A boy mourns and celebrates his beloved grandfather in the sensitively told and expressively illustrated Dadaji's Paintbrush by Rashmi Sirdeshpande and Ruchi Mhasane.
In a village in India (based on the home of Mhasane's family and Sirdeshpande's grandfather), a boy and his generous dadaji (grandfather in Hindi) live together "in an old house full of paintings." Kind and artistic Dadaji enthusiastically teaches the boy how to paint and invites the other children from the village to join in. When Dadaji dies, the boy's world collapses, shown by Mhasane's staggering double-page spread featuring a deep, glowing sunset and a dark night, the boy seated alone with his grandfather's cane. "The house felt empty. Like the hole in the boy's heart where his grandfather used to be. Where all the colours used to be." The palette remains blue and gray as the boy grows into a young man. Then a girl appears. Behind her in the open door are the brilliant colors of the village and she asks if he'll teach her how to paint "like your dadaji taught my mummy." Her appearance encourages the young man to embrace art again and to employ all that his grandfather taught him to teach others. "As time passed by, the house was filled with colour again."
Sirdeshpande and Mhasane pay homage to the intense love felt by grandparents and grandchildren and demonstrate the importance of art and passing skills from one generation to another. This heartfelt picture book is perfect for an art class, a read-aloud session at a library or for sharing with a child who has recently lost a loved one. --Melinda Greenblatt, freelance book reviewer