has identified this book as a suitable read for children between the ages of six and eight years old, but people of all ages can appreciate its poignant approach to familial separation.

Due to its themes, Molly Misses Nainai can be incorporated readily into different pedagogical contexts and discussed in various ways. For example, teachers can use this book to stimulate discussion around what it means to miss someone. Although the book features Asian characters, students of all backgrounds can identify readily with Molly’s feelings about her grandmother’s absence since they can draw upon their own experiences with friends, relatives, or other significant people in their lives with whom they share a close bond. This topic can also be approached from the perspective of culturally specific experiences and immigration. This picture book can also be discussed alongside other books that deal with these topics differently and, in doing so, analyzed for how they approach the same subject matter through their respective interplay of text and image. For example, an interesting comparative discussion could emerge between this book and Mei Zihan’s New Year. Whereas a young girl longs for an adult in Chen’s book, the reverse occurs in Zihan’s book as it is the adult who longs for his daughter. In both cases, the characters in these books contemplate and deal with that geographical distance in different ways.

Emma Chen is an Assistant Professor of Children’s and Young Adult Literature at Western Washington University. Prior to joining that university, she was a Lecturer in early literacy and children’s literature at the University of Saskatchewan. Her family’s time spent living in Saskatchewan inspired her to write this book that is based on a personal experience with her daughter. Besides writing, Chen has taught Chinese to adult learners and worked with children and their families in family literacy programs. Sean Huang, an artist and illustrator from Regina, Saskatchewan, has exhibited his work across Canada and China.