It’s Fallon’s turn to accompany Manman to the market in Port-au-Prince, and she’s eager to carry the panye on her head. “Slowly,” Manman says, placing the big basket on top of Fallon’s mouchwa. “'Boom!’ The panye falls and crashes to the floor.” Fallon asks to try again, but Manman preaches patience on the walk to the market. “Pitit, pitit, not just yet. Pitit, pitit, build your nest.” Manman encourages Fallon to look around and learn from the other women and girls carrying their panyes. Manman also tells her that carrying the panye means being strong, like Haiti after the earthquake. Carrying the panye means being graceful even when it’s a heavy load. And Fallon knows carrying the panye means caring for family. As the bustling market slows down at day’s end, Fallon tries one more time; the panye falls again. She’s ready to give up, but Manman knows she’s ready. “Pitit, pitit, buid your nest,” she says, placing the panye on Fallon’s head. “Not too fast, little by little … I walk like a queen. I walk like Manman … all the way home.” Lively language with judicious use of repetition distinguishes this warm, vibrant story of patience and encouragement, strength and resilience, accompanied by pleasing gouache and digital illustrations. (Ages 3-7)

A young girl in Haiti is eager to learn how to carry a basket to market in an exuberant picture book with universal appeal.

“To carry the panye, we move gracefully, even under the weight of the sun and the moon.”

In the hills above Port-au-Prince, a young girl named Fallon wants more than anything to carry a large woven basket to the market, just like her Manman. As she watches her mother wrap her hair in a mouchwa, Fallon tries to twist her own braids into a scarf and balance the empty panye atop her head, but realizes it’s much harder than she thought. BOOM! Is she ready after all? Lyrical and inspiring, with vibrant illustrations highlighting the beauty of Haiti, My Day with the Panye is a story of family legacy, cultural tradition, and hope for the future. Readers who are curious about the art of carrying a panye will find more about this ancient and global practice in an author’s note at the end.