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WORK TITLE: Quiet Karima
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CITY: San Francisco
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COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: CA 420
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PERSONAL
Born 1980, in Kolkata, India; married; husband’s name Nick Giordano; children: daughter.
EDUCATION:University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, B.A. (literature); Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA, attended.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Artist, illustrator, graphic novelist; California College of the Arts, instructor; worked in non-profit organizations; EveryDayLoveArt.com store; worked as an artist for Hasbro, Paramount Pictures, Dark Horse Comics, and Disney.
AWARDS:White House Champion of Change, 2012; Virginia Library Association Graphic novel Diversity Award, 2017; South Asia Book Award, 2018.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
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Nidhi Chanani is an Indian-American freelance illustrator, artist, and graphic novelist. Her work represents everyday moments in the daily lives of women of color dealing with issues of identity. She combines writing and art to tell stories that can’t be portrayed in only one medium. Chanani was born in India but came to the United States with her family when she was four years old.
Chanani is known for her debut graphic novel, Pashmina, published in 2017, the story of a first-generation Indian girl who is trying to understand herself. Priyanka “Pri” Das lives with her single mother in California. When she asks why they left India so abruptly when she was young and why they left her father behind, her mother says the subject of India is closed. When Pri finds a pashmina, or shawl, in some old luggage and puts it on, she’s transported to a beautiful India filled with festivals and exotic animals. But this is not the India she wants to see—she wants to learn about her family’s past. She soon gets the chance to travel to India, where she realizes that her mother had to make hard choices to escape the fear and patriarchy of Indian society.
In Pashmina, Pri’s daily life in California is rendered in black and white, while scenes in India are in color. In an interview with Pooja Makhijani at Electric Literature, Chanani explained why she did that: “I wanted to represent India in the way I eventually came to imagine it….I wanted to add more impact to Priyanka’s story. In a visual medium, the use of color is powerful.” She also said that she wanted to explore a family structure not usually seen in Indian culture, a single mother raising a child alone: “There are family dynamics that are rarely seen from many communities — including ours. I wanted to work within a story that isn’t often seen but is still relatable.”
Pashmina received the South Asia Book Award for Children’s Literature and was optioned by Netflix for a computer animated musical. “While the book covers well-worn territory about bicultural and immigrant conflicts, it also dramatically explores the ways women are constrained by patriarchy,” according to a Kirkus Reviews contributor. “Although some plot mechanics are a little murky, Chanani’s debut is a lively, engaging exploration of culture,” noted Sarah Hunter in Booklist.
In 2021, Chanani wrote and illustrated the graphic novel Jukebox, a story about music and connection. Twelve-year-old Shahi and her father have shared their love of music, until one day when he simply disappears. With the help of her cousin, Naz, they discover a mystical jukebox in an old record store. When a record is played on the jukebox, the listener is transported back in time to when the record was made. The two girls travel through decades of notable Black musicians in the 20th century, such as Bessie Smith, James Brown, Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, and Grandmaster Flash.
Ronny Khuri commented in Booklist: “Exquisite attention to detail—fashion, architecture, dialect—brings each era to life, providing a treasure trove for young history buffs.” In an interview with Khuri, Chanani described mixing music, art, and time travel: “I think that the political climate influences music and that music influences politics. It’s this amazing way of weaving in history, music, and American politics—and how much music and musicians made a stand and made statements and how risky it was at the time.” In the book, Chanani “weaves musicality into her exploration of personal relationships, creating a world where music connects us all,” a Kirkus Reviews critic declared.
Chanani’s early reader graphic novel series “Shark Princess” begins with Shark Princess, which asks who can be a princess. In the ocean, Kitana is a whale shark who declares that she is a shark princess, complete with her homemade crown of seashells and starfish. When she and her mako shark friend, Mack, explore a ship wreck, they discover a gold crown, that Mack offers to Kitana. She refuses and says that Mack should wear it and be a shark princess too. Mack thinks that his allergy to blood and dead fish disqualifies him, but Kitana declares that we should decide who we want to be. In book two, Shark Party, shark princesses Mack and Kitana go to a party but find that loner lantern shark Adrina doesn’t want to attend.
Chanani told Avery Kaplan in Comics Beat that in her fun stories: “The message of accepting your friend and helping them accept themself is the heart of the series. And that princesses (and sharks) aren’t one fixed thing but can be adventurers, dangerous, introverted… all the things! Complex and lovable.” Writing in Publishers Weekly, a reviewer noted that it’s “Mack’s realization that expression and identity aren’t about rules or permission that make this series starter sparkle.” Chanani packs colored panels and full-page scenes with different species of accurately drawn sharks “along with meaningful exchanges about different preferences when it comes to being alone or with others,” according to a Kirkus Reviews writer.
Super Boba Café launches a full-color, middle-grade graphic novel series about social media and family. Thirteen-year-old Aria is spending the summer with her Taiwanese grandmother Nainai in San Francisco. Wanting a break from the bullies online, Aria helps Nainai in her boba shop making sweet drinks. But Nainai has a secret—she spends hours making a giant tapioca boba ball to feed a monster living in a cave so it doesn’t cause an earthquake. When the boba shop becomes successful and Nainai has no time to make the giant boba ball, the monster gets hungry and restless! “Chanani’s vibrant pastel visuals mirror the boba shop’s cheerful atmosphere and Aria’s quirky personality,” said Talea Fournier in Booklist.
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BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, October 15, 2017, Sarah Hunter, review of Pashmina, p. 34; July 1, 2021, Ronny Khuri, review of Jukebox, p. 55; October 15, 2023, Talea Fournier, review of Super Boba Café, p. 40.
Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2017, review of Pashmina; June 1, 2021, review of Jukebox; March 15, 2023, review of Shark Party.
Publishers Weekly, July 25, 2022, review of Shark Princess, p. 81.
ONLINE
Booklist, https://www.booklistonline.com/ (July 7, 2021), Ronny Khuri, “The Shelf Care Interview: Nidhi Chanani.”
Comics Beat, https://www.comicsbeat.com/ (April 21, 2023), Avery Kaplan, “Interview: Nidhi Chanani on Shark Princess, Shark Party!”
Electric Literature, https://electricliterature.com/ (October 11, 2017), Pooja Makhijani, “Nidhi Chanani’s Graphic Novel ‘Pashmina’ Is Part of an Important New Genre.”
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nidhi Chanani
Nidhi Chanani with her book Pashmina, in 2017
Chanani in 2017
Born 1980 (age 44–45)
Kolkata, India
Nationality Indian-American
Official website
Nidhi Chanani (born 1980) is an Indian-American freelance illustrator and artist.[1][2] Her debut graphic novel Pashmina was released by First Second Books in October 2017.[2]
Early life
Nidhi Chanani was born in Kolkata, India and moved to Southern California when she was four months old.[3] She received a degree in Literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She then attended the Academy of Art University in San Francisco for a year and a half before dropping out, feeling "limited by the way art is taught."[4][5]
Career
Chanani worked at non-profit organizations before entering the comics field.[6][7] Chanani runs an online webseries and store titled EveryDayLoveArt.com, where she tries to capture the relevance for "ordinary everyday moments in our daily lives".[8][unreliable source?][9] Chanani explains that Pashmina is a story of a first-generation girl who is "trying to understand herself".[3]
She worked as a concept artist for the 2011 Australian film, Hannah and the Hasbian. She has also worked with Hasbro, Paramount Pictures and Disney.[6] Other than her novel, Chanani has illustrated Misty: the Proud Cloud by Hugh Howey.[10] Chanani has also been commissioned by Dark Horse Comics for a graphic novel based on Walt Disney Animation Studios' 1992 animated feature Aladdin titled Disney's princess: Jasmine's new pet.The graphic novel revolves around Jasmine and her pet tiger, Raja's, relationship when they first met. It was released in October 2018.[11] Chanani has written and Illustrated a bilingual children book titled Shubh Raatri Dost (Good Night Friend) with Bharat babies.[12] Her second graphic novel, Jukebox, was a collaboration with her husband Nick Giordano about two Muslim American cousins, Shaheen and Tannaz in San Francisco who find a magical jukebox that comes to their aid when Giovanni, Shaheen's father, goes missing. It was released on June 22, 2021.[13] She illustrated the book I Will Be Fierce by Bea Birdsong, which was published on April 23, 2019 by Macmillan Publishers.[14]
Throughout her work Chanani has worked to represent normal problems that exist within families, as well as showcasing female characters of color dealing with issues of identity. She utilizes the visual medium of graphic novels and comics to utilize the storytelling through both written and visual mediums in order to portray aspects of her stories that cannot be demonstrated in only one medium.[15]
In March 2019, Netflix announced it will adapt Chanani's best selling graphic novel Pashmina into a CG animated musical with Gurinder Chadha set to direct. [1]
Influences
For Pashmina, Chanani drew inspiration from various sources. According to her "My inspiration for Pashmina came from a variety of sources: my mom, growing up in the US, my first trip to India, and the choices women make — all of these things are woven into the story. When I was younger my parents would travel to India often. When they returned, their suitcases had a pungent, almost magical smell—from a place that seemed very far away. I was probably 10 years old. Opening their suitcase made me feel close to this other world. In a way, I believe this story has been with me since then."[16]
Chanani has been influenced throughout her career by the Indian novelist, Arundhati Roy.[17] Roy influenced Chanani in her ability to incorporate political underpinnings in the voices of the characters throughout her work. Similar to Roy, Chanani has made representing Indian people and the everyday struggles that they encounter a central element of her writing and graphic work.[17] Chanani, according to her own interviews, is deeply influenced by the author Gene Luen Yang.[18]
Chanani is an instructor at the California College of the Arts.[2] She often features local Bay area backdrops, as well as images derived from her Indian heritage. She explains, "I grew up watching Bollywood films on the weekends, eating Indian breakfasts, and spending time with my Indian family. It didn't ever feel like because I didn't live in India, India didn't live in me. Even if I don't draw something Indian per se, something about my "Indian-ness" will come through whether I make the characters brown or pick a setting reminiscent of India. There is something about who I am in everything that I do. And who I am is Indian. I don't think that is ever removable from what I do."[19]
Cultural significance and reception
Pashmina received the 2017 Virginia Library Association Graphic Diversity Award in the Youth Category, and the 2018 South Asia Book Award for Children's Literature in the Grade 3-6 category.[20][21] Pashmina was also a Best Fiction for Older Readers selection for 2017 by the Chicago Public Library.[22] It was eventually released by Harper Collins in India.[23][better source needed]
In April 2012, Nidhi was honored at the White House as a Champion of Change.[24]
Technique and materials
Chanani creates her art using digital media, wood burning, and watercolors, stating: "For my illustrations I use flash and Photoshop with a heavy dose of brushes and textures I've created. For my wood burnings I use raw wood and a professional wood burning pen."[25] Chanani also uses magical realism in her work to tell her stories; within a narrative that is otherwise rooted in reality, she employs talking animals and conversations with gods.
Awards
2012 White House Champion of Change[24]
2017 Virginia Library Association Graphic novel Diversity Award in youth category[20]
2018 South Asia Book Award Honor (Grade 3-6)[21]
Personal life
Chanani lives in San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, daughter and two cats. [2][6]
Every Day Love is the art of Nidhi Chanani.
Nidhi Chanani is a freelance illustrator, cartoonist and writer. After completing her undergrad literature degree at the University of California at Santa Cruz, Nidhi pursued a career in non-profits. The desire to draw kept pulling her away and in 2008 she enrolled in art school (only to drop out a year later). In 2009 she began completing one illustration every day of the week. She called this Every Day Love and developed her narrative style and voice with three years of daily practice. This launched her art career and business.
Born in Calcutta and raised in suburban southern California, Nidhi creates because it makes her happy – with the hope that it can make others happy, too. In April of 2012 she was honored by the Obama Administration as a Champion of Change.
Her debut graphic novel, Pashmina (First Second/Macmillan), released in fall 2017. It received starred reviews in the School Library Journal, Publisher’s Weekly, and was reviewed in the New York Times. Pashmina was a Junior Library Guild selection, Chicago Public Library Best Book, Texas Maverick Graphic Novel, Northern California Indie Bookseller Association Long-List Title and a YALSA Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens.
Her second original graphic novel, Jukebox, released in June 2021 with a starred review in Booklist and glowing reviews in Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. Jukebox was a Texas Maverick Graphic Novel, Northern California Indie Bookseller Association Long-List Title and a YALSA Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens.
