My Father’s House

In this tale inspired by the authoru2019s own experiences, a child explores her fatheru2019s childhood home in Iran.nnAs the sun rises, the narrator and her father start their journey at u201cthe ancient templeu201d in Isfahan, while carefully rendered chukar partridges perch in the foreground. With matter-of-fact storytelling, naming specific neighborhoods and monuments, the girl recounts what she learns from her fatheru2019s friends, who take them around the city. They visit a synagogue, a church, and a mosque, noting the u201cpeople of all beliefsu201d who u201ccelebrate the city they built together, side by side.u201d The dreamy, watercolorlike illustrations are at their most saturated, detailed, and showstopping when depicting the blue-and-gold-tile paintings covering the inside of the mosqueu2014and the mouthwatering saffron rice, pomegranate sauce, figs, and radishes at the familyu2019s dinner table. After a peaceful evening with her father, his mother, his grandma, and his childhood nanny, the girl falls asleep, dreaming of future adventures. Tinged with love and affection, the narrative concludes with an authoru2019s note that offers more information on Isfahanu2019s history and reveals that Javaherbin and her father left Iran following the 1979 revolution, along with others u201cwho chose the hardships of immigration over living under a new oppressive regime.u201d

u201cMy father and I are explorers! Today, we explore Isfahan, his childhood home in Iran,u201d begins this work of intergenerational memory. Gentle, naif-style spreads visualize the duou2019s climb to an ancient temple, followed by visits and a picnic with two old friends. Along the way, father and daughter pass a synagogue and later enter a small mosque at the city center, whose intricate ornamentation Yankey traces with care. When, at last, they arrive at the fatheru2019s former home, his childhood nanny and grandmother are preparing dinner. The family eats together, a meal pictured in deliciously colored close focus, then prepares for bed (u201cThe samovar is emptied... and the pigeons are locked in their coopu201d). Underscoring Isfahanu2019s long multicultural history and recalling specific Iranian lifeways, Javaherbin ends with a reflection on traveling: u201cWhen you bring your own light,u201d the protagonistu2019s father tells her, u201cthe world becomes your home.u201d