Meena's Saturday
A slice-of-life story with a feminist message about a young Indian girl and her sisters managing a bustling house full of boisterous guests on a busy Saturday.
Saturday mornings start early for Meena. She and her sisters watch the sun rise while drinking chai before they clean the house and then head to the grocery store . . . while their brother gets to stay in bed. As the guests arrive, including Meena's favorite cousins, the women crowd into the kitchen to cook. The doorbell rings nonstop as family, neighbors, and friends fill the bustling house. Once fresh chapatis are made, dinner begins—for the men. But Meena spots an empty seat at the table and decides today is the day she makes an important change.
Meena’s Saturday by Kusum Mepani, with exuberant illustrations by Yasmeen Ismail, is the charming story of a family’s weekend ritual, a love letter to the gatherings of community and family, and an example of how changing long-standing traditions can start with you.
Kusum Mepani has been migrating her entire life. She was born in Kenya but moved to England, where she grew up in the crowded, chaotic, loving house seen in this book, surrounded by so many cousins, uncles, and aunts that she can’t even remember all their names. As an adult, she moved to New York and finally California, where she now lives with her husband, two sons, and a dog.
Yasmeen Ismail (Illustrator)
Yasmeen Ismail is an award-winning, London based illustrator and animator with a love of inks, paints and watercolours, and an interest in paper craft, design, typography and collage. She hails from Ireland and graduated from art school in Dublin in 2002. She is now based in London.