Her debut picture book, written by Bea Birdsong, I will be fierce, released in April 2019. She followed that with Binny’s Diwali, Kong and Me, and most recently, Strong which won the ALA Stonewall Honor. Her author/illustrator debut What will my story be? released in 2021. She is currently working on her next original middle grade graphic novel, Super Boba Café, as well as an early reader graphic novel series, Shark Princess.
Her media appearances include PBS, CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 and BBC Radio. Her work has been featured on NPR, Entertainment Weekly, Huffington Post, the Women’s March, My Modern Met and India Times. Nidhi is frequently a featured artist with Disney Parks. Her non-fiction comics have appeared in the Nib. Everyday Love Art prints and cards are sold in retail shops throughout California.
When she isn’t drawing Nidhi enjoys cooking, snorkeling and traveling with her kid. She lives San Francisco Bay Area.
Questions? Read our FAQs.
Would you like to get in touch? Contact us.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everyday Love is the art of Nidhi Chanani. When I decided to pursue art, I wanted to make people happy. I began to create an illustration every day and share it with friends and family, and I called it everyday love. I drew from the moments in each day that inspired me, whether a hug from a kitty, message from my love or exchange with a friend. In a society that is inundated with attention diverting content I wanted to remind myself and others of the beauty and love in front of us.
Biography
Nidhi Chanani is a freelance illustrator, cartoonist, and writer. Born in Calcutta and raised in suburban southern California, Nidhi creates because it makes her happy – with the hope that it can make others happy, too.
After completing her undergraduate literature degree at the University of California at Santa Cruz, Nidhi pursued a career in non-profits. The desire to draw kept pulling her away, and in 2008, she enrolled in art school (only to drop out a year later). In 2009, she began completing one illustration each day and called this Every Day Love. Thanks to three years of daily practice, she developed her narrative style and voice and launched her art career and business. In April of 2012 she was honored by the Obama Administration as a Champion of Change.
Nidhi’s debut graphic novel, Pashmina (First Second/Macmillan) received starred reviews in School Library Journal and Publisher’s Weekly and was reviewed in The New York Times.
Her second original graphic novel, Jukebox, released in June 2021 received a starred review in Booklist and was a Texas Maverick Graphic Novel, a Northern California Indie Bookseller Association Long-List Title, and a YALSA Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens.
Her first graphic novel series for early readers, Shark Princess, released in 2022 with three books in the series include Shark Party and Surfin Sharks. They’ve been featured on the Texas Maverick Graphic Novel list as well as the ALA Great Graphic Novels list. Her latest middle grade graphic novel is Super Boba Café. It received the Golden Kite honor from SCBWI and appeared on the Texas Maverick and ALA Great Graphic Novels list as well.
Nidhi’s has written and illustrated several picture books including What Will My Story Be? and Quiet Karima. The picture books she’s illustrated include I Will Be Fierce, written by Bea Birdsong, Binny’s Diwali, written by Thirty Umriger, and Strong, written by Rob Kearney and Eric Rosswood and which won the ALA Stonewall Honor.
When she isn’t drawing, Nidhi enjoys cooking, snorkeling, and traveling with her husband and kid. She lives with them and two cats in the San Francisco Bay Area.
INTERVIEW: Kiki Thorpe & Nidhi Chanani, Kong and Me
May 5, 2021 • Posted under: Assorted Flavors, Interviews by Karma Savage
Tags: Kiki Thorpe, KONG AND ME, Legendary Comics, Nidhi Chanani
After the release of the Legendary Pictures film Godzilla vs. Kong, I had Godzilla and Kong fever! So when I read the announcement of a series of children’s books produced by Legendary Comics, my excitement grew even more for the two biggest and most recognized giants of fandom. This enticed me to reach out to Kiki and Nidhi to ask them a few questions about themselves and their newly released children’s book, ‘Kong and Me’.
About the Book: Kong will find himself the center of a charming and enthralling children’s book by New York Times’ author Kiki Thorpe, with illustrations by Nidhi Chanani (Pashmina; I will be fierce). Young fans will be able to follow along as the mighty Titan and his new pal spend a day of fun and adventure exploring the many wonders of Skull Island—proving that friendships come in many sizes and no matter how different we are, no one is too big or small to find a true friend
Writer: Kiki Thorpe(Disney: The Never Girls, Finding Tinkerbell, Meet the Kreeps)
Young readers will recognize your name Kiki, as the author of the New York Times best-selling series The Never Girls and your portfolio of over 30 books. But for those that may not be familiar, please tell us a little bit about yourself. What’s YOUR origin story?
KT: My story is very similar to Kong’s. I was born on a tropical island (Guam), and I spend my days battling monsters. Okay, the monster part isn’t totally true, but a tough day of writing can feel like that sometimes. I was a voracious reader as a kid, and that definitely influenced my path. After college, I worked in publishing at The Jim Henson Company when it was still located in New York. I got my start writing Muppet books. It was so much fun, I couldn’t believe it was actually a job. Before I started writing full time, I held editorial jobs at Disney, Pixar, and Simon & Schuster. I’ve always been interested in the intersection of media and children’s publishing… the Same question to you, Nidhi. What’s YOUR origin story? Young readers of your work will recognize your style in the graphic novel, Pashmina and the board book, Shubh Raatri Dost/Good Night Friend, and displays in Disney Parks.
Artist: Nidhi Chanani
(Jukebox, I Will Be Fierce, What Will My Story Be?)
NC: I was born in Kolkata, India, and grew up in southern California. I studied literature in college while maintaining an active curiosity about art. That curiosity led me to enroll in art school. After leaving art school, I began completing one illustration every day of the week. Through daily practice, I developed my narrative style and voice over the next three years. At first, I pursued selling my illustrations as prints and commission work. Eventually, my literature background intersected with my art training, and I started to make comics and started my book career.
From the unique beauty and the fellowship storyline of Kong and Me, it is shown that you two have some creative chemistry. How did you both get involved in Legendary Comics’ First Children’s Book?
KT: Jann Jones, the editor of Kong and Me for Legendary Comics, contacted me to see if I’d be interested in writing it. I was excited for the opportunity to work with such an iconic character.
NC: I was contacted by our wonderful editor, Jann Jones, to illustrate Kong and Me. Making Kong accessible to kids seemed like a challenge that would allow me to grow as an artist and engage with one of the most recognizable monsters around!
Reading Kong and Me as an adult, I still can reminisce to a time during my childhood when a story like this would greatly influence my imagination and apply its story to real life. One can find true friendship even with someone with BIG differences. When conceptualizing the making of Kong and Me, how did that guide the development of the storyline and illustrations?
KT: Kong and Jia’s friendship at first seems unlikely because they are so different. I wanted to turn that around and show how their differences were really an asset to the friendship—they are able to have fun together in ways that wouldn’t be possible if they were exactly alike. When we decided to set the story entirely on Skull Island, it opened up a ton of possibilities. It’s such a rich environment, with so many different locations and monsters.
NC: That’s truly the message of the book. Acceptance. Kiki wrote such a beautiful script. It was easy to show that accepting your friends means that even when they frustrate you, you can come together to find a solution or resolve your problems.
Richard Scarry’s Look & Learn Library was one of my favorites! I still own my original set. And occasionally thumb through them for creative inspiration. Besides your own, what are a few of your favorite children’s books? As a child? As an adult?
KT: As a kid, I was a great fan of all Russell Hoban’s Frances books. Father Christmas by Raymond Briggs will always be my favorite holiday book. As an adult, I enjoy all kinds of children’s books—too many to name. But a couple that I never get tired of reading are All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla Frazee and The Book of Mistakes by Corinna Luyken. They’re so beautiful.
NC: As a child, my favorite picture book was Harold and the Purple Crayon. The idea that a kid could draw himself into his own world (and a tree full of pie!) was magic. Currently, my favorite books to read with my daughter are: She Wanted to Be Haunted by Marcus Ewert and Susie Ghahremani, Escargot by Dashka Slater and Sydney Hanson, Eyes that Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho and Dung Ho, Saturday by Oge Mora, and The Tree in Me by Corinna Luyken. Honestly, I could keep going but I’ll stop there!
Learning from your website about Kiki’s Skype visits and Nidhi’s free drawing lessons, will you two be doing any more virtual events as the world continues to heal due to the pandemic? Are there any other personal projects you would like to share with our audience?
KT: Yes, I love Skype visits. But I’m also looking forward to the day when in-person school and bookstore can happen again because I love meeting readers. You don’t get to have the same conversations virtually. As for projects, I am working on something new, but it’s too soon to share information about it.
NC: Yes! I do classroom virtual visits through my speaking agency, The Author Village.
Lastly, we are a pop-culture fandom site. Can you tell us about any of your favorite fandoms? Favorite movie, tv-show, cartoon. Favorite celebrity encounter. Whether classic, retro or modern fandoms. We love it all!
KT: I sat next to Steve Buscemi on the subway! I think The Princess Bride is a nearly perfect movie. And, like many people, I am anxiously awaiting the return of Succession.
NC: Old school – Fresh Prince and My So-Called Life! Modern – Insecure, Bridgerton, Kim’s Convenience, Queer Eye and with my daughter, Hilda!
Thanks again for your time Kiki and Nidhi! Steve Buscemi! That is so cool. I would definitely be starstruck if I sat next to him. What a great encounter. As soon as it was uploaded to HBOMax, I binge-watched seasons of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. And My So Called Life was the first series I watched on HULU. So good. Love all your fandoms!
Add Kong and Me to your collection by picking up the book at your local book store or online store. Find a list of retailers at simonandschuster.com. Visit Kiki Thorpe’s Website and Nindhi Chanani’s website to learn more about them.
Misty, The Proud Cloud: Interview with Illustrator Nidhi Chanani
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November 22, 2014Samantha Cook
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The recent trend in children’s picture books seems to be focused on how one is special or unique, or building confidence that anything can be achieved with dedication and persistence. It’s not that those messages aren’t important, but it was refreshing to review a book that celebrated just being who you are, as you are. Misty, The Proud Cloud is the latest book from popular author Hugh Howey, who teamed up with Illustrator Nidhi Chanani to create a sweet, comforting book about the joy we bring to others just by being ourselves.
I actually first came across this project because of my familiarity with Nidhi Chanani’s illustration work. My daughter has a large framed print of her Waterdance mermaids in her room and it is her favorite. In all her work, Chanani has a delightful way of capturing the emotions of everyday life, expressing exactly how a moment feels. Her work on Misty is no exception. True to form, Misty is immediately recognizable and likable. Glowing illustrations on every page carry the story, and the artist’s talent at including diversity in a natural, seamless way is evident.
I had a chance to ask Nidhi Chanani some questions about Misty:
How did you get involved in this project?
My agent contacted me with a potential project at the end of 2013. Hugh Howey was looking for an illustrator and liked my work, after I saw the manuscript I jumped on board.
Was the book already written or was there collaboration between you and Hugh Howey on the direction the story took?
The book was written. I signed on after receiving a complete manuscript that was tweaked very slightly with an editor. My contribution was to bring the character and world to life through illustration.
I know you are working on a graphic novel to be published next year. How was this process different? What was your greatest challenge and your favorite part of working on a children’s book?
Working on Pashmina, my graphic novel, is similar and different. I am writing and drawing the entire book so that is a core difference. However the similarities are there – communication through words and pictures. Of course children’s book is different because the focus is on the pictures – which is why they’re categorized as a picture books. Graphic novels tell a more complex story through sequential art.
My greatest challenge was creating a likable main character in the form of a puff of clouds! I went through many rounds of sketching on my own before settling on a character that I felt was cute, welcoming and also allowed for nuance. My favorite part of working on the book was the challenge. Carrying a character from page to page, making each spread dynamic and interesting and truly pushing myself to create simple but visually rich spreads.
All art has purpose, illustration helps the reader visualize the story. What was most important to you as you were connecting Hugh’s words to image?
The most important thing for me was not simply to illustrate what he had written but give it more. Make the book lively and fun but also keep true to the simplicity of the story and message.
How would you describe the story of Misty to a kid?
It’s about a cloud that wants to fit in!
Do you relate to Misty at all?
Yes! Hugh wrote a very relatable character and the point is to be yourself. I definitely relate to that!
We received our copy of Misty in the mail the other day and that night I read it to my daughter. When asked what she thought, my daughter replied “Misty is cute. I liked that she could just be herself.” Anything else? “Yeah, flowers come from the tears of clouds. I like this book.” I’m so glad.
As of this writing, you can still get some author signed copies of Misty, The Proud Cloud on Amazon.
