V. Malar: Greatest Host of All Time

Gr 2-5–This chapter book for readers who love stories of family and friendship focuses on the harvest festival Pongal. V. Malar lives in a small farming town in India. Her cousins are coming from Seattle to visit for the first time. She is excited, but does not know what to expect. Pongal is approaching, and Malar wants to be a great host to her visiting family. Right from the start, the cousins see they are very different, but as their story progresses, they find common ground. This realistic story speaks to sharing and showing others how we care about them: Malar has to overcome disagreements and changes to her daily life with the introduction of her cousins. This would be a great model for showing students how to solve their own disagreements. A glossary of Indian terms and an author’s note add to the story and give readers the opportunity to go deeper into their understanding of Pongal.