The Yellow Suitcase

In the spring of 2010, author Meera Sriram’s children lost their first grandparent who, at the time, was living in India. The Yellow Suitcase was inspired by her children’s journey through the grieving process.

The Yellow Suitcase focuses on Asha who, along with her parents, goes to India to attend her grandma’s funeral. She brings with her the bright yellow suitcase that once held presents for her grandma and, on her return home, Grandma’s presents for her. Like every time before, Asha expects to see Grandma waiting on the front porch, and she is hurt by the empty chair that confronts her. Even though Asha understands that Grandma is gone, she still asks her father, “Will I ever see her again?”

While her mother, father and relatives mourn Grandma’s passing with prayers and offerings, Asha chooses to keep to herself until, one day, the pain of Asha’s loss bursts out as does the regret for not being present to save her.

“Maybe we should’ve been here earlier to save Grandma,” Asha said.

“But that wouldn’t have changed anything, dear,” Mom said, stroking Asha’s hair. “Grandma was very sick.”

Asha pulled the blanket over her face.

At the end of the trip, Asha wants to leave the yellow suitcase behind, but she is surprised to find it holds a gift from Grandma, a quilt made from her saris. Tears begin to fall as Asha runs her fingertips over her embroidered name.

Though Meera Sethi’s illustrations are quite vibrant, Sethi needed to pay closer attention to the text because her artwork doesn’t match the details of the story. For example, Grandma’s picture isn’t hanging “on a wall shelf” but directly on the wall. It’s a small detail, but such details do add up. Similarly, there’s a major point of confusion with Sriram’s text because Asha empties her suitcase when overcome by grief but, at the end of the story, that’s where the quilt is revealed to be, possibly leaving some readers unclear as to how it got there.

The Yellow Suitcase touches on the isolation a child can feel when coming to terms with the loss of a loved one. By giving voice to the guilt that many children bear at this incredibly difficult time, and by allowing Asha to receive a final gift from her grandmother, Sriram offers young readers the message that their loved ones are always with them.