Nidhi Chanani’s Graphic Novel ‘Pashmina’ Is Part of an Important New Genre
Comics and coming-of-age novels are a perfect match, especially for underrepresented voices
Oct 11, 2017
Pooja Makhijani
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It was only as recently as 2006 that Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese became the first graphic novel to be nominated for a National Book Award. That book, about a Chinese American boy’s struggles with his identity, drew comics for young people from the the fringes to the mainstream.
A little over a decade later, Vulture declared graphic novels for young readers to be the “most important sector in the world of sequential art.” Graphic novels and memoirs, particularly those created by women, tap into the power and options in the combination of visual and written stimulation to relay stories across genres and ages.
My own graphic novel consumption has increased to include titles such as This One Summer by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki, Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson and illustrated by Adrian Alphona, The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui, and excerpts of Mira Jacob’s forthcoming graphic novel, Good Talk: Conversations I’m Still Confused About. I grew up reading comics — from Archie to Amar Chitra Katha — but today’s graphic novels mean so much more, especially those by marginalized women. As cliché as it sounds, it’s validating to see women like me in comic panels.
The latest addition to the canon of sequential art books — and specifically the subset that is written and/or illustrated by people of color and indigenous people — is Pashmina (First Second, 2017) by cartoonist Nidhi Chanani.
Pashmina is an unabashedly feminist tale about Priyanka “Pri” Das, a comics-obsessed teenager in Orange County, California. It features her mother, who won’t speak of Pri’s father or India, the country her mother left and has vowed never to return to; Shakti, the powerful Hindu mother goddess; and a mysterious shawl that transports Pri to the India of her imagination when she wraps it around her shoulders.
Chanani’s illustrations dramatically alternate between black-and-white (when Pri is in the United States) and full-throttle color (when Pri is in India). In the course of this first-rate adventure tale, Pri learns about women’s choices — especially her mother’s — and living without fear. I talked to Chanani about magical realism, South Asian families, and how Pashmina came to be.
Pooja Makhijani: You are well-known for your short strips, yet this is your first full-length novel. In the course of writing and illustrating this book, what did you learn about sustaining plot and character?
Nidhi Chanani: On one hand, I learned things around the art — and how to keep the character consistent page after page. I also learned a lot about body language and positioning to convey emotions. In the place of words, I utilized facial expressions and positioning to give the reader insight into my characters’ emotions.
On the story side, I learned to know my characters. It sounds simple but writing a lot about Priyanka, her mom, and her uncle allowed me to fully realize them on the page. The reader may never know that Priyanka hates bubble gum, for example, but I do, and that makes her grounded in reality.
And finally, throughout the process, I learned how to parse out information: to utilize the “page turn” to keep revealing parts of the story in pieces, to keep the reader engaged in Priyanka’s journey.
(“Pashmina” by Nidhi Chanani)
PM: Pashmina explores the ways women are constrained by patriarchy. Why is this story about the intersection of power, community and identity best told in comic form?
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NC: I think the question sometimes presumes that comics is better than other mediums. But it’s simply another medium to me. I do believe it has merits that are different than others. I believe there are access points to comics that traditional prose cannot touch.
I don’t limit myself to comics. I want to explore all mediums. And within anything, I do want to challenge things and hopefully create dialogue and a narrative that goes beyond the page.
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PM: Priyanka is the daughter of a single mother, a family structure rarely represented in young people’s literature of the South Asian diaspora. Why was this representation important to you?
NC: There are family dynamics that are rarely seen from many communities — including ours. I wanted to work within a story that isn’t often seen but is still relatable.
Although I grew up in your traditional Indian family (mother, father, sibling), we had tons of problems. Those problems, as much as we tried to hide them from our community, came to define us. My mom eventually left my dad.
She was ostracized from the Indian community.
I saw what a difficult time my mom had to move within our community without support. In an instance it’s a triumph for women to stand up for themselves, but the community does not support moving past the traditional roles. It adds another challenge.
I wanted to explore what having a single mom from the beginning would mean for Priyanka. To have that as a norm within her life, but to have unanswered questions. I feel that she had respect for her mother, while also not completely understanding her. Then through the book, she gains the understanding she was missing.
The Best of This Year’s Small-Press Comics
PM: Priyanka’s “India” is one of monkeys and elephants and other such touristic images of India, yet you are subverting these familiar visual tropes so that they no longer reinforce stereotypes. What was your intention in representing India in this way on the page?
NC: To put it quite simply, I wanted Priyanka, a teen who’s curious about her culture but not versed in it, to have a positive introduction to India.
I wanted her to be drawn into the amazing aspects of India, but to also indicate that there’s more. In many ways, Priyanka’s relationship with the fantasy India is one that many people have. I wanted to mimic that, while also giving context to why later, she chooses to visit the real India. My attempt to represent it in parts had to pay respect to that truth.
PM: There is an element of magical realism in Pashmina and, in those magical realist panels, the palate switches from black-and-white to color. Can you talk about this artistic choice a bit?
NC: I love India, and I wanted to represent India in the way I eventually came to imagine it. I also wanted to fully utilize the medium of comics.
I could’ve done the whole book in full color — which is great and those books are very welcoming to readers. But it was very early on that I wanted to add more impact to Priyanka’s story. In a visual medium, the use of color is powerful. It’s one that I feel I know and understand well, so adding another layer to the story through color — and the absence of — provided for a richness that I feel is the strength of telling this story through comics.
I love India, and I wanted to represent India in the way I eventually came to imagine it. I also wanted to fully utilize the medium of comics.
PM: Pashmina also contains a lot of religious iconography — the divine mother goddess figure.Where does your interest in this stem from? Are you a spiritual or faithful person?
NC: I was raised Hindu and I describe myself as a lapsed Hindu. I find that even though I don’t practice Hinduism, I have aspects of its spirituality in my life. I was very much like Priyanka growing up, where I dragged my feet at prayer time and questioned whether it made a difference.
Beyond my own interests, I felt that the pashmina had its own story to tell. And Shakti had a pressing need to connect with women. Who better to tell that story than her?
(Nidhi Chanani, Photo Credit: Angela Grammatas)
As much as there are religious components to Pashmina, I don’t think of that first. I really think of it as a feminist story, and I believe gods and goddesses are feminists.
PM: MacArthur Fellow and National Book Award finalist Gene Luen Yang introduced Pashmina as the first graphic novel wholly created (written and illustrated) by an Indian American. Did you write Pashmina with this awareness? How does that label — “first” — make you feel?
NC: Oh man! Yes, I was aware of that fact. I was aware of it as I wrote and drew every panel.
I was aware of it when I chose to add Hindi into the text and refused to add asterisks within the pages. (My publisher, to their credit, never asked me to). I was aware of it when I chose how to represent India, Kolkata and every character.
I stressed about all of it, honestly.
But in my best moments of writing and drawing, I forgot that I was a “first” anything. I just approached it as my story. My chance to write and create the best story I could.
I think firsts are hard, but important. All I can hope is that Pashmina does well enough to pave the way for more Indian American graphic novels and comics. The responsibility is not one I asked for, but given that seat, I know that how I perform and how my book performs will impact others. I do my best to be intentional and aware.
About the Author
Pooja Makhijani is the editor of Under Her Skin: How Girls Experience Race in America and the author of Mama’s Saris. She has written for The New York Times, The Village Voice, and The Washington Post, among others.
Nidhi Chanani’s Pashmina: A Girl’s Search for Her True Self
July 12, 2017 Jamie Sugah
Nidhi Chanani
When considering books to review for The Geekiary, I try to focus on what we represent as a site, so I look for some diversity – books about women, LGBTQ+ characters, or people of color. As I was scrolling through the list of titles offered at this years BookExpo, one such title jumped out at me: Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani.
Pashmina, by Nidhi Chanani, is the story of an Indian-American girl who finds a magic shawl. Priyanka, who has never been to India, puts on the shawl and is transported to a magical, colorful world that is more vivid than any guidebook or Bollywood film could be. In fact, the pages in which Priyanka is wearing the shawl are the only pages in the novel in color. The rest of the pages, as Priyanka seeks to learn more about the father she never knew, are in black and white. It’s a striking and effective contrast, to show how sometimes reality falls short of our expectations.
I was fortunate enough to speak to Nidhi about her debut graphic novel, which publishes this October. Check out our interview below!
THE GEEKIARY: You started out with art, right? You’re an artist?
NIDHI CHANANI: Actually I didn’t. I graduated from UC Santa Cruz in literature, and then I worked in the non-profit sector for a while. I worked at a library… I was working in the non-profit sector and I got unceremoniously laid off, and I had wanted to minor in art when I was going to UC Santa Cruz, but they didn’t offer it as a minor, and my parents wouldn’t let me major in art. Basically, I danced around a bunch of different careers and then came right back to what I had wanted to do when I was in college but didn’t have the opportunity to do. And so I went to art school. No, I wasn’t always an artist, actually. I spent seven years in the making.
THE GEEKIARY: You majored in literature. Did you want to be a writer? What did you want to do with that?
NIDHI CHANANI: I did, but also being an avid reader for a number of years, I knew that I needed to read a lot more. There was a creative writing program, and I considered it for a good while, but I decided that it was better for me to study literature – analyzing my use of time. Would it be better for me to use my time to study how to write or to study the books that are already there? So that’s what I chose to do.
THE GEEKIARY: This is your first graphic novel.
NIDHI CHANANI: It is!
THE GEEKIARY: I haven’t gotten the chance to read it yet, because I just now got it. Tell me a little bit about it, and how you came up with the idea.
Pashmina Nidhi ChananiNIDHI CHANANI: Pashmina is the story of Priyanka Das, who’s an Indian-American girl growing up in Southern California who finds a magical pashmina shawl, and it allows her to learn more about who she is and where she came from. The root idea – she comes across the shawl in a suitcase of her mom’s that’s tucked away in a closet that has all these items from India that her mom has never showed her, including letters from her sister that went unanswered; because her mom really wanted to kind of close out that part of her life, but she also practices a lot of strict rules and has her practice Hinduism. So there are parts of her culture that her mom allows her to engage in, and then there are parts of her own identity as an Indian woman, as a woman who grew up in India, that she’s just completely closed off. And so Priyanka, when she finds this, she’s learning all this stuff about her own family in India, her mom, and that allows her to kind of learn a lot about her family and her culture. But the idea, that suitcase idea, is where the core of the story came from, and it’s because my mom used to go to India. My parents, actually – both my parents would go to India, they would bring back a suitcase, and I would open it up, and it was like opening up a box to another world. It was full of different colors and smells and tastes – nothing that I could access here, and so I guess that core thought is where Pashmina grew out of.
THE GEEKIARY: Have you been to India since?
NIDHI CHANANI: Yes, I’ve been there many times. […] I was born there, but I came here when I was four months old, so a lot of people will say, “Oh, well, that doesn’t mean that you were born there.” And I’m like, “No, actually, it does. I was born there.” I’m very proud of that fact. We grew up in this very close-knit Indian community in Southern California, and as a result I kind of felt like I was always growing up in India – just a different version of India. Our own version of India.
THE GEEKIARY: With the story – did the story part come to you first, or did you have a vision of it?
NIDHI CHANANI: What’s interesting is, actually, to do the graphic novel, I did a script first. I did, like, eight drafts of this script. And now I’m working on my second book, and I’m going straight into thumbnails because what happened is I worked so hard on those eight drafts, and when I started thumbnailing out the visuals, it changed again. And again and again and again. So to kind of alleviate that […] or to reduce to the number of drafts that I’m doing, I’m jumping right into the visuals. But I don’t think I could have done that with Pashmina. I can only do this with my second book, because I had to build that skill set first.
THE GEEKIARY: Yeah, writing a book and then writing a graphic novel are completely different.
NIDHI CHANANI: Completely. But I think that now where I’m at in my skill set, it’s great to do both the words and the art in tandem. Thumbnails are really loose drawings, so I’m not diving into it or anything, but it’s nice to have that visual pacing and pages worked out while I’m writing, because those two things are now where I’m at in my comics understanding, my comics development, working together. So I kind of have alleviated the need to do drafts; the same time, though, if I need to stop in the middle of thumbnailing and write a little bit, I allow myself to do that. I don’t think that each one is pure. I’m not purely doing one thing or purely doing the other, I’m just doing a little mishmash of both.
THE GEEKIARY: Did you feel a lot of pressure to represent the Indian culture a certain way? There’s not much diversity in literature anymore, or in graphic novels, and especially there’s not a whole lot from Southeast Asia, so did you feel a lot of pressure to do a really good job?
