Brave brave mouse

Brave Brave Mouse
Written by Michaela Morgan
Illustrated by Michelle Cartlidge

Ages : 3-6

Once in a while a book comes along that addresses the exact challenge that you have most faced with your child. And you get really excited about it. As you turn the pages, you are eager to see what unfolds, how the challenge is met and if it is indeed overcome. You hope that it is, so you can get some ideas from it, and perhaps it might just make an impression on your young one too. This is exactly how I felt when I started reading the Brave Brave Mouse. I often think of Winkie as a slightly reticent child, who is not always the first person in the crowd to try out new things, and often shies away from a new experience. There is a lot of fear factor in him and as a parent, I always mull over how to help him get over it. The one thing I keep emphasising to him is that if he isn't willing to try out something new, he will never know how much fun it can be. Sometimes it works and he ends up having a grand time after all, and sometimes he just sticks to his guns. Now, I don't know how much of an impression this particular book made on him on the whole, and whether he could relate himself to the main character...but it certainly stayed on my mind and made me want to review it here.

The story is that of a little mouse who is not very brave. In fact, he is afraid of a lot of things and some situations simply fill him with fear. For instance, he is afraid of shadows and the silence of an empty room. He is afraid of loud noises and afraid to be left behind with a babysitter, when his parents leave the house for an evening out. He is afraid to get into the swimming pool and sometimes, his friends call him a scaredy-mouse! This fear factor is the problem in the story. A big enough problem in the world of a young child. So, what is the solution? Well, its a very unobtrusive one. In fact, I didn't quite expect anything like this, but on deeper reflection, I think its the most suitable one for the story.

The solution does not come from the outside or the external as I like to think of it. It comes from within. In the form of a little voice inside the Little Mouse, which keeps assuring him and prodding him on to try new things and to overcome his fears. That's all it is. Just a little voice. This is what appealed to me the most in this book. One, because it resonates my belief that every person is equipped with the internal resources to come through in any situation. And two, because it gives me an opportunity to mould a vision of God out of the Voice within. What was interesting was that it did not take much effort on my part to do this. When I asked Winkie what he thought that voice could have been, he suggested this idea himself. So for this one precious precious thing, I loved this book. For something so big and seemingly complicated has been made so easy to present to the eyes of a child.

What follows in the story is fairly typical. The Little Mouse learns to tune in to the voice within and becomes just a bit more daring. He now loves to splash in the swimming pool, doesn't mind trying out new food set on his dinner plate (wow!!), cooperates nicely in the dentist's office and no longer minds the shadows in his room at night. And just when you think that's all there is to the story and are ready to call it a night, a whole new twist appears. The Little Mouse is now in a playground and all his friends are calling out to him from the slides and the swings and the wobbly bridge, asking him to join them. Now the Little Mouse used to be scared of all these things. Will the voice within him help him get over this too? Will you turn the page and see him swinging high and sliding swiftly with the other kids???

You won't. For he doesn't want to try out any of these things. He's happy enough to sit on the bouncing duck where he feels safe and happy. At first, I was very disappointed to see t.h.i.s end to such a grand flow of events. But after a while, my feelings settled and I understood that bravery lies not just in trying out new things and overcoming your fears...it also means knowing when you want to say NO and feeling okay about it. And setting this concept in the light of adult world situations made me appreciate this brand of bravery a lot better than I did at the start.

Now, I don't know really if Winkie understood and appreciated the subtle nuances of this turnaround. And I don't know if it sent out any mixed signals to him. What I do know is that whenever we have faced any situations thereafter, where he is hesitant to put a foot forward, we remember and remind him of the story of the Brave Brave Mouse and the little voice he heeded!

Jamberry

Jamberry
written and illustrated by Bruce Degen

Recommended Age: 4+ years (read alone)
Suggested Age: 0-3 years (read together)


Jamberry is one of the few books that 2½-year old Ana can recite cover to cover gleefully. The book shows the adventures of a little boy and his friend, a jolly big bear, as they go berry picking. The book was apparently inspired by Degen's own experience going on berry picking escapades with his grandparents and later with his own children.

