The Pink Pajamas: A Story About Love and Loss

When a beloved aunt’s illness stills the sewing machine she uses to make special gifts, a child realizes what she’s lost in Chua’s heart-tugging tale. Weekend dinners at Ye Ye and Po Po’s house are a chance for the young narrator to see Ah Yi, who’s always at her old sewing machine that goes “clack, clack, clack.” Ah Yi communicates love by sewing—bags, curtains, toys, and the child’s favorite, pajamas that are “soft. They are comfortable. And they are always just the right length.” One week, Ah Yi gifts the narrator new pajamas in an unfavored pink; though Ah Yi says she’ll sew another pair, the woman’s hospitalization and subsequent death forestall the project. But as the family tidies Ah Yi’s things, the pink pajamas reappear, along with a final gift. Chua’s ink-drawn and digitally colored illustrations make the pink pajamas pop, while straightforward prose pierces in its simple yearning. Characters cue as Chinese. Ages 4–8. (Aug.)