NIDHI CHANANI: I put a lot of pressure on myself to do a really good job in anything that I do, so there’s that. And then while I was drawing the book, and the different things that I utilized, whether she’s in Calcutta or she’s using this kind of Hindi or she’s saying this, I thought a lot about those things that you’re talking about. Like, “How am I doing this? What are people going to think? What are people from my community going to expect?” I thought about it, and then I told that voice to be quiet, because the thing is, I can only represent it the way that I know. This book, I’m not asking it to be the Indian graphic book. Maybe people will think of it that way, but what I’m hoping is that this is going to show one perspective of one experience and it’s fiction, and that if this book does well, that it will allow the space for other authors to come and give their own takes on that same experience. And I don’t plan on ever doing another identity piece after this. My next book is about a jukebox time machine. The characters in the book are Muslim, so I’ll probably always keep my characters within South Asia, but I don’t want to do another identity book, and another identity book and another identity book. But I do feel that this was important for me to get out of my system and now I can move on to another topic.
THE GEEKIARY: I think – you mentioned the characters just, you know, being Muslim, that’s important, too. A lot of the books that come out, the characters just aren’t that. It’s about that, as opposed to that’s just what they happen to be.
NIDHI CHANANI: Yeah, exactly.
THE GEEKIARY: I’m intrigued by the jukebox time machine idea.
NIDHI CHANANI: Good, I’m glad! Four years from now, you’ll see it. Maybe three.
THE GEEKIARY: Did you read a lot of graphic novels to sort of get an idea of how to do it?
NIDHI CHANANI: I definitely think that I was reading a lot more graphic novels in the development cycle. This took four years to make, so in that time frame I was reading a lot. I also had a baby in the middle of it, so I wasn’t reading at all. It kind of ebbed and flowed throughout the whole process. Growing up I didn’t read a lot of comic books. I make the distinction – I didn’t read a lot of comic books. I read a lot of funny comics – Sunday funnies – but comic books themselves didn’t really call to me because they were mostly that Marvel/DC world. This is nothing new that many women in comics talk about, is that content wasn’t made for me, so it never really interested me, and so when I went to art school, I was exposed to a lot of different comic books through art school and peers. When I read American Born Chinese was really what I think was the seed of me thinking, “Maybe this is something that I could do.” And with my lit background and studying art, it kind of seemed like a natural progression. Although if you asked me when I was studying literature at UC Santa Cruz if I ever thought I would make a comic book, I probably would have said, “I don’t think so. It probably wouldn’t sell.” Whereas now, knowing what I know, I feel like I can bring a lot to it.
THE GEEKIARY: What do you hope people get out of Pashmina?
NIDHI CHANANI: […] A story about a girl trying to understand herself. I think the best books leave you with something. So if it leaves them with insight into the Indian-American experience, great. If it leaves them with an insight into women having choice and power in their lives, great. And if it leaves them with a feeling of belonging, a feeling that they’ve been represented in this book in a way that they haven’t been represented before, that’s wonderful. So it’s a multitude of things. I feel like that question has been asked to me a lot, and I don’t have one answer. I guess the one answer would be, I just hope that the book isn’t one of those books that you read and you’re done with, but one that you can read and get something from on another read and another read, and something that stays with you.
——-
Thanks again, Nidhi, for taking the time to speak to us!
Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani is published by First Second Books and will be available October 3, 2017, wherever books are sold. For more of Nidhi’s art, check out her website or her Tumblr!
Cartoonist Nidhi Chanani on Her Earliest Female Influences & What It Means to Be an Author
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Published: Mar 8, 2018 8:25 AM EST
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Continuing to speak with amazing female illustrators for Women’s History Month, we got the chance to speak with Nidhi Chanani, author of Pashmina which we loved last year. Chanani was generous enough to not only speak with us, but also make this beautiful comic about one of her female heroes, author Arundhati Roy.
Nidhi.Chanani
Q&A
TMS: Who were some of the influential female figures for you growing up? Both in your personal life, but also in terms of historical figures.
Chanani: My strongest and most complicated influence is my mom. She dealt with the challenges of immigrating to a new country, raising kids and leaving a difficult marriage. I saw firsthand how important it was to have inner strength to change your life even when your entire community opposed it.
Historical figures are harder. It’s only recently that I’ve learned about the many women in history who’ve had these amazing stories. Growing up the focus on women in history wasn’t as prevalent as it is now. I’d love to rattle off some names but most of the female influences in my life were authors like Toni Morrison, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Beverly Cleary and Bollywood stars like Sridevi.
TMS: Where do you think we are still lacking in terms of highlighting the accomplishments of women?
Chanani: There are so many ways to approach this but I would just say that at home and abroad we’ve only scratched the surface. Although I don’t watch lots of sports I think that is just one prime example of a place where attention, support and cultivation can have deep impacts. Again that’s just one… there truly are too many to list.
TMS: What are some of the myths about womanhood that you had to bust throughout your life? Which was the biggest shock?
Chanani: One that comes to mind is the idea that I must choose between a career and a family. In reality I love both my family and my job.
TMS: Feminism means many things to different women. What does feminism mean to you? Where do you think it needs improvement? Where do you think it is working as a movement?
Chanani: Feminism is the view that women and men are equal. Movements are made by members. Any movement will be improved when folks continue to educate themselves about intersectionality and keep the conversation open.
TMS: There are a lot of larger scale institutional problems that we face as women today, but what are some of the things we can do today to make lives better for ourselves and for the women coming after us?
Chanani: Mentorship is vital and important. I have never had a mentor but I’ve seen others with those relationships thrive and flourish. I give back through teaching and try to create community among other working artists. Sharing knowledge, access and opening doors is paramount to changing the status quo. Something as small as connecting two people, referring someone for a job or gig can change the course of a life.
TMS: We talk a lot about the inequalities and gender discrimination that we face in this world so what is something that makes you proud to be a woman?
Chanani: My pride comes from trying my best to be a good person irregardless of my gender presentation. I feel pride for what I’ve accomplished and survived in my life.
TMS: Who are some of your favorite fictional female protagonists?
Chanani: Jessica from Fresh off the Boat, Molly from Insecure, Shuri from Black Panther, Moana, Izzy from the HILO graphic novel series and Ms. Marvel.
Pashmina is available in stores now from First Second books.
(image: Nidhi Chanani)
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The Weirdest (and Worst) Tributes We Saw on International Women’s Day
Happy (day after) International Women's Day?
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Published: Mar 9, 2023 5:12 PM EST
International Women’s Day (and Women’s History Month) have produced some truly wild tributes meant to ‘honor’ women. Do they all succeed? Absolutely not! Here’s some of our top picks for some of the strangest takes to come out of the day.
Fandom fails
Star Wars fans can be all types of toxic. Thankfully, there’s always a group of rebels in the fandom who are willing, able, and happy to call out the rest.
The somewhat infamous Star Wars YouTuber Star Wars Theory tweeted yesterday about how Rey hadn’t “earned” the Skywalker name. His arguments were rebutted by @reysbeskar, who expertly broke down all of the ridiculous parts of his argument, capped off by pointing out that it was in poor taste to start this fight on International Women’s Day of all days.
Shmi, Padme, and Leia would have all welcomed Rey to their family with open arms and I don’t trust anyone who claims otherwise.
Pitting women against each other
Outside of actual competitions like women’s sports or political races, pitting women against each other is never cool, and going so far as to do it on International Women’s Day leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Journalist Robert Carter decided to spend International Women’s Day doing just that, saying “The only women who truly deserve a shout out this International Women’s Day. Brave niqabis who, through love of their faith, endure relentless persecution in the west. Feminism solidarity doesn’t exist for these women.”
It’s absolutely true that Muslim women can often get left behind in conversations about feminism and women’s rights. Still, Carter doesn’t seem to recognize the irony in pitting Niqabi women against all other women. Also, maybe a man shouldn’t take it upon himself to declare which women are the “only” ones who “deserve” respect on any day of the year.
Similarly, Austrian songwriting duo Teya & Salena has faced backlash for their entry to Eurovision, a feminist anthem jokingly attributing their songwriting power to Edgar Allen Poe. Some fans have thankfully called out the backlash as not understanding the point of the song, which is literally pointing out the double standards for female musicians in the industry.
Politics
Unfortunately, there were multiple instances of police brutality against women marching on International Women’s Day:
Marjorie Taylor Green was appointed Speaker Pro-Tempore yesterday by Kevin McCarthy, reportedly as a nod to International Women’s Day, though it was likely also meant as an appeasement to the radical Republicans that held his nomination hostage back in January.
There’s also been a truly unfortunate amount of transphobia directed at Alba Rueda, a trans activist and politician who has been working to end violence against LGBTQ+ people in Argentina, who was awarded an International Women of Courage Award by First Lady Jill Biden. And a lot of anti-trans bigoted conservatives have been melting down over it.
Capitalist Nonsense
As always, there’s also a lot of capitalist nonsense with companies trying to pretend to care about women … while showing how little they actually do.
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My personal favorite was this Twitter bot that quote-tweeted many companies’ International Women’s Day posts with statistics about the companies’ pay gap between men and women employees. Some of the original tweets have noticeably been deleted since posting.
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What’s the weirdest/worst tribute to “International Women’s Day” you saw yesterday? Comment below!
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June 26, 2019Art & Life with Nidhi Chanani
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Today we’d like to introduce you to Nidhi Chanani.
Nidhi, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I am a proud art school drop out. I attended the Academy of Art in San Francisco for a year and a half. I didn’t drop out because some innate talent or hidden drafting skill was revealed, I left because I felt limited by the way art was taught. Art is a field where a degree is irrelevant. Your portfolio opens doors. I do not regret my experience in art school, I learned valuable lessons in color, light and shadow. I also learned how to articulate the fine points of art from angles and perspective to composition and mood. I still use those skills today.
I took what I learned and set myself to draw every day. I created a new illustration for a few years and unbeknownst to me, it allowed me to build my portfolio. Fast forward ten years and I have a robust art career creating children’s books, comics, speaking and teaching.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I am an illustrator, graphic novelist, and writer. The vast majority of my illustrations and comics are digital. I played with wood burnings and watercolor over the years and I truly enjoy it. Each medium has its benefits and drawbacks. We live in a time and place where digital tools mimic traditional and afford a lot of flexibility. I will always explore new mediums, and as an artist, I don’t know where that might take me next, but I do enjoy digital.
What I hope to communicate with my illustration work is that love, beauty and joy is all around. We have moments every day that can fill our hearts. It’s very easy in an era that is plagued with attention seeking pass times that we forget to savor those moments. I know I fall into that cycle. I hope that my work can remind folks, myself included, to enjoy the love in the world.
With my graphic novels, I seek to tell a larger stories and each book has a different focus. Overall I hope that my books help create a conversation around feminism, identity, family and connection.
Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
I believe that in the states, there are more opportunities for artists and independents than before. The proliferation of the internet has provided many opportunities to artists. Whether it’s selling on Etsy, Instagram or building a robust audience through YouTube. I do think that within those areas of growth, there’s frustration. Those websites own their audience and artists have seen a stagnation in growth as places like Instagram and Etsy change their content delivery algorithms.
In that respect, I know as an independent artist it’s important to have a diverse income stream and activities. In addition to online, participating in shows and in-person events is vital. Building a local audience can have great benefits. Cities that provide ample opportunity for artists to show and sell their work are wonderful. Also, affordable studio space is always desirable.
Contact Info:
Website: everydayloveart.com
Email: nidhi@everydayloveart.com
Instagram: nidhiart
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nidhichananiartist/
Twitter: nidhiart
Nidhi Chanani combines her love for sharks, the ocean, and her daughter in Shark Party
Nidhi Chanani on Shark Princess/Shark Party, big adventures, and cats named Jorts
A group of sharks swimming downwards and smiling
Image credit: Penguin Random House
Tiffany Babb
Features by Tiffany Babb, Contributing writer
Published on Wed Apr 26 2023
Nidhi Chanani is probably best known for her 2017 debut graphic novel Pashmina, but she is one of most prolific working artists out there, having since illustrated (and even written) picture books like What Will My Story Be? and graphic novels including Jukebox and her upcoming Super Boba Cafe, and, of course, Shark Princess.
Chanani's first Shark Princess book tells a delightful story about sharks who are also princesses and also friends. Now, it’s time for the sequel, Shark Party. In anticipation of the newest installment of the Shark Princess saga, Popverse had a chance to chat with Chanani-- not only about sharks and parties, but also about genre, her other acclaimed work in different forms of visual storytelling, and cat names.
Illustrated cover of Shark Princess Shark Party
Image credit: Penguin Random House
Popverse: Shark Party a.k.a. Shark Princess 2 is coming out soon. What can fans expect from Mack and Kitana this time?