Initially, I was a bit dismissive of this book, jumping to the wrong conclusion that it is a bit mindless and banal, with concocted words for forcing the rhymes. But, as I re-read it a zillion times by request, the book revealed the simple pleasures of childhood when we fully enjoyed what we were doing - not the result our action might produce, not as a means to an end, but, just the adventure itself - which in this case happens to be picking a whole lot of berries to make jam, among other things. I could relate to that, and so could Ana as we go berry-picking in nearby farms every year.

The illustrations are charming and have an old-world, idyllic feel to them, yet filled with colorful lively movement. It sometimes seemed a little too busy to my adult eye, but, apparently captivated Ana, encouraging her to pick out all the little aspects depicted in each page: We see the boy and the bear giddy with joy, tumbling in berry fields and canoing in streams down waterfalls, riding a train full of berries, and floating along in a hot air balloon. We see rabbits jamming in the Berryland band and elephants skating on raspberry jam. We see a whole lot of berries everywhere and the general joie de vivre is depicted beautifully - which is what childhood should be all about.

After about half a dozen reads, it was quite rewarding to pause on and off to hear Ana's reassuring completion of that particular verse:

One berry, Two berry... (pause)
Pick me a blueberry! (Ana chimes in)
Hatberry, Shoeberry... (pause)
In my canoe berry!

The rhymes are delightful, infectious, and musical, although nonsensical and silly sometimes. They start out simple and quickly intensify and get playfully complex, making it a spiffy read-aloud book.

Under the bridge and Over the dam
Looking for berries, berries for jam.

Quickberry! Quackberry
Pick me a blackberry!

Raspberry, Jazzberry, Razzamatazzberry...

Berryband, Merry band, jamming in Berryland...

Raspberry rabbits, brassberry band,
Elephants skating, on raspberry jam.

Ana's favorite turned out to be the last line in the book:
Buried in berries, What a jam jamboree!

On the way to daycare, or while shopping for groceries, or even while taking a bath, she would repeatedly chant What a daam daambowee! and giggle, imploring me to start reciting the book in full. Again.

This easily falls within the top 5 favorite read-aloud books with Ana. Children will either love it or not care for it - there is hardly room for an inbetween here. Hopefully as they grow older and can read alone, they will love discovering the various subtle touches in the illustrations as Emilie Coulter notes: a frog climbing out of a hat, crackers and butter instead of lily pads, and a sign by the raspberry skating rink asking skaters not to pick the jelly rolls planted nearby.

Snowmen at night

Happy 100 posts to Saffron Tree!!!

Snowmen at night
Written by Caralyn Buehner
Pictures by Mark Buehner

Ages : 3-6

Have you ever wondered about the secret life of a snowman? Maybe one morning, his grin is a little crooked, or his tree branch arms have drooped, and you've thought...what do snowmen do at night?

Thus goes the little intro to the book on the jacket cover. The inspiration for this story originated when the Buehners opened their front door one morning, to find that the snowman they had created the night before, had travelled several yards, and was now facing the front door!!!! And it made them start to wonder...and it makes you start to wonder too. So make sure you got on your hats and boots and woollies. For we are about to follow the snowmen on the street and maybe we'll get to see just what it is that they do all night...

The first page opens up to the picture of a little boy building a snowman. When he has made 2 round balls, a smaller one for the head and the larger one for the body, he starts to work on its features. What looks like olives for the eyes and a dotted, curvy, smiling mouth, a carrot for the nose, a bright blue hat on its head and a nice warm red and white striped woolly scarf snug around its neck! Quite a gentlemanly snowman, if I may say so. And the boy goes on to tell us...

One wintry day I made a snowman,
very round and tall.
The next day when I saw him,
he was not the same at all!

And here...begins the mystery...why was he not the same at all? How did he look different?

His hat had slipped, his arms drooped down,
he really looked a fright-
it made me start to wonder:
What do snowmen do at night?

