Pashmina

 

Author: Nidhi Chanani

Title: Pashmina

Genre: Graphic Novel

Chanani, Nidhi. Pashmina. First Second, 2017.

 

 

Grade Level: 8th grade

Pages: 168 pages

Pashmina is a graphic novel about a young Indian-American girl named Priyanka who has questions about her heritage and why her mother left India. She comes across a beautiful pashmina scarf that ends up sending her to a magical world that shows her the wonders of India. Here Priyanka learns more about herself and her family through the wonderful powers of the pashmina.

Possible Teaching Concerns: 

From what I read, I had no teaching concerns for this specific graphic novel. However, when I did more research I learned that the pashmina was actually an incorrect term for the scarf depicted in this graphic novel and was something that represented by a different ethnic group.

Personal Reactions:

I thought this novel is beautiful. I loved the colors and the artwork. Although this is probably something that I wouldn't pick up on my own, I loved the use of color in this graphic novel. I felt that it gave such a deeper meaning to to the text. Overall, a very enjoyable read and it is always great to add a graphic novel to the classroom, especially something that is also part of  multicultural literature.

Canonical Work:

The Silver Eye is an unpublished graphic novel about two young princes that are born to two warring family. As one prince begins to realize who he is and the responsibilities that lie ahead, the other tries to rectify the things that his family has done in the past. Although these are very different graphic novel, this is a graphic novel that I have been following since I was in 8th grade (and it is still being updated). It is a fantastic read and very complex story that is enjoyable for all age groups and is something that I will definitely end up using in my classroom one day. 

Link to The Silver Eye 

Interview with Nadhi Chanani