Nidhi Chanani: So they are continuing on in their adventure. This time they are going to a party. The first book they went on an adventure to a shipwreck, and this time they're going to a party. But you know as we continue on in our knowledge of Kitana and Mack, we realize they have two very different personalities, and so Mack is super excited about a party and Kitana isn't quite so sure. So it's really exploring a lot of things about the ocean, a lot of facts about how many different sharks there are, and also, just that kind of social emotional piece of-- how do you navigate a friendship when the both of you are pretty different?
What drew you to sharks?
I love the ocean, and I love sharks. I think that they are grossly misrepresented, and I'm not the only one who thinks so. There's a lot of activists and a lot of people who are close to the ocean and studying the ocean who are trying to fight against this idea that sharks are to be feared. My favorite fun fact that I add to every school visit is that you are more likely to be hit on the head with a falling coconut than you all are to be bitten by a shark. It was a combination of being fascinated by sharks and kind of the wealth of knowledge about sharks and all the things that we don't know still about the ocean and marine life and just the idea that it hadn't been done before.
My daughter is actually the reason that I had the idea. I was getting ready for a birthday party for her, and she asked me to draw a shark princess. I kind of just bookmarked it in my mind and went back to see if it existed.
It didn't really exist as a book, so I just started thinking about what would make a shark want to be a princess and what would make anybody really want to dress up in a crown. It's really that idea that we have like these special unique qualities and the idea that a princess isn't necessarily something that's fixed.
I do think that is something that is worth challenging and worth pushing back on, and so that's what I do in the first book. You know, princesses can be dangerous. Princess can be scary, and princesses can also be shy. So it's a lot of that that I tried to put into this series.
So a lot of your stories, including your upcoming Super Boba Cafe, and Jukebox and your debut Pashmina have this element of fantasy. What draws you to these big adventures?
I just take one idea, and I kind of just start thinking about it. Like I thought about what would be like to have a giant jukebox and immediately that idea became magical to me, and Super Boba Cafe actually came because I was reading a Neil Gaiman book. I can completely and totally tie the roots of Super Boba Cafe to reading Neverwhere. Neverwhere is very much about underground London. I was only a few chapters in, and I thought to myself what is underground San Francisco? What would be under there? And immediately, for some reason, the answer in my mind was 'Well of course there would be monster under there, and the monster would create earthquakes.' Because, you know, California is so earthquake prone. Then this story developed from there.
I guess it's just the idea of there being magic in this world. I really actually do firmly believe that magic is all around us in nature. And I think that there's also the magic of being able to create something from nothing and, you know, letting our imaginations and our minds go to places that maybe reality can't.
That's really interesting because while there is this throughline in your graphic novels, you also do picture books and editorial cartoons as well as illustration-- which are all very different types of visual storytelling with very different types of traditions and expectations. How do you switch between these different types of visual art?
I was just hanging out with the bunch of authors, and I felt relieved to know that I'm not the only one who, once I'm in a space that I find comfortable and I feel like I kind of understand it, I immediately want to do something else. I think that's part of having a creative soul and an artistic soul. I want to be constantly challenged and engaged.
I definitely think that one of the reasons I wanted to pursue shark princess-- actually there's a multitude of reasons really. It's like that idea that there's a 'boy book' and a 'girl book', and hopefully now there's a middle-ground book too, you know, a non-binary/trans book. I really thought that Shark Princess would be that book you could hand to anybody, and I wanted to push that idea.
The other thing is that the work that I do, and the things that I get offered, often are very tied to my identity, and I wanted to break free of that and take that space. That shelf space, but also just that space as an author, as a creator, to say, 'I am not just your Indian author.'
I am that, and I'm super proud to be that, but I also am other things. And so that's kind of how I make the choices that I make. That's how I pursued Shark Princess. That's why I'm pursuing some of the editorial work. That's why I do some of the ink drawings and wood burnings. My interests are so vast. I dont want to pigeonhole myself, because the world will do that for me. I don't need to do that for myself.
You mentioned Shark Princess and this kind of boy book/girl book binary. I couldn't find the tweet, but I remember when Shark Princess came out, you were tweeting about an issue with a boy being pulled out of a classroom during a visit. Is that a response that you had often with Shark Princess?
That was something that was shared with me after the visit. Luckily, it wasn't before the visit. I think it would have thrown me off. In the course of Book One, we have Kitana, who is a girl shark, and she already has her crown and she's very happy to be a princess. And then eventually Mack, her best friend who's a boy shark joins her. And he also puts on a crown, and he is a princess too.
And so that idea of 'we can all celebrate princess fun and playing dress up'-- I believe the parents took issue with it and had pre-read the book and didn't let their kid participate in the author visit. I mean, every parent has a choice that they make for their own kid and their own family.
I'm really fortunate in that it didn't affect the whole visit. I know many friends, many authors, who, if one parent objects... I'm really fortunate that it didn't affect the whole school getting the visit. Is it disappointing? Absolutely. It's disappointing that that kid didn't get to see my presentation which isn't just about princesses, it's about sharks and a lot of science facts.
But that's one thing that happened to me. I don't know about the people that aren't allowed to go to my visits, you know, [this situation] I only came way of because the teacher was really into the visit and super excited and sent a thank you note, but also included that fact.
And I would say that I'm not disproportionately affected by it. I don't want to take up any space-- you know, there's so many queer books that are being banned and, you know, my rage for that is pretty palpable, and I really wish that we weren't in this space.
I feel at such a loss for what to do. I guess the only thing that we can do is keep doing what we're doing. And asking people not make decisions for an entire community, when really what you want to do is just want to make a decision for your own family.
I also have a memory of you looking for cat names on Twitter for Super Boba Cafe. Did you get a favorite cat name that you ended up going with?
My favorite cat name was Jorts.
So during the pandemic that whole [Jean and Jorts] reddit thing was highly entertaining and really did brighten my day for many, many days. It was just like neverending, that whole Buttered Jorts thing. And then now Jorts is like a total social media presence that's pro-worker, and I love that whole trajectory, it's just phenomenal. So yeah, one of the cats' names is Jorts.
The Shelf Care Interview: Nidhi Chanani.
By Ronny Khuri.
BLOG. First published July 7, 2021 (Booklist Online).
Welcome to the Shelf Care Interview, an occasional conversation series where Booklist talks to book people. This Shelf Care Interview is sponsored by Macmillan.
In this episode of the Shelf Care Interview, Ronny Khuri talks to author and illustrator Nidhi Chanani. Nidhi was born in Kolkata, India, and raised in California. She creates illustrations that capture love in everyday moments, which are often featured at Disney parks. In 2012, she was honored by the Obama administration as a Champion of Change. She is the author of the graphic novel Pashmina and the board book Shubh Ratri Dost/Goodnight Friend and is illustrator of the picture book I Will Be Fierce. Nidhi draws and dreams in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and kid. Here she discusses her latest graphic novel, Jukebox, which is available now.
You can listen to this Shelf Care Interview here. This transcript has been edited for clarity.
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RONNY KHURI: Would you mind kicking things off for us by introducing our listeners to Jukebox?
NIDHI CHANANI: Jukebox is a story about two brown girls who go on a time-traveling adventure. They’re cousins, their names are Shaheen and Tannaz, and they go by Shahi and Naz. They are looking for Shahi’s dad, who went missing, and come across a jukebox. When they put a record on the jukebox, it takes them back to the time period that the record was made.
This book blends a lot of different elements—including science fiction, history, and music nerdery, among many other things—and I want to touch on all of those elements, starting with the jukebox itself, which in my mind is this kind of sci-fi time-travel version of C. S. Lewis’ wardrobe. It’s a really cool and colorful visual concept. Can you talk about how that idea originally came about?
The initial inspiration was a conversation I had with my husband, who is a vinyl collector; I live in a house with 2,000 records. Music, vinyl, and all of these things are part of the language of our marriage. Being creative is also part of that, but definitely music is a huge part of how we connect and what we talk about, and so one of the times we were chatting, I was talking to him about why jukeboxes are these things where you pick only one song, and he said, “Well, jukeboxes only play singles. They play single records.” And I said, “Oh, they don’t have the full-length album in there?” He’s like, “No. If they had a full-length album in there, they would be humongous, and nobody would be able to have those in their building.”
It was just that one comment, and in my mind, I started visualizing what a giant jukebox would look like and how powerful that would be. I started taking notes. That was one of the first times when I had that thought, so I was going through this idea of what would cause somebody to find it. Long story short, I went and sketched something, and that was in 2014, so that was the initial seed of the whole idea.
This book is fiction, but it also rubs up against the world of nonfiction a bit, in that your characters are traveling back in time to notable moments of music history—and just history in general. How did you choose those particular moments of history, or those musical artists that you featured?
It was really hard! It was so hard to whittle down the eras, whittle down the musicians. I knew for a fact that I wanted to feature Black American musicians, mostly because I think it’s interesting. At the time that I was making Jukebox, I think that the awareness around these topics was very different. Even when I was pitching it, I was so nervous making that conscious decision, because I do think that so much of American music is tied to Black music and Black culture. That was one way that I selected, which doesn’t necessarily mean that the choice was simpler, because there are so many amazing musicians to choose from. The other thing that I looked at was albums or musicians that are not represented as much but that were highly influential.
One the first conversations that you read is when Shahi and her dad are talking about Rosetta Tharpe, who is somebody that I discovered late in life, and she was the basis of rock “˜n’ roll, but because she didn’t sell as many records, many people don’t know about her. So that was one of the ways that I chose the musicians. For the historical moments, I wanted to cover a lot of different decades, because each decade has been influenced by music, and I think that the political climate influences music and that music influences politics. It’s this amazing way of weaving in history, music, and American politics—and how much music and musicians made a stand and made statements and how risky it was at the time. So there were a lot of different factors, but those were the guiding principles.
You paid so much attention to detail in every time period, visually and in the dialects and more. What kind of research went into it all?
I have so many notes. I went and looked at historical footage, so I watched concerts, I watched marches. I also looked and fully stole clothing from historical photos and put that into the backgrounds when we were in the ‘60s and the ‘50s and ‘70s. And the other thing that I found really fun—one of my favorite things—is I had this huge list of slang from different decades. I was really cognizant of not forcing the slang, so if I didn’t feel like it served the story, it got nixed, but I wanted to put in a decent amount of slang, because slang has changed so much over the course of time. And it gives you a strong sense of interacting with somebody who’s not from your time period.
That was definitely one of my favorite parts of the research, but a lot of the research was looking at how people dressed, what kind of tones and colors I could combine. I knew that Jukebox would be full color. I played with the idea of having each decade kind of have its own color hue, but in fact what I ended up doing, because I wanted it to retain full color versus just being tonal, was to give each decade its own overlay, which is a fairly arty-nerdy thing, but for instance, when they’re in Chicago, I did a yellow overlay, so the yellows are kind of brought forward more. Each decade that they visit has kind of a different tone.
I wanted to ask how you see the connection between your art and music—and evoking music on the page, which to me seems like it has to be one of the most difficult things to do, whether you’re writing or drawing. Because I think you hit on a sort of synesthetic connection between the way the book looks and the way the music feels. I don’t know if that’s something that was conscious for you or not, but I wonder if you can speak to that.
Yeah, it was definitely conscious. It was one of those challenges going into making a graphic novel, where music in and of itself needs to be a character and needs to take up space, but it can’t take up space in the way that it does in our lives. So how do I do that? How do I portray that visually? And I started to think about how music will be in your space while you’re having a conversation, while you’re experiencing things. The idea of those ribbons that flow through Jukebox came up, the idea of making them transparent so that they’re in the panels but they’re not necessarily the focus of the panels. Sometimes they are, of course, like when Shahi and Naz first go back in time, plus every subsequent time that they go back. But then the ribbons are just there, and I felt like there had to be a way in a graphic novel that is so focused on music’s importance to not continue panels without having them there.
So I was trying to wrap my head around how to make it work. They’re still images, and there is no music; you can’t open up a book and have it singing to you, so how do I make those pages sing? That was very much something I thought long and hard about, and I did a lot of research to see how music was depicted in still images. I felt like, as a non-musician, as somebody who’s a huge fan of music and that art form, it is very much a love letter to how music is this thread through our entire lives, something that takes up space almost in the background, but is so essential. It’s got to be there; it’s got to take up space.
Last question, which I have to ask: if you could travel back to any moment in music history, what would it be?