Oooooo...interesting isn't it? Don't you already feel the thrill of mystery and suspense nibbling at your toasty toes? Well, if you think you're going to sit back, solve the mystery and find out all that happens in the pages that follow...you're sadly mistaken! Oh yes! For I shall delight in leaving things hanging in the air, with just this much to go on. But I will give you some little clues to tide you through from now till the point you lay your gloved hands on the book. For instance, there is a little depiction of snowmen mothers who lovingly serve cups of ice cold cocoa to all the gathered bunch of snow-people, which is utterly cute and appealed to the mother in me! And in the lovely illustrations by Mark Buehner, there are also many hidden images, which you and your child will simply delight in finding together. Figures of a cat, a rabbit, a Santa face and a Tyrannosaurus Rex are all interwoven skillfully into the paintings, adding to the wintertime mystery and involving you, just a little bit more, as a reader.

All through the book, you will not find yourself in passive action. You are drawn in to the whole scene and given special privileges to take a peek into the secret lives of snowmen. On the last page, the scene depicted is that of the morning. The sun is out, and the little boy comes out of the house, pulling on a sled, all ready to head out and enjoy the snow! But what does he see when he comes out??? He tells us...

So if your snowman's grin is crooked,
or he's lost a little height,
you'll know he's just been doing
what snowmen do all night!

Well...you still don't know yet, do you?

The wind's garden

[Picture source : Amazon.com]

The Wind's Garden
By Bethany Roberts
llustrated by Melanie Hope Greenberg

Ages : 3-6 years

The book opens up to the sight of a little girl pushing her wheelbarrow across her backyard, loaded with all the things she would need to begin a small garden. She digs the dirt, rakes it smooth and plants the seeds. And alongside her little garden, another bigger garden is in the making too. The wind's garden.

The wind blows and swirls around throwing seeds all over the ground. The girl waters her seeds carefully with her little watering can and they are just beginning to sprout. The wind's garden also gets tended to by Mother Nature, when the rains come and nurture the dry parched ground. After a period of time, both the gardens have grown and flourished a bit. The girl pulls weeds out of her little garden and tends to the plants. The wind's garden has as many weeds growing alongside all the wild flowers and plants. The sun shines down on the rich dark ground in her garden and the wind's garden too. Bees and butterflies fly around, buzzing busily and both the gardens grow and grow and grow...

The little girl's garden is a picture of neat perfection, carefully spaced out and manicured; and the winds garden's is a riot of colours and lush, wild and overabundant greenery. What is so entrancing about this book is the comparison of how nature tends to her vast garden, in much the same way as the little girl tends to her little patch in the backyard. It is lovely to think of all the trees, flowers and shrubs we see growing outside our homes as belonging to the landscape of nature's designs, and the way everything flows in such a harmonious cycle...how the wind does its work in lifting flowers and seeds and scattering them to the many corners of the earth, where they eventually take root and grow; how the timely rainclouds gather and give the much needed sustenance to these living things; how the sun shines down brightly, drying up the rain drops and giving nurture of a different kind. And how in response to these ministrations of care, the colours burst forth and come to life and make the world around us just a little more pleasing to the eye.

I had a wonderful time explaining all these little scientific yet simple things to Winkie, who took a look out the window, spotted all the trees and plants that dotted our backyard and correlated them to the wind's garden. That, it itself, should spell the success of the book!

If...

A few blogs entries below, Ranjani dealt with the fascinating subject of Why? - the ever questioning nature of children regarding happenings around them. I am going to deal with a book with similar theme - but, from a different perspective.

Wonder and amazement comes naturally to kids. It is a trait that needs to be nurtured and not suppressed. The book 'If...' by Sarah Perry re-kindles the interest and questioning nature of the kids. The book is strewn with various 'ifs..' followed by an illustration that depicts the what if scenario. Some of the interesting ifs... include --

What if there are fishes instead of leaves on the trees.

What if worms had wheels...

What if ants could count...

Each illustration is surrealistic and depicts the what if concept in a stylish and elegant manner. It is a very simple book with a powerful concept behind it.

