Where I Grew

A young girl walks through the forest with her grandfather, noticing animals, plants, and the turning of the seasons. Their walk reflects her family’s journey of putting down roots, shaping her own life. Jashar’s words will strike a chord with any immigrant family who has called a new place their home. Rahele’s bright and beautiful illustrations draw parallels between the girl’s journey and a seed that travels to a new land and flourishes there.

When I asked Jashar about the book’s inspiration, he pointed to the struggles of undocumented child immigrants, shaped in part by his grandfather’s journey to the US and his family’s moves within the country. He added, “𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙪𝙥 𝙞𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮.” How true!

Verdict: Highly recommended for Grades 1 and above.

Book releases in March 2026. Thank you, Norton Young Readers for the ARC. Views expressed are 100% my own and unbiased.