I love answering this question. It is the late ‘60s and ‘70s, because that was such an exciting time for music. It was such a pivotal time in American history, where music and American politics were getting so tied up. And there was this consciousness that was happening through music and through the things that people were identifying with. And also it was this time where the things that you did, the clothes that you wore, the people that you were around indicated the music you were into—whether you were a punk, you were a hippie, you were into soul music. So the clothes you wore as you walked down the street would automatically tell somebody that you’re listening to Marvin Gaye, or you’re listening to The Doors. I love that idea, and I would have loved to see it.
I still remember this story my father-in-law told me. He’s a Bay Area native, and he was in a restaurant, and Jerry Garcia walked in, and he said the entire restaurant stopped and looked. And I was like, ”I find that hard to believe.“ And he said, ”I think it’s really hard for you to believe because you had to be there. People didn’t dress like that. People weren’t like that then. So to see somebody who had such a unique flare for his dress, with his look and everything that he was, you absolutely would be like, ‘Okay, this person is not like the rest of us.’“ And I was like, ”I don’t know what that’s like.“ So I would love to see what that would be like.
This Shelf Care Interview was sponsored by Macmillan, publisher of Jukebox, available now.
Nidhi Chanani Talks with Roger
by Roger Sutton
May 26, 2021 | Filed in Authors & Illustrators
0
Talks with Roger is a sponsored supplement to our free monthly e-newsletter, Notes from the Horn Book. To receive Notes, sign up here.
Sponsored by
By the way of searching for her missing father, Shaheen and her cousin Tannaz find a mysterious Jukebox that sets them spinning into the past to hear whatever record is playing in back-in-the-day time, like Bessie Smith’s “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” sending them back to a lindy hop at the Savoy in 1929. Where (and when) is Dad?
Roger Sutton: How did you choose the records that you were going to focus on?
Nidhi Chanani: It was definitely a challenge. I did a lot of research — that’s what took me the longest. There’s so much music to choose from! I went about it in a somewhat methodical way. I first figured out which decades I wanted the characters to visit. Then within those decades, I tried to think about which albums people were familiar with, and that was also pivotal. I wanted to highlight musicians whose work changed music or encapsulated a point in American history. I could have made the book two or three times as long if I’d put in everything I’d originally started with. I had to pare it down. It was so hard to say goodbye to some of the musicians and albums. At one point, there was going to be a ton of Bill Withers, throughout the whole book. I love Bill Withers — he’s one of these musicians whose songs people know, but they don’t necessarily know much about him. It wasn’t necessarily a super-linear process, but I did whittle the list down based on what I thought was pertinent and influential in terms of impact on music and history.
RS: Bill Withers’s “Ain’t No Sunshine” coincided with my sweet spot for Top 40 radio, eighth grade or ninth grade. What were you listening to then, in your youth?
NC: In my youth, in the 1980s and ’90s, I was listening mostly to records. At first, it was pop. Later on, I was definitely a product of grunge — a lot of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins. Then at a certain point in high school, I ended up with the “weird kids.” We hung out in the back of the school — we called it the Bat Cave. They introduced me to a whole slew of music that I had never heard before, a lot of indie rock. I was listening to Sleater-Kinney, Bikini Kill, Belle and Sebastian, Yo La Tengo; and that all ended up directing my musical tastes. And then when I met my husband, it kind of exploded.
RS: Your husband sounds like somebody out of High Fidelity.
NC: He absolutely is like that. He’s just this wealth of knowledge when it comes to music, but you have to get him going on it — he doesn’t want to bore anybody. For us, the discussion of music, musicians, bands, producers becomes this undercurrent of conversation. It’s like with a lot of long relationships, where you just pick up where you left off — we might’ve been talking about some musician two weeks ago, and then start up again like we were just talking about them. It’s an amazing thing to live with somebody who has that much knowledge of something and is so passionate about it.
RS: One of the conflicts in your book is the communication between Shaheen and her dad — he loves music, and he loves Shaheen, but she gets frustrated because she tries to tell him about the book she’s reading, and he’s off in his own world. Is that a problem for you or your husband?
NC: Yes, it’s very much modeled after that. Not anymore, but definitely in the early part of our relationship. He was in a band for eight or nine years. Not only was music this all-consuming thing, as somebody who was a listener and a fan and curious about both the production and artistic sides of it, but then he was also very much a creator. He was doing the work and trying to get people to pay attention to this art he was creating — just like where I’m at now as an author. It ends up consuming a lot of your life. I definitely drew upon our own history of conflict around: what’s more important to you, music or me?
RS: I can see your hands on your hips as you ask that question.
NC: For somebody who loves music that much — and I’m the same; I’m not at the same level with music, but I love art, and that’s a really good comparison — it’s an unfair question. But when you’re early in your relationship, trying to understand your place in the world and in this person’s life, to a certain extent it makes sense.
RS: I thought, too, there was an interesting dynamic between the cousins, Shaheen and Tannaz, who are three years apart. Was that relationship based on people in your life?
NC: The Shaheen character is based on a very good friend of mine. With Tannaz — my dad’s side of the family all immigrated to the U.S., and I grew up with twelve cousins. We hung out constantly — we basically see each other as brothers and sisters. That kind of cousin relationship is something that is precious to me. Tannaz isn’t necessarily based on any specific cousin of mine, but more that feeling of closeness and almost sisterly affection. But I also really wanted to show a familial relationship that is complicated but not combative. I often find that when you include an age difference and female relationships, there’s a cattiness that tends to be the point of conflict. I wanted the point of conflict between them to not be that, but more a lack of understanding of each other.
RS: Cousins are an interesting mix of friends and family. Naz has kind of a caretaker aspect of her relationship with Shahi, at the same time as they’re friends.
NC: Right. That’s an important thing that happens within a supportive family. But then there’s that switch in the book’s trajectory, so Naz isn’t always in the older sister role. At a certain point, Shahi has to make this bold move and be the one who takes care of Naz.
RS: What was it like, in terms of your comfort level, to move from Pashmina, which had a very strong connection to your own ancestral culture, to something that was way more “American”?
NC: I was very intentional in that because I don’t want to pigeonhole myself. Pashmina was definitely an “identity book,” an exploration of what it means to be Indian American, and I didn’t want this one to be a repeat. I have this wealth of music and music knowledge in my life, which I’m fascinated by. I didn’t really get introduced to the Beatles until I met my husband. Growing up Indian American, we were listening to Indian music all the time, forever. It was Bollywood all the time. My exposure to American and global music came much later in life, in early adolescence, and then college, so it made sense to explore that here. After working on Pashmina and talking about Pashmina — I still love talking about it — I started thinking about how “diverse” titles ended up tracking in a certain way. Nowadays, it seems like there is more freedom with what you’re “allowed” to explore as a topic. With this story, I just wanted to create a thing where two brown girls go on a time-traveling adventure. And all the points in history were places where people of color were very visible. So much of historical fiction, film, and TV end up getting very whitewashed, as if we didn’t exist then. I had many different objectives with this story, but primarily I wanted to make a fun book. Of course there are themes, and it’s not just a lighthearted comedy, but I very much wanted to give myself permission to not make something that’s so heavy.
RS: And the girls are definitely attached to their culture, like in the family names that they use for each other. They’re not brown-faced stereotypical “all-American girls.”
NC: No, not at all. But at the same time, it’s one of these things that maybe we don’t talk about as much. I don’t spend my days thinking about how I’m Indian. I move through the world the way I move through the world. Something external happens that makes me think about it — that’s fine. I wanted my characters to have that be part of who they are and not the focal point. They are two girls who have to find their father and uncle who are missing.
RS: There’s that scene where they go to the Bud Billiken parade in Chicago, but they realize that because Shaheen’s father is white, he’s not going to be there — they don’t see any white people. So there is racial consciousness.
NC: Yes. That’s the thing. It’s not something you’re not aware of. But does it need to be constantly called out? In this title specifically, identity is not the main point, but at the same time, it’s not something that people should be afraid of talking about either.
RS: I liked all the appended sections about the process of the work. That was interesting to me, because I’m a little old for graphic novels, I think. To learn more about the kinds of decisions that an author-artist goes through in the process was fascinating. Why did you decide to include that?
NC: I have noticed this trend in some graphic novels, to include process, and it can be very valuable. There are so many kids who read graphic novels, and it demystifies the process to see the work behind it. Even for me, as somebody who creates them — there’s a part of the process when I’m done with the book, I’ve turned it in, and then I see the final copy, and I have almost an out-of-body experience. Like, “Did I actually make this? This is so much work!” There’s so much involved — I can’t believe I studied what it looks like to crouch down on the ground, where your foot turns, all those nuanced things. I know a lot of cartoonists, and when I look at their books, and then I hang out with them, I have that same dissonance — this is a person who makes this thing. So I think there’s an inherent value to showing that work and unpacking it because, especially for people who might be interested in making comics, there’s a lot of value in showing how it doesn’t just come together magically, looking like final art from the get-go. There are steps to the process. And there is a process.
RS: And that is something that many people start to do very young. Even when I was a kid, there were funny pages in the daily news and in color on Sundays. One of the first things kids try to do is make their own comics. I can only guess that’s done even more today.
NC: Yes. And it’s wonderful. It’s only going to increase as comics are becoming more and more popular, there are more adaptations of classics, and even now, there are modern classics. That drive is there, and it’s quite exciting.
INTERVIEW: Nidhi Chanani on SHARK PRINCESS: SHARK PARTY!
We asked about everything from aquariums to two-page Shark spreads!
By Avery Kaplan -04/21/2023 10:00 am0
In Shark Princess: Shark Party! by Nidhi Chanani, Kitana and Mack return for a shark shindig! The second book in the Shark Princess series for young readers will be published on May 2nd, 2023.
To celebrate the newest release in the Shark Princess series, The Beat caught up with Chanani over email to learn more about the genesis of the series, ask about aquariums, and learn which sharks present the greatest artistic challenge!
AVERY KAPLAN: While it’s alluded to by the dedication for Shark Princess, can you share the genesis of this story with our readers?
NIDHI CHANANI: Of course! For my daughter’s fourth birthday party, I decided to draw on plain paper bags that we had for goody bags. Around the 20th bag, I ran out of ideas and I turned to her and asked what I should draw. She said “A shark princess” and I quickly drew a shark with a crown. As I finished the bags I thought to myself… that’s a great concept! Has it been done before? Turns out it hadn’t and so I began writing the series shortly after! All thanks to her.
KAPLAN: What goes into drawing an adorable shark?
CHANANI: Haha! Well, years of practice helps! I spent a large amount of time watching shark documentaries to study their body movement and understand how to simplify their shapes and fins. So a lot of practice and watching lots of shark videos!
KAPLAN: Both Shark Princess and Shark Princess: Shark Party! feature boatloads of wordplay. Did you have a particular pun that was you were especially excited to include?
CHANANI: Fintastic is definitely one! I wanted to include gil-stopper like heart-stopper but I think it isn’t right for the age group – but I still love it.
KAPLAN: What do you hope young readers take away from the adventures of Kitana the whale shark and and Mack the mako shark?
CHANANI: The message of accepting your friend and helping them accept themself is the heart of the series. And that princesses (and sharks) aren’t one fixed thing but can be adventurers, dangerous, introverted… all the things! Complex and lovable.
KAPLAN: Are you a fan of aquariums? Do you have a favorite that you’ve visited?
CHANANI: I love the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Truly, I’m a fan of the ocean. It’s my happy place. I visit aquariums with my family and we try to snorkel in the ocean a few times a year. I’m constantly wowed by how beautiful, vast and different the world is when you dip your head below the surface of the water. It’s magic.
KAPLAN: Both Shark Princess and Shark Princess: Shark Party! feature back matter that includes facts about sharks. What was the process of researching this information like? Did you have a particular shark fact you were most surprised to learn?
CHANANI: I love that a group of sharks is called a shiver. I also loved learning about sharks thriving in underwater volcanoes. How some can lose 35,000 teeth during their lifetime! That many have to stay in motion to stay alive. And that whale sharks have unique spot patterns like fingerprints. There are more, but those are some of my favorite facts!
KAPLAN: Were there any particular comics, books, movies, music, or any other kind of media that was especially inspiring to you while working on the Shark Princess books?
CHANANI: Absolutely! I watched so many National Geographic documentaries on sharks, whales and the ocean. There’s a whale documentary narrated by Sigourney Weaver that I particularly loved.
KAPLAN: Shark Princess: Shark Party! lives up to its name, including multiple two-page spreads that each feature a wide variety of species of shark! Did you have a favorite to draw? Did any provide a particular challenge?