Some of the ifs might make a few adults say 'yuck'!, but, children would love them. For example, one of the ifs is 'if mice were hair...' and it showed a very realistic painting of a small girl who had mice on her head instead of hair. Ranjani found it very yucky, but, Sooraj had a great laugh. Similarly, I felt a bit irritated when I saw the illustration of 'if toes were teeth'. But, children would love to see such wonderful and realistic portrayal of odd things.

If you had noticed, I had used the term surrealistic to describe the illustrations and later used the term realistic. But, the truth is that the illustrations are both surrealistic and realistic at the same time.

As kids grow up - the society, parents and friends mould them and slowly we make them a replica of ourselves by imposing our own ideas in a subtle manner. A book like this would act as a deterrent to the relentless moulding that the whole society works on without its own knowledge. It helps them to explore a world where things can be different and probably make them realise that there is nothing wrong in thinking/acting differently .

Mama Always Comes Home

Picture source: amazon.com
Author/Illustrator: Karma Wilson and Brooke Dyer
Publisher: HarperTrophy
Age Group: All ages

Sometimes the simplest images and simplest words can allay the biggest of fears for kids. Karma Wilson's Mama Always Comes Home does precisely that. Like Owl Babies, it is a soother, a perfect bedtime read to assure, comfort and calm little ones.



In Mamma Always Comes Home, page after page has Brooke Dyer's warm illustrations of various moms who have to leave their young one(s) behind and head to "work". It starts with a picture of a cozy nest with three little birdies and their mother. They are all snuggling happily. But it is time for mama to go fetch the worm. The birdies don't want her to go, and cry in protest. Mama gives them a tight hug and a promise that, no matter what, she will come back. She flies away from the nest searching for worms, but exactly as she promised, she comes right back home to her little ones. They are overjoyed to see her, eat up their meal and snuggle cozily to sleep under mama's protective wings.



The same story, with appropriate changes, is repeated with different animals - a Mama Dog, a Mama Cat, a Mama Horse, a Mama Dolphin, a Mama Polar Bear. They all have to leave their little babies for a bit during the day but they always come back to feed them, play with them, laugh with them, tickle, cuddle, hug, kiss them. The book wraps with a human mother leaving her baby in the arms of another caring adult (the father, perhaps) and driving off to work. But at the end of the day, this mother too comes back to her little one.



This theme hits home in so many ways. My son went through bouts of separation anxiety during his first year, but that was nothing compared to his clinginess shortly after he started daycare. He would cling to me for every minute in the evening and would refuse to acknowledge other family members. I wish I had found this book then. Just to give him some external security. He is out of that stage now, but the book still appealed to to him. Maybe he could relate to it in a way he couldn't communicate.



In an odd way, I found this book reassuring for myself. A working mother carries pangs of guilt in her all the time. No matter how well her child is taken care of, some degree of guilt persists. It was comforting for me to see that even the animals, who pursue, not material, but basic maternal instincs, do have to leave their babies for a bit, but what matters more is how well they bond with the young one when they are united again.



Footnote: When I read the book, I altered the lines just a bit. 'Mama' might imply maternal uncle, so I read it as Amma Always Comes Back and come to think of it, the same could be applied for Dad who "Always Comes home" too!!

The Why-Why Girl

Picture Source: Tulika


The Why - Why Girl


story by Mahasweta Devi

illustrated by Kanyika Kini


The Why - Why Girl is another wonderful book from Tulika publications. The author is none other than the renowned Mahasweta Devi. She has worked with tribal groups and this book is a narration of her experiences with a tribal girl Moyna.


Moyna is a ten year old bubbly girl who always questions the happenings around her. Her questions are very interesting, logical and thought provoking much to the exasperation of her mother ! But the author likes the child for her inquisitive nature.


Moyna belongs to a tribal group called Shabars who are very poor and earn their living doing odd jobs in and around the hills. When none of the other people complain, Moyna's questions go on like these :


Why do I have to walk so far to the river to get water ?

Why can't we eat rice twice a day ?

Why do I have to eat the landlords' left over foods ?

