Nanami has two grandmothers: Gram, who lives in Maine, and Baachan, who lives with Nanami’s family in Japan. Both live in seaside towns, but neither woman speaks the other’s language. While Gram is visiting, Nanami acts as translator on an outing to collect wakame seaweed. For Nanami, a moment of childlike delight as she asks Bachaan about gathering wakame when she was a child turns into one of painful understanding: once, when they were young, her two grandmothers were on opposite side of a war, one in which American bombs left Baachan motherless. But the pain is transcended by the obvious bond that the two women now share in their mutual respect and appreciation for nature, and their love for their granddaughter. Holly Thompson’s warmly told, richly detailed story, illustrated by Japanese artist Kazumi Wilds, is a celebration of family. (Ages 5–8)

Nanami has two grandmothers: Baachan, who lives with her family in Japan, and Gram, who lives in Maine. When Gram comes to visit Japan for the first time, Baachan takes them on a trip to the seashore to gather Wakame, a long, curvy seaweed that floats near the shore. While the three gather their equipment and ride the streetcar toward the beach, Baachan explains about Wakame and other seaweeds. Gram remembers how some seaweeds are used in Maine, and Nanami translates for them both. By the end of the day, Nanami's two grandmothers discover that they have much in common despite being from countries that were on opposing sides in the war they both remember vividly. Now, looking out across the beach at the surfers, dog-walkers, and seaweed gatherers, they share an understanding of this precious peace.