Namaste!

by Diana Cohn

Whenever Nima meets someone on her long walk to the market village in Nepal, she brings her hands together with her fingers almost touching her chin, bows her head slightly, and says "Namaste," which means "the light in me meets the light in you." Includes information on the geography, culture, and people of Nepal.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Geography, Asian Literature, Cultural

Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Jasmine from How Useful It Is · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book for my son as a bedtime story. We borrowed it from the library. This story takes place in Nepal near mount Everest. The little girl says Namaste to everyone she passes and with her smiles, everyone feel happy to return her smiles. Her dad works away from home as a guide to travelers. She likes his stories and she tries to create stories of her own with her experiences to share with her dad when he comes home. This book is filled with Nepal culture.

[Nicolewinter2011 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Illustrator: Amy Córdova
Publisher: Steiner Books
Year: 2009
Interest Level: K-2
Reading Level: 2-3

The illustrations of this text are engaging with their bold colors and print borders that may come from Nepal fabric prints. This book tells the story of a girl from Nepal whose father is a mountain guide. However, the focus is how this girl goes around her community, greeting all with the word, "Namaste." The figurative meaning of this word is "The light in me meets the light in you." There is not a lot we can learn about the culture in the main text, but I did learn some information from the glossary and the 2- page afterword. While this may not be the best text to learn about a culture, it can serve as a charming way to expose kindergartners to the culture by talking about where the setting is and practicing this greeting with each other and talk about what it could mea (because the saying "The light in me meets the light in you" is not easy to understand for 5-year-olds).

While I found the illustrations engaging, they are exaggerated in that the heads seem a bit out of proportion.

[Langlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Namaste! by Diana Cohn is a very colorful and inviting cultural fiction picture book that follows a young girl named Nima Sherpa who lives in Nepal near the tallest mountain on Earth, Chomolongma. Every day she walks to and from school and makes sure that when she passes the people, she puts her hands together, bows, and says "namaste" which means "the light in me sees the light in you." Nima learns that her display of kindness brightens the day for her friends and the strangers that she passes.

I included this book on my favorites shelf because I think it was a great reminder that something as simple as a smile, a hello, or a "namaste" can bring so much joy to the people that you come in contact with. Teachers can make use of this book in grades k-3. Although this book doesn't offer much information about the culture in Nepal, it can be a great asset to introducing culture in kindergarten and 1st grade. For grades 2 and 3, I can see teachers using this book for lessons involving describing the setting since the author does a great job explaining the setting in the very beginning of the story.

[Sabiha Hussain · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book “Namaste!” is a children’s picture book written by Diana Cohn and illustrated by Amy Cordova neither of whom are of Nepalese descent. However, the book does have an afterword written by Ang Rita Sherpa who is from Nepal. The story is about a girl in Nepal, Nima Sherpa, who lives in the mountains and the effect her greeting has on every person she sees while outside one day. It gives a view into the Nepalese culture, and more specifically, on the communities that live in the mountains, because it gives descriptive details about what each person she encounters is doing. It also shows what the family life there might be. However, because of this, there are no other cultural groups offered in the book (aside from the visiting travelers). This book is most likely for children that are in second grade through fifth grade. It has vivid pictures that are accurate in terms of setting, plot, and characters. Though many of the customs described throughout the story are not explained, most everything is explained in the afterward section by Ang Rita Sherpa.

[Jennifer Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Namaste” is a fictional story about a young girl who lives in a village in Nepal. She challenges herself to bring joy to people and decides to go about it by bringing her hands together with her fingers almost touching, chin, and head bowed slightly. She goes about saying the phrase “Namaste” as a form of greeting. This story would bring up information about the culture, geography, and people of Nepal to my students. The book teaches students about repetition (ex. Namaste) and conduct of life. This story also teaches students a new vocabulary term that the students could use in their daily lives (ex. Namaste- I bow to you). Diana Cohn may not be of the Nepal culture, her exploration of the term, Namaste, through an outsider’s perspective enhances the reader’s experience.

[Dave Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nima Sherpa, a fitting name fro the Nepal native girl who ultimately realizes that "Namaste" means let your light shine or to see the light in others. This is a super positive story and lesson in Nepal culture where it is important to see the positive light in all you meet. A great lesson for kids of all ages and adults too.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a girl names Nima who lives in Nepal. Nima's dad is a mountain guide and her mother stays home with her. Namaste talks about the culture of individuals that live in Nepal. This is a very good book about a different culture and it has really good illustrations.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a particularly strong narrative but the vibrant folk art illustrations are beautiful.

[Miranda Ohs]

This book is so cute! Great messages and culturally informative