Why do I have to graze the Babus' goats when their sons are there ?

These questions definitely touch a chord in us readers as it presents the stark reality of the poor in our country. It also goes to show that everyone has a sense of self respect and sadly it is never given a thought by the rich and the urban classes. Just because someone is poor does not mean they are any less human than us.


One day Moyna comes with her bag of clothes and pet mongoose to the author's house. She says that she is moving in with the old lady as it is a big hut and an old woman does not need so much space for herself ! You can't help but smile and admire this feisty girl :-).


The turning point in Moyna's life comes when she learns from the author that Books have the answers to all her "whys" ! She goes and fights with the Samiti school teacher that she is unable to study because the school timings clash with the time when she has to tend the goats. "If you don't teach me, how will I learn ? I will tell the old lady that none of us, goatherds and cowherds can study if the hours are not changed" .


When the village primary school opens, no guesses on who is the first person to be admitted there !! As a teacher now in the same primary school, Moyna goads the children to ask that one question which opens up a vast and unknown world to them - WHY ?


This beautiful story brings out a lot of messages for the kids and parents - encouraging curioisty in the children, the courage to speaK up one's thoughts, treating every person that we meet with respect, female empowerment and so on. My five year old son likes this book though I won't say it is his favourite. It is rather one of my favourites as I loved the character of Moyna and wished I was more like her as a kid !!


The illustrations are by Kanyika Kini. As in most of the Tulika books, the illustrations are splendind and eye catching, giving us a peek into the tribal way of life. This book is also available in other regional languages. Some of the translations have been done by well known writers - Malayalam by Paul Zacharia, Tamil by Ambai and Kannada by Girish Karnad.


A great book to add to your bookshelf !

Yellow Umbrella

Yellow Umbrella

By Jae Soo Liu

Music by Dong II Sheen

Ages 3-6

We've all heard of books on tape and audio books. Sure! We've even listened to them, perhaps. But have you ever heard of a wordless audio book? Sounds pretty paradoxical doesn't it? Yeah, I agree. And just for that, you must try Yellow Umbrella. It is a very interesting Kane Miller publication and a little stint with happiness.

Now a wordless book, to be a good wordless book, has to have strong illustration to back up the story and tell it effectively in the absence of a few 100 words. Author-Illustrator Jae Soo Liu, has achieved all that and more with simple watercolours. The concept of the book came to her many years ago, on a rainy day, when she was a teacher in a middle school and she watched students coming to the school carrying their umbrellas. There was a pretty array of colours in the umbrellas and underneath them, all the children looked like one, whether they were short or tall, fat or thin, boys or girls. It was a complete scene of unification and harmony, where the only thing that stood out was colour. The reds, blues, greens, pinks and the yellow of the umbrellas.

So that pretty much gives you an brief idea of the book. From page to page, is depicted the scene of children walking to school on a rainy day, protected under the hood of their umbrellas. You are looking in on the scene from above, to a lone yellow umbrella on the first page. Pretty soon, blue joins yellow and together they walk along the rainy street, when they are joined by a bright orange one. The three of them reach the end of the street and come to a bridge when green comes by. The droplets of rain causing little ripples on the pond below the bridge, and the coloured reflections of the umbrellas in the water, all give you a silent pleasure. Pink joins in and they cross a park, filled with slides and swings, and a cobbled walkway. By the time they reach the fountain in the middle of the park, red has also joined the group. Together, they walk down the steps onto the road, and purple leads the way now. They reach the train tracks, and teal huddles close to the rest, as they wait for the train to cross. They cross the tracks and walk on the street once more, with tall buildings on either side. By this time, more umbrella holders of many more merry colours have joined in and together, they cross the busy street, while all the vehicles stop to let them pass. Turn to the next page, and you know they have entered the school grounds, for the paths now, are flanked by tall trees on either side. The merry play of colours from the umbrellas contrasts beautifully with the lush green of the trees, which have been made lusher by the rains. And soon, the scene shifts from the top view and we now stand behind the children, behind all the rows of brightly coloured umbrellas, and we can see the school building just yonder. We also see a row of little feet ensconced in rain boots and sloshing their way over the rain covered ground. On the very last page, you see all the umbrellas stacked neatly in a little holder, a little puddle of water forming on the ground.

