Sona and her Sri Lankan grandpa don’t speak the same language. Her mum says that’s why their time together is “quiet.” But Sona and Seeya are far more rambunctious than the title of this picture book suggests, something readers and listeners will delight in discovering as the story unfolds. Seeya and Sona play together, garden together, and play video games together. “He’s not very good. But he tries his best.” When he reads to her, “I don’t know all the words, but I get what he means.” They cook together, eat together, and go on adventures. When she reads to him, “I can tell … he knows what I mean.” Sona’s straightforward, childlike voice shines in a narrative paired with soft colored pencil illustrations showing scenes brimming with warmth, love, and humor, Seeya being a grandpa whose playful spirit is clearly a match for his granddaughter’s. (Ages 3-7)

A lush and endearing picture book about the special days a child spends with her Sinhalese grandfather, her Seeya, despite their language barrier.

Sometimes, the moments that Sona spends with her seeya are quiet. They speak different languages and don't always use words. But they do communicate in other ways.

Sometimes, they're loud. They play dress-up, stomp in puddles, and pretend to be puppies. They cook pittu, tease each other when they're messy, and read to each other, even though they might not understand what the other is saying.

Any time that Sona and Seeya share is special, whether quiet or loud, because they get to spend it together.

Dinalie Dabarera's debut picture book is an achingly tender meditation on the unconditional love that can transcend all languages.