Why read My Mother's Tongues?

Book cover of My Mother's Tongues: A Weaving of Languages

Book description

In a sparkling debut authored by a sixteen-year-old daughter of immigrants, this ode to the power of multilingualism gives voice to the lasting benefits of speaking with more than one tongue.
Sumi's mother can speak two languages, Malayalam and English. She can switch between them at the speed of sound:…

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Why read it?

1 author picked My Mother's Tongues as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Margaree King Mitchell

Author

I love this book because it is told by a girl who is the daughter of immigrants.

I was fascinated as Sumi described her life watching her mother switch between two languages, the language she was born into and English, depending on the situation she was in. I love this book because it shows the joy of being a multi-lingual person. I also like that Sumi’s mother talks to her in both languages, not favoring one over the other.

From Margaree's list on using music and history to inspire children.