This is the book part of it. The book on tape/CD, is communicated through the whimsical music scores by Dong II Sheen. The idea is to view each page of the book in harmony with each track on the CD. There is a little pause between tracks which lets you know when to turn a page. The jaunty notes on the piano form the perfect background score for this colourful, innocent experience of a book and flow rhythmically from one page/score to the next! At the end of it all is a very lovely song, sung by some children in the Korean language. It sounds very mystical and friendly at the same time. A rough translation of it goes like this:

Underneath the sky

Everyone hold up your umbrella
Standing underneath the sky
Everyone - with your umbrella
Listen to the rain

Refrain:

On a rainy day, the umbrella is my house
I can take it with me like a snail's shell
La la la la la, my umbrella
I can take it with me anywhere I go

Everyone spin with your umbrella
Standing underneath the sky
Everyone - spin your umbrella
Like a carousel

Refrain

Everyone put down your umbrella
Standing underneath the sky
Everyone - fold your umbrella
Feel the shining sun

Refrain

Well, that's the song. And Yellow Umbrella is the kind of book that can put a smile on your face and inspire you to be a little artistic. The sight of all those pretty colourful umbrellas on every page had me running to get out the crayons and paint some of my own and Winkie joined me in my little burst of artistry. Obviously, we need a lot of practice to make them seem less like colourful cobwebs and more like umbrellas. So while I do that, why don't you go place a hold in your library!

All the way to Lhasa - A tale from Tibet

All the way to Lhasa - a tale from Tibet
Written and illustrated by Barbara Helen Berger

Ages : 4-8

Tibet is a place of eternal fascination for me. A fascination that started 15 years ago from the pages of an old magazine and burns to this day. Which is perhaps why I picked out this book from the special multicultural shelf in our library, where our librarian diligently picks out and organises some of the titles from around the world, every week.

Now, we didn't read it right away after bringing it home, Winkie and I. In fact, we didn't read it for a long time. It sat there, unobtrusively amongst many of the other books in a little pile. Over this weekend, Winkie picked it up by chance, and brought it to his father to read. And together, they explored the book over dinner. The story is only a few pages long, but they managed to stretch it, with the aid of their imagination, to the whole duration of the meal. By the end of it, it had become Winkie's current favorite.

But I still hadn't read the book with him yet. So I didn't have a clue as to the special things that lay inside it. Last night, when I asked him to pick something up for our bedtime read, he put this in my hands. And I finally had the unique pleasure of reading a simple story, on my most favorite subject, in the most beautifully designed pages I had ever seen! Let me share this delight with you...

Remember the story of the hare and the tortoise? The moral of slow and steady wins the race. Well, that is the skeletal theme of this book, BUT without the hurry, minus the sense of competition and no full blown fanfare of being a winner. Slow and steady is the theme of the book and it all takes place slowly. Simply. Subtly. What then can a child take home from this, you may wonder, if subtlety is the undercurrent? Well, that is where the power of illustration and the magic of interactive reading from a feeling parent can fill in all the gaps.

The book opens up to a scene of some hilly plains of Tibet. A wise old lady sits on a little patch of grass, wearing deep red flowing robes, as that of a Buddhist monk. She has beautiful silver white hair cascading down her shoulders, a prayer bead in her hands and the most benevolent expression on her face. You take to her immediately. From a distance, you can see a rider galloping fast towards her on his horse, and behind him, in the far distance, another traveller, walking by foot, pulling his yak.