CHANANI: I love drawing Kitana and Mack, of course! I also enjoyed drawing tiger sharks and carpet sharks. I find hammerheads the most challenging especially when I have to draw them turning or in profile.
KAPLAN: Can you give us a hint about what the future holds for Kitana and Mack?
CHANANI: More adventures! In each book I want to delve further into their characters and take them out of their comfortable currents into new and exciting waves. In the third book I take them a bit out of the water! It releases in early 2024 so the wait won’t be too long to see their next adventure.
Shark Princess: Shark Party! will be available at your local bookstore and/or public library beginning May 2nd, 2023.
A Conversation with Nidhi Chanani, by Angela Frederick
July 22, 2024 by Angela Frederick Leave a Comment
What’s the best part of being a comics creator?
NC: The best thing is meeting readers. At the end of the day, the work is the work, and it can be a mix of really gratifying and really long [days]. Making comic books takes a really long time, but when you make the work and then you get to meet the readers and see their reaction to the work, and talk to them about the different aspects of the story or the characters, that’s the part that just lights me up.
Do you have a lot of opportunities to interact with readers? Do you go into schools or visit libraries?
NC: All of it. I’m not sure how many school visits I have done, but it is so many. Everytime I’m in a school, I feel so grateful. Not every author gets to go to schools. With SUPER BOBA CAFE, it’s been a really interesting experience because it’s in a certain zeitgeist. When I walk into schools, kids are already excited to read it because they are familiar with boba. They’ll be reading it already when I visit.
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Do you consider SUPER BOBA CAFE to be for the middle grades?
NC: Even though comics get designated as middle grade or YA, it’s actually a medium that has a wide range of readers. I have adults contact me to tell me how much they have enjoyed SUPER BOBA CAFE. But there is a plot point about the dangers of social media and bullying, and so it will resonate with a younger reader if they’ve had an experience with those issues already. I also think we’re in an interesting place with readers right now since kids are still catching up with their reading skills after the pandemic, so you might have differently aged kids interested in the same works.
How would you describe your art style?
It’s been described as whimsical and cute. I’ve always loved picture books and that had a significant influence on me. I like art that is way beyond my skill level, and that inspires me a lot. I like simple art as well, although simplicity in art can be deceptive. It’s hard to do simple things well.
How have the recent trends of book bans and censorship affected you?
NC: I am part of Authors Against Book Bans, which is helmed by Maggie ?? I have experienced soft censorship in the form of my school visits drying up. I had events canceled without explanation. I do have a book that won a Stonewall Award Honor, and I am not quiet about the fact that I’m queer. JUKEBOX has a character who is queer. I think that when people are booking school visits, they may be making a choice to not invite me.
I am also friends with many authors who have had their livelihoods affected by this, and have received death threats for writing a book about periods, or a book about racism. Everyone is feeling the effects of it whether it’s a direct connection or the ripple effect of censorship.
Does it affect you while you’re trying to create your stories?
I try to push out those thoughts while I’m creating. The story will tell me what it needs to say, and I can’t have any toxic anti-history, anti-gay agenda affect what I know as someone who is queer and never saw themself in books when I’m creating. I will say that how I am on social media has changed significantly because I don’t want to engage at the same level that I used to. I don’t engage with trolls.
Can fans of SUPER BOBA CAFE look forward to more volumes?
NC: Yes, the second volume will be out next year. I am drawing it right now. I can’t tell you the plot yet, but it will be worth the wait. I’m hoping it will be a three book arc, and that will give readers a nice sense of completion.
About the Author:
Nidhi Chanani is a freelance illustrator, cartoonist, and writer. Born in Calcutta and raised in suburban Southern California, she creates because it makes her happy—with the hope that it can make others happy too. Her debut graphic novel, Pashmina, received starred reviews from School Library Journal and Publishers Weekly, was a JLG Selection, a YALSA Top Ten Great Graphic Novel for Teens, and was reviewed in the New York Times, among other honors. She has a number of other comics and picture books out in the world as well, including Binny’s Diwali, Jukebox, and What Will My Story Be? Chanani draws and dreams every day with her husband, kid, and their kittens in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Chanani, Nidhi PASHMINA First Second (Children's Fiction) $16.99 10, 3 ISBN: 978-1-62672-087-9
In this feminist graphic novel, a young woman searches for the truths of her past with the help of a long-lost aunt; Shakti, the Divine Mother Goddess; and a mysterious shawl. Indian-American teenager Priyanka "Pri" Das, a talented artist and a bit of a loner, wants to know both why her deeply religious mother left India for California so abruptly years ago and her father's whereabouts. But Pri's mother refuses to speak of India: "That subject is permanently closed." Soon, Pri discovers a mysterious pashmina tucked away in a forgotten suitcase in her Los Angeles home. When she wraps it around her shoulders, she is transported to an imagined, romanticized India--one as colorful as a Bollywood movie, in contrast to the black-and-white images of her everyday life. There, a talking elephant and bird introduce Pri (and readers) to the country's festivals, foods, and fashion, but Pri knows this isn't the "real" India. To find "her" India and uncover her mother's secrets, Pri will travel to the subcontinent, where she learns about women's choices--especially her mother's--and living without fear. While the book covers well-worn territory about bicultural and immigrant conflicts, it also dramatically explores the ways women are constrained by patriarchy. Pri is the daughter of a single mother, a family structure rarely represented in young people's literature of the South Asian diaspora. An original graphic novel, the first written and illustrated by an Indian-American creator, this is both a needed contribution and a first-rate adventure tale. (Graphic novel. 10-14)
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"Chanani, Nidhi: PASHMINA." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Aug. 2017. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A499572658/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=70e67d0d. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
Pashmina. By Nidhi Chanani. Illus. by the author. Oct. 2017.176p. First Second, $16.99 (9781626720879). 741.5. Gr. 6-10.
Priyanka is deeply curious about her mother's past in India, but she won't tell her daughter anything, not even Pri's father's name. Meanwhile, Pri finds a beautifully embroidered pashmina hidden in a closet, and when she puts it on, she's transported to a fantastical version of India, full of colorful scenes, magical creatures, and delicious food, which only amplifies her desire to visit the country. A family crisis causes her mother to reconsider her stance, and soon Pri embarks on the journey she's been dreaming about. Yet when she arrives in India, it's nothing like the visions the pashmina has offered, but tracking down the garment's origin helps illuminate both Pri's relationship to India and her better grasp of her mother's perspective. Chanani's stylized cartoons shift from a palette of gray, black, and white when depicting Pri's life in California to bold, vibrant color when the pashmina transports its wearer to a fantastical reality. Although some plot mechanics are a litde murky, Chanani's debut is a lively, engaging exploration of culture, heritage, and self-discovery.--Sarah Hunter
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association
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Hunter, Sarah. "Pashmina." Booklist, vol. 114, no. 4, 15 Oct. 2017, p. 34. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A512776142/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=25115993. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
Umrigar, Thrity BINNY'S DIWALI Scholastic (Children's None) $17.99 9, 1 ISBN: 978-1-338-36448-4
It’s Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, and Binny can’t wait to tell her class about her favorite holiday.
On their way through their North American suburb to school, Binny’s mother wishes her luck and reminds her to tell her class about the oil lamps that are a central part of their family’s Diwali tradition. But when Binny’s teacher, Mr. Boomer, invites her to share, Binny freezes, overcome with shyness. Taking a deep breath, she remembers her mother’s advice. The thought of the world filled with light—symbolizing the triumph of good over evil—gives Binny the strength she needs to tell her family’s Diwali story. While the book is thorough in its description of traditions like wearing new clothes, eating sweets, lighting lamps, and decorating floors and sidewalks with colored powder, the prose is clunky and clumsy, and Binny’s conflict is resolved so quickly that the story arc feels limp and uninteresting. Other elements of the text are troubling as well. Calling Binny’s new clothes an “Indian outfit,” for example, erases the fact that the kurta she wears is typical of the entire South Asian subcontinent. The use of most fireworks, which the author treats as an essential part of the holiday, is now banned in India due to concerns about pollution and child labor. Most problematically of all, the author continually treats Diwali as a Hindu holiday celebrated by “everyone,” which is untrue in India or in diaspora and which dangerously equates Hindu and Indian identity. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads reviewed at 49% of actual size.)
A simplistic, outdated take on Diwali for young children. (Picture book. 2-5)
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"Umrigar, Thrity: BINNY'S DIWALI." Kirkus Reviews, 15 July 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A629261464/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=baf2e0f9. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
Chanani, Nidhi JUKEBOX First Second (Children's None) $21.99 6, 22 ISBN: 978-1-250-15636-5
Shaheen’s dad is missing. Music, which bonded them over the years, now seems to be the cause of their separation.
Twelve-year-old Shahi and her journalist father, an avid record collector, have connected through music for as long as she can remember, although lately he seems to pay attention to it more than he does to her. Until the day Shahi’s dad gets lost in music—literally. Shahi and her cousin, Tannaz, set out to find him by sleuthing after hours inside the local record store, where he and Earl, the store’s owner, were last seen. They discover a massive jukebox, which they come to realize is magical, as it transports them back in time whenever it plays a record. Hopping in and out of time to attend legendary concerts seems to have led to both men’s disappearance. Now Shahi and Naz need to figure out if there is a way to bring them back. The story highlights the eras and contributions of notable Black musicians including Bessie Smith, Nina Simone, James Brown, and Marvin Gaye. Chanani’s illustrations of the family’s San Francisco neighborhood as well as the historical settings are delightfully colorful and vibrant, and her attention to detail is impeccable. She weaves musicality into her exploration of personal relationships, creating a world where music connects us all. Shahi has Italian and Bangladeshi heritage; Naz is Bangladeshi American and bisexual, and Earl is Black.
Captivating and lyrical. (playlist, author's note) (Graphic fiction. 10-14)
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"Chanani, Nidhi: JUKEBOX." Kirkus Reviews, 1 June 2021. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A667031509/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1d1b44f0. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
* Jukebox. By Nidhi Chanani. Illus. by the author. 2021. 224p. First Second, $21.99 (9781250156365). Gr. 6-9. 741.5.
Music has always connected 12-year-old Shahi and her father, but his vinyl obsession also leads to his growing emotional distance and sudden disappearance. When Shahi and her cousin Naz go looking for him, their search leads to a record-store attic, where they come upon a mysterious jukebox. As they sift for clues, they find that whenever a record is played, the machine transports them back to the time period of the music's origin. What follows is a whirlwind journey through the twentieth century: Bessie Smith's music leads them to Depression-era Harlem; James Brown's to his famous Boston concert the night after Dr. King's assassination; Grandmaster Flash's to 1980s Venice Beach. The result is a broad overview of modern Black American music history, though Chanani (Pasbmina, 2017) is careful only to include elements that serve her story. The power of music is imbued in every aspect--the characters, plot, and even the artwork, which bears a synesthetic quality, evoking music in its glowing, jukebox-inspired purples and golds and the flowing ribbons of sound that trail Shahi and Naz across time. Exquisite attention to detail--fashion, architecture, dialect--brings each era to life, providing a treasure trove for young history buffs and a launchpad for those interested in music history. Most importantly, though, this is a fun, heartfelt time-travel adventure of two girls in search of connection. --Ronny Khuri
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Khuri, Ronny. "Jukebox." Booklist, vol. 117, no. 21, 1 July 2021, pp. 55+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A669809421/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=0a0cbcec. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
Chanani, Nidhi WHAT WILL MY STORY BE? Viking (Children's None) $17.99 10, 26 ISBN: 978-0-593-20506-8
In a starlit room, an unnamed protagonist listens to her aunties tell stories.
