After reading I Am Kavi by Thushanthi Ponweera, I decided to look for other books by them. I did not expect a lot as I Am Kavi had a feeling of being a first novel and maybe the start of a promising new author for me. And it was new 2023 and I was lucky enough to be reading it in 2025, therefore, I felt I had a good chance of finding more titles. I found out that in 2024 My Best Friend’s Bangles (illustrated by Maithili Joshi) came out. I found an online reader copy and read that.
This picture book is not only colorful but is a clever combination of being simple but also packed to the top. The story is very bittersweet. Two young girls live most of the year without their mothers (who work in another country for rich families). But what helps them get by is the fact that they are best friends and they have the wonders of their surrounding community to give light to them. However, one day one of the girls shows up with colorful new bangles that clink perfectly against her arm. Bangles that make her center of attention at school. How did she get a nifty gift like that? Her mother has come home for a visit. But where is the other girl’s mother? And of course, envy and jealousy boils up. These concepts with this cultural difference makes a familiar theme fresh and new. There is an afterword that explains why a parent would not be living at home. This addition adds more depth overall and allows the book to grow with a reader.
All of that is shown in some wonderfully bright illustrations. They pop off the pages. The colors are what really grabbed my attention, but the details are also sweet. They are minimal, but not lacking in any way. They allow the reader to see the story unfold.
In June 2025 Crossing the Finish Line (also illustrated by Maithili Joshi) will be coming out. I am assuming the online reader copy I found was not necessarily completed but it didn’t feel like it was missing anything. This time we follow a Sri Lankan soldier Ranatunge Karunananda as he runs the 10,000-meter race in the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games, the first of his country to do so. This book needs a soundtrack. This is an underdog situation for the ages, so it needs all the “feel good you go man!” songs. And Spoiler: Karunananda comes in dead last. But it is the heart he shows as he runs that captures the hearts of many.
Joshi does not disappoint with their illustrations. This time things are more detailed but equally colorful, though maybe more earthy tones and less pop off page but you are not wanting for anything. There are more details which really set the stage of an Olympic track. One setting that would seem dull actually has a lot of action. Ponweera’s words build tension and Joshi’s illustrations counter it, without taking away from the excitement.