The rider approaches the old woman first and asks her how far it is to the holy city of Lhasa. She replies that it is very very far and that he will not make it there, before night. The rider pays no heed and kicks his horse and rides quickly away. Then comes the second traveller. A young boy, walking with his yak, one foot in front of the other and asks the old woman the very same question. How far is it to Lhasa?.....Very far...replies the old woman. However, she adds that he will be able to reach before nightfall. The smile on her face as she tells him that is very kind and loving. It almost makes you wish the boy would remain with her for a little while and perhaps listen to a story or two from her wise lips. But he doesn't. He gives his yak a gentle tug and with one foot in front of the other, walks on. Slowly and steadily. Passing a panorama of landscapes and weathering many a harsh element of nature. Until he finally catches up with the rider and his horse, who are seen resting out of sheer exhaustion. Seeing them, the boy too feels tempted to stop and rest, but so great is his desire to make it to the holy city of Lhasa, that he trudges along, one foot in front of the other with his yak. And finally, in the last rays of the sun before night, he hears the call of the deep horns. He hears bells, he hears the drums. And he finally greets the sight of the holy city of Lhasa, characteristically depicted by the beautiful white stupa with golden spires serving as the gateway, and leading to the beautiful, shimmering Potala Palace.

The story, as I just narrated, is a very simple one, with not much fanfare. What sets it apart are the beautiful illustrations that lend utter enchantment to the simple lines. The author and illustrator Barbara Helen Berger heard this parable from Lama Tharchin Rinpoche and was inspired to share it as a picture book. She has also long had a fascination for Tibet art and culture which she has richly integrated into the storyline....beautiful little things of delight and absolute cultural significance...such as...

~ The benevolent old lady dressed in garbs of deep burgundy and yellow, the holy colours.

~ The little prayer verse craved into stones, in the snow...Om Mani Padme Hum...the most famous mantra in Buddhism. I searched online for a meaning of the verse, but found that it cannot be captured in just a line or two. Suffice it to say that it is considered the true sound of truth. Tibetans consider it a blessing even to hear or see the syllables!

~ The depiction of the prayer flags. Flags are printed with prayers and strung up in high places. They flutter and snap in the wind, blessing all those who pass.

~ The depiction of a white stupa or shrine - They are supposed to help a traveller remember the nature of his journey. With the golden spire gleaming on the top, they are represent the mind of enlightenment.

These are just some of the few pictorial elements of the book that ties in with a rich cultural feel. From a purely clinical review point of view, one of the biggest contributions of this book to us, as parents, is the gentle opportunity to open up our child's eyes (and very often, our own) to a whole new separate culture. There are many opportunities to discuss this through the myriad questions that the book brings up in our minds. Where is Tibet? What is so special about Lhasa and the Potala Palace? What are prayer flags? What are those little verses carved in rocks? Why is the old lady wearing that outfit? Why is the little boy pulling a yak and going to Lhasa? What is a stupa? What are all the geographical features of Tibet? And so on and on. Huge questions, which we can try to find simple answers for and present in an easier way to the little enquiring minds.

This is exactly what I love about a multicultural book. Right from the second you open the front cover, and take the first tentative step inside, you are thrown open into a far and distant land, with all your senses wide awake! It cannot be any better described than this little para from the author's website...I quote...

"A picture book is a world between two covers. Open the book like a door, and go inside. Art and words are singing together, telling a story, going somewhere. You come too! Turn the pages with your hand. A picture book is a journey for eye and ear, heart and mind. It is a journey for the one who reads it, and for the one who makes the book."

This is exactly what describes All the way to Lhasa!

Barnyard Dance

Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton
Suggested read alone ages 4-7
Suggested read together ages 0-4

Sandra Boynton, the author and the illustrator of this amusing book, portrays goofy-looking farm animals, square dancing with a lot of bowing and twirling. Throw in rhymes like,

Bounce with the bunny,
Strut with the duck
Spin with the chickens now
CLUCK CLUCK CLUCK!

Whats not to like in a book like this?!

This book is super hit at home turf and has been successfully holding its position as ‘one of the favorites’ for the past two years! Even the musically-challenged-me can make a decent song out of the catchy rhyming verses. Now I know the content by heart and when ever I start off ‘Stomp your feet, clap your hands, every body get ready for a barn yard dance….’ my children start bouncing with uncontainable glee!

