Saturday, July 10, 2010

Walk the Grasslands with Takuri


Title : Walk the Grasslands with Takuri
Author : Nima Manjrekar and Nandita Hazarika
Artist : Maya Ramaswamy

The book begins with an open invitation from the pygmy hog - Takuri, to take a tour with him through the place which is home for him and his friends -the exuberant, lush green grasslands which seem to spread even beyond the horizon.

The green magical grasses yet so unassuming, support innumerable life forms and are great survivors withstanding rough weathers and difficult conditions to protect the fertile top soil. The readers will be surprised to know how grasses spread and how much percentage of our breakfast comes from the grass family.

I liked the fact that Takuri introduces almost all significant categories of living organisms thriving on such grasslands - the beautiful feathered friends, the giant animals like elephants and rhinoceros, the majestic hunters, the reptiles, burrowers and dwellers and creatures as tiny as termites also find their mention here. They may seem insignificant but presence of each one of them contributes to the health and prosperity of the grasslands.

A great source of information for young children introducing them to many concepts along the way - the food chain and the variety of flora and fauna. This book is a wonderful opportunity to know more about grass, the grasslands and facts about them.

In the end Takuri touches the somber mood by bringing to notice the plight of grasslands in the hands of humans for their short-term benefits, thereby disturbing the natural cycle and balance.

He implores all of us to join hands to save the grasslands and the first step to do that is to spread the awareness about how important these beautiful grasslands are for the whole ecosystem.

The art work is magnificent, rich with beautiful details and attractive colors. This book was a pleasure to read, a treat for the eyes and mind, a book full of information presented in an extremely readable format. I would recommend it to everybody.

3 comments:

the mad momma said...

hey Vibha
this sounds like fun. I particularly enjoy books that are well illustrated. as you can see, this isnt only about the kids.

sathish said...

vibha, I am bought by the cover of the book itself.

Thanks for the review of this book.

Sheela said...

Ah, my kind of book, Vibha! The little one has a definite preference for books about other creatures - what they eat, where they live etc. And, the somber note you mentioned reminds me of The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry, which deals with ecosystem of the Amazon Rainforest.

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