A gorgeous retelling of a true event in the author’s life from the point of view of her eldest child, this picture book is a beautiful window into Hmong life in Minnesota. A young girl moves into a new house with her parents, and grandmother. In the course of that year, her twin brothers are born and the friendly neighbor next store loses his wife. Once spring comes again, she draws in sidewalk chalk on his driveway an invitation to the old man to rejoin life. One of the best picture books of the year. This young girl is named for a needlework technique used on Hmong story quilts. That she creates her own “story quilt” on the neighbor’s sidewalk is lovely payoff from when she helps her Tais Tais (maternal grandmother) hang the story quilt in their new home. Deeply satisfying, quiet and powerful.