Sandra Boynton brings out a mood of merriment with not just the rhymes but also with her illustrations. Plump hens dancing with eyes closed in total involvement, horses and donkeys slow dancing, the little chicks running around with confused expressions on their faces – all illustrated in simple cheerful line drawings.

Check out Sandra Boynton’s official website to get a flavor of her drawing style and her sense of humor.

Barnyard Dance is featured in Sandra Boynton’s music album The Rhinoceros Tap. Check out song #10 to get a flavor of the music and the rhyme.

Other:This book is the winner of the 1994 Gold Medal from the National Parenting Publications Award.

The Grouchy Ladybug

Author/Illustrator: Eric Carle
Publisher:HarperCollins
Age group: All ages

This review is by Kodi's Mom.

Hello, Saffron Tree :) It has been a while since I posted a review here and the reasons for that were many. For one thing, my son went into a I-don't-want-anything- to-do-with-books phase for several months. Thankfully, he snapped out of it as suddenly as he went into it, so we're back to reading and visiting the library, and I am back to reviewing :)

Credit: PictureBookArt

It is hard to read an Eric Carle book and not rave about it! I was looking for The Mixed Up Chameleon that utbt just reviewed, and I found The Grouchy Ladybug. I have brought this book home before and it didn't create much of an impression with my then 1.5 yo. This time was different though. He has been fascinated with ladybugs for a few months now, and the picture of the ladybug on the front cover had him begging me to read. In the first reading, he discovered that you don't judge a book by its cover; that there might be a lot more surprises than you expected!



The basic premise in The Grouchy Ladybug is there are two ladybugs - a friendly one and a grouchy one. The friendly ladybug (FL) wants to share aphids on a leaf, while the grouchy ladybug (GL) wants to fight instead. But once FL agrees to fight, GL, like a typical bully, backs off. The excuse? "Oh, you're too small for me"!! The friendly (and smart!) one challenges him to go find someone his size.



And thus the day starts for GL. Every hour, he runs into insects, birds, animals, in increasing order of size. GL challenges each one to a fight, but when the other party agrees, GL flees with the usual excuse - "you're too small" - only to find someone larger. It gets particularly funny when GL encounters a blue whale - the largest known animal. Where GL is but a dot on the page, a third of the whale's body occupies the entire spread. Yet tiny GL declares to the humungous whale - "You're too small for me."



How the whale teaches GL a wordless lesson is the rest of the story. The morals, of course, are plenty, depending on the age of the kid. Learn to share! Don't be a bully! Be humble - there are things larger and stronger than you!



The neat thing about Eric Carle books is how these strong morals come packaged with several toddler-sized concepts. If the book is a hit, you'll most likely be reading it over and over and over. But that's okay (for the parent) because with each read there's something new to focus on!



Apart from vivid colors that are characteristic of Eric Carle illustrations, this book features an assortment of atypical insects, a bird and animals. You don't encounter a stag beetle and a boa constrictor too often! Each insect/animal responds to GL's challenge with its characteristic trait. The rhino lowers its horn, the elephant extends its trunk and shows off its strong tusks. As each animal is introduced, the size of the page increases in proportion to that of the animal. Presented this way, it is very easy to visually compare how much bigger an elephant is, to say, a bumblebee. As if all that weren't enough, there is even an analog clock on every page that shows the time of day. Older kids can track the time throughout the book.



With so many delightful elements to focus on, and with 7 reads in 4 hours, we have only just started exploring The Grouchy Ladybug!!

LookyBook

LookyBook allows one to watch/view the entire picture book online. There are similar sites (especially a few libraries) which allow folks to see the entire picture book online. But, this site is lot more interesting and far better in quality. Another big advantage is that one could embed the book in a website. For example, I have embedded Istvan Banyai's wordless book - 'The Other Side' here.











One could also create bookshelves by adding various books from the website. A veritable feast for a person interested in picture books. A great way to go browse through various books before deciding to buy one. It is not a replacement for an actual book or cozying up with your child in the bed - but, it is definitely a great place to find new books and to share them. Probably a good way for websites like to this one to show readers the books that are currently being reviewed.