The female elders tell tales of immigration, multilingualism, and change. The protagonist soaks the stories up, completely rapt. Every word her aunties say feels "steeped in love and lore." The more she listens, the more she wants to tell her own story. But how will she know what her story will be? Soon, her imagination takes flight. Will her story be about sailing away with pirates who have forgotten their trousers? Or will her story be about teaching magical creatures their alphabets? She wonders if she will become an explorer. When her aunties hear that she is trying to tell her story, they encourage her to find her own voice. That is when the protagonist realizes that her story is more than just her present and future: It is also her past, including all the memories and adventures and histories she's inherited from women like her aunties. By the end of the book, the narrator still isn't sure what her story will be, but--with the help of her aunties--she is excited to find out. The book's text is lyrical, whimsical, and inspiring, the vision of interweaving individual and collective stories both accessible and heartwarming. The illustrations of the brown-skinned protagonist and racially diverse aunties are gentle and playful. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Wisely counsels looking to our past to find our future. (Picture book. 2-6)
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"Chanani, Nidhi: WHAT WILL MY STORY BE?" Kirkus Reviews, 1 Sept. 2021. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A673649904/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=706dc812. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
Nidhi Chanani. Viking, $12.99 (80p) ISBN 978-0-593-464604
Who gets to be a princess? That's the crux of this firmly inclusive, emotionally generous graphic novel by Chanani (Jukebox). Readers are immersed in an undersea cartoon world--luminous in colorist Elizabeth Kramer's expansive aquatic palette--where Kitana, a whale shark sporting a seashell-and-starfish crown, is the selfdeclared "first shark princess." This is not pretend play or a yearning, Kitana tells "best chum" Mack, a shark with a krill allergy: "I don't want. I am." But Kitana's vision of princess-hood is as open as it is unshakable: when Mack finds a gold crown in a sunken ship and offers it as a replacement for Kitana's fetching homemade affair, Kitana insists that it become Mack's princess crown instead--even though Mack worries that dangerous teeth and severe allergies are instant disqualifiers. "Shouldn't we decide who we are?" Kitana says. "This is my story. And yours." A nominal, briskly paced adventure ensues when the pair gets trapped in the rotting shipwreck and rescued thanks to Mack's propulsive allergic sneeze, but it's Mack's realization that expression and identity aren't about rules or permission that make this series starter sparkle. Ages 5-7. (Sept.)
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"Shark Princess (Shark Princess #1)." Publishers Weekly, vol. 269, no. 31, 25 July 2022, p. 81. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A713173035/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=73325db5. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
Chanani, Nidhi SHARK PRINCESS Viking (Children's None) $12.99 9, 13 ISBN: 978-0-593-46460-1
Chanani's latest graphic novel sees shark princesses of different species (and genders) having adventures in a sunken wreck.
Sporting an elaborate crown of shells and sea stars, slow-moving whale shark Kitana (the self-declared "first and only SHARK PRINCESS!") rejects smaller but toothier chum Mack's initial eager invitations to play games--but the prospect of exploring a wreck is a different matter. And when a sparkly golden crown turns up inside the hulk, it only makes sense to declare Mack a princess, too. Mack doesn't think so, being, embarrassingly, allergic to the smell of blood and dead fish, but Kitana will have none of that: "Princesses can be allergic!" And when Mack still expresses doubts: "Our crowns. Our story." So it is that the two chime "SHARK PRINCESSES!" with a tail slap and swim into a briefly dangerous--though entertaining and amusing--adventure (with more to come, Chanani promises). Kramer uses a rainbow palette of bright pastels to color the sequential seascapes, and a drawing lesson joins a "hide and sea" game and facts about whale sharks and shipwrecks to close.
A finny, funny foray that encourages inclusivity even when it comes to play. (Graphic novel. 7-9)
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"Chanani, Nidhi: SHARK PRINCESS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Sept. 2022. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A715352961/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=aa4febe6. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
Strong
Rob Kearney and Eric Rosswood, illus. by Nidhi Chanani. Little, Brown, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-316-29290-0
Growing up, Rob Kearney loved feeling strong: "He lifted HEAVY boxes, opened the TIGHTEST pickle jars, and always brought the groceries into the house in one trip." As he matures, he plays football, cheerleads, and weightlifts until, at 17, he learns about strongman competitions. Interested in becoming a weightlifting champion, Kearney trains until he can lift 400 pounds ("That's more than 114 BIRTHDAY CAKES WITH CHOCOLATE FROSTING AND CONFETTI SPRINKLES!"). He even skips wearing vibrantly hued clothes, adhering to the cliche around masculinity that "strongmen do not wear bright, bold colors." But in chatting with now-husband Joey, Kearney learns that expressing himself authentically is what makes him strong. Authors Kearney and Rosswood develop this picture book memoir about the world's first openly gay strongman using emphatic text, while Chanani's vivid hues emphasize Kearney's bold aesthetic, and depict his 2017 North American Strongest Man Championship donning his iconic rainbow mohawk. Back matter includes a letter from Kearney, further reading, and information about strongman competitions. Ages 4-8. (May)
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"Strong." Publishers Weekly, vol. 269, no. 37, 5 Sept. 2022, p. 101. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A748542479/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8b78773c. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
Chanani, Nidhi SHARK PARTY Viking (Children's None) $12.99 5, 2 ISBN: 9780593464649
When sharks gather for a party, two finny princesses put on the "sharkle."
Actually, extroverted mako shark Mack has to drag his reluctant larger friend, krill-eating whale shark Kitana, to the big bash, as crowds make her nervous. But the roles switch when delivering a tardy invitation to a certain deep-sea shark means diving into strange, dark waters: "We're princesses," she reminds her timorous bestie with a wink, "and we loveadventure!" Down they go, to discover and exclaim over the sea bottom's bioluminescent residents and meet Adrina, a friendly but solitary ninja lanternshark who turns out to be even less of a party animal than Kitana. Keeping things buoyant, Chanani tucks jokes about peeing in the ocean into this sequel to Shark Princess (2022) along with meaningful exchanges about different preferences when it comes to being alone or with others. She also positively packs many of her neatly drawn and colored panels and full-page scenes with different species of sharks (collectively called a shiver, she notes in a closing set of shark facts and activities), all named and accurately depicted.
Glides along on a warm current of affirmation that princesses, despite their differences, are united in a love of adventure. (Graphic fiction. 7-9)
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"Chanani, Nidhi: SHARK PARTY." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Mar. 2023. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A740905385/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6afc38b5. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
Chanani, Nidhi SUPER BOBA CAFÉ Amulet/Abrams (Children's None) $24.99 10, 24 ISBN: 9781419759567
A girl learns that there's more riding on her grandmother's boba shop than just making customers happy with sweet drinks.
Thirteen-year-old Aria is going to visit Nainai, her Taiwanese paternal grandmother, in San Francisco for the summer (her mom's side of the family is Indian). The two quickly fall into a fun routine: exploring the city in the mornings before opening Super Boba and ordering takeout from local restaurants for dinner. Some things are strange, however: There's a bunch of prairie dogs living behind the shop, and every evening, Nainai sneaks off alone. Aria has a secret of her own--she's trying to put a terrible experience with bullying and social media behind her and is apprehensive about going online again. Initially, Aria is so focused on trying to help Nainai bring in much-needed customers that she's reluctant to hang out with Jay, an Indian American teen neighbor. When Bao, the shop cat, surprises them by having kittens, Aria realizes it's an ideal social media opportunity. Eventually Nainai's big secret is revealed, one that involves a wacky combination of prairie dogs, boba, and a threat to everyone in the city. Ultimately, Aria, Nainai, and Jay work together, finding a solution that's neatly tied up. The story explores family, friendships, and moving on from past hurt with a light touch. The attractively colored panels and expressive characters are visually engaging, ramping up both the suspense and the cuteness factor.
Refreshing and filled with charm. (design and process notes) (Graphic adventure. 8-12)
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"Chanani, Nidhi: SUPER BOBA CAFE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Oct. 2023. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A766904336/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=946e026f. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
Super Boba Cafe. By Nidhi Chanani. Art by the author. Oct. 2023. 224p. Abrams/Amulet, $24.99 (9781419759567); paper, $16.99 (9781419759574). Gr. 3-6. 741-5
From the beloved author of Pashmina (2017) comes a new lovable and quirky graphic novel about Aria, who has a secret; so does her grandmother. What will happen when their secrets collide? Every summer, Aria spends two weeks at Nainai's house in San Francisco. But this summer is different. This time, Aria will spend the whole summer helping Nainai run her boba shop. Aria loves being with Nainai, and she's extra relieved to be getting an escape from her troubles at home, namely a boy sharing pictures of her without permission. But she is slowly realizing that Nainai is up to something; something that might have to do with giant boba, some talking prairie dogs, and an earthquake-generating monster? Chanani's vibrant pastel visuals mirror the boba shop's cheerful atmosphere and Aria's quirky personality. Chanani captures San Francisco through a 13-year-old's eyes, and the off-kilter premise is likely to appeal to kids graduating from Dog Man. With lovable characters, cute kitties, lots of tasty food, and a journey of emotional growth and monster hunting, this graphic novel will have broad appeal.--Talea Fournier
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Fournier, Talea. "Super Boba Cafe." Booklist, vol. 120, no. 4, 15 Oct. 2023, p. 40. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A770323904/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=558f1d9e. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
Chanani, Nidhi SURFIN' SHARKS Viking (Children's None) $12.99 3, 26 ISBN: 9780593464687
Finny friends leap into a third round of adventures and attitude adjustments.
Mako shark Mack is proud of his surfing prowess--until slender, graceful sawshark Telo beats him out at the first Surfin' Shark Competition, and he grumpily announces that if he can't be the best, he's done. Whale shark Kitana, his canny fellow "princess," thereupon leads him to a "shark spa," or undersea geothermal vent where the dark water's too hot for all but other sharks. By the time Mack has used his "sharkle"--the shark sparkles that emanate from his crown--to help reunite a lost baby shark with its mama, he's mellowed out enough to realize that surfing is too much fun to worry about being best or not (which the other sharks have been telling him all along). So, in a "fintastic" finish, he joins the whole cartilaginous cohort of contestants and spectators in acrobatically riding a collective "party wave," before going back to chillax in the smoky "spa." As in the previous installments, lessons on being true to oneself and supporting one's friends are deftly layered into the humorous, lighthearted narrative. Chanani's two leads sport crowns but, like all the species of sea life in the cartoon panels here, are otherwise drawn with reasonable fidelity to nature.
Another "jawsome" combination of small adventures and clear, worthy messaging. ("hide and sea" game, facts about sharks and geothermal vents, drawing lesson) (Graphic fiction. 7-9)
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"Chanani, Nidhi: SURFIN' SHARKS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Jan. 2024. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A777736671/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=2bcf7424. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
Quiet Karima
Nidhi Chanani. V iking, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-593-20509-9
Simple, line-style ink, watercolor, and colored pencil drawings introduce a child, portrayed with brown skin, who prefers listening to talking. For "Quiet Karima," "my ears seek/ rhythm and beat": sound-forward text describes the "tk tk tk" of "my mama/ making rotis/ in a one-two tempo," and the shutting door and jingling of keys that occur around leaving the apartment. In first-person narration, the figure wanders through a park to a favorite place, the music store, where Mrs. T accepts Karima's quiet: "Without silence, there's no music." Karima and Mrs. T use objects that Karima's brought ("a box, a can, a pair of chopsticks") to "tap and crash,/ groove and bash." Chanani (the Shark Princess series) draws the two as they experiment with sound, then play drums together. Streams of color emerge from Karima's: "I'm an instrument,/ my heart, my body,/ part of the/ world's melody." In a world where the protagonist's quiet can feel like something that sets them apart, Karima finds a place to engage in both listening and expression. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 3-7. (Oct.)
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"Quiet Karima." Publishers Weekly, vol. 271, no. 31, 12 Aug. 2024, p. 62. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A807411199/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e069f7c8. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
Chanani, Nidhi QUIET KARIMA Viking (Children's None) $18.99 10, 8 ISBN: 9780593205099
A seemingly withdrawn child actively engages with the world.
"People call me Quiet Karima like it's my first and last name." But while the rest of the world chatters away, Karima is watching and listening. Karima's "ears seek rhythm and beat"--the sounds of the softly falling rain, the scrabbling of squirrels' paws, and the almost imperceptible noises made as Mama rolls rotis. The nearby park is a "symphony," filled with the sounds of leaves whirling, bicycle wheels rolling, and shoes hitting the pavement. Most people don't notice Karima's observational bent--except for Mrs. T, who works at the music store. The two of them appreciate the treasures that Karima has collected--"a box, a can, a pair of chopsticks"--before gathering up the shop's drums and turning the store's silence into joyous noise. In the ensuing rhythms, Karima transforms, too: a little bit quiet, a little bit loud, but always Karima. This rhyming picture book is filled with lyrically crafted lines and sweetly professed feelings. Featuring textured backgrounds, the watercolor, ink, and colored pencil illustrations have an appealingly childlike, intimate feel, capturing intangibles such as the sounds Karima so loves, as well as the child's complex emotions. The book's message--that shy or introverted young people needn't change who they are--comes through clearly. Mrs. T and Karima are brown-skinned; Karima is cued South Asian.
A poignant reminder that quiet kids often have richly resonant inner lives.(Picture book. 4-8)
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"Chanani, Nidhi: QUIET KARIMA." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Oct. 2024. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A810315195/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=c7d2e719. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.