Girls to the Rescue

Girls to the Rescue

Written by Sowmya Rajendran

Illustrations Ashok Rajagopalan

Published by Tulika Books

Ages 6-99

Most children grow up on a regular diet of fairy tales. Take any one of these fairy tales, and we usually have a sweet and fairly helpless female protagonist at large, saved from herself or her situation by the Prince Charming. The prince then asserts his rights to the lady and of course, we have a suitably happy ending.

Along comes this book that puts paid to these stereotypes. The author re-tells The Frog Prince, Rapunzel, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs(Grimm Brothers), Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Red Riding Hood (Charles Perrault). These girls are not the wilting, submissive, good girls of yore, but strong, real, and intelligent human beings who want to do their own thing, know what they want, and go ahead and do it. Busting of stereotypes is not limited to these princesses alone in these fairy tales placed firmly in contemporary times. So it is not the wicked witch who imprisons Rapunzel in the tower, but her father, a patriarch who had issues with his astronaut wife's chopping off her hair, without his permission, before she went on a mission to the moon.

The stories, as they are narrated, have a timeless feel to them, equally enjoyable to young readers, and to older ones - teenagers, young adults, and adults. Simple enough that a 6 year old might enjoy the narration, yet profound enough that older readers might find layers that mean different things to them. Case in point is the story of Red Riding Hood, that had my 14 year old initiating a serious discussion on the perils of charming but dangerous people, and the action the grandmother takes at the end. 

The cover page gives a foretaste of the quirky illustrations by Ashok Rajagopalan inside, that perfectly compliment Sowmya Rajendran's witty text. Just what one would expect from the well-loved creator of Gajapati Kulapati and the Thumb Thumb books.

A must-add to a little one's library that will be treasured well into adulthood.

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book from the publisher; the opinions expressed in this review are, however, my own.

Image courtesy: Tulika books.

Being Boys

Being Boys

Authors: Various

Tulika Publishers

Ages: 10+

“The Indian family needs the unfamiliar”, says Samir Halarnkar towards the end of his short essay  in Being Boys, tracing his lifestyle choices  to the influence of the women who raised him. Halarnkar’s comment is aimed at the kind of mindset that finds his choices unnatural – he is a stay-home dad, who likes to cook and doesn’t consider household chores ‘women’s work’.  Replace the word ‘family’ with ‘reader’ and the statement still holds true, where the Familiar swings from standard retellings of mythological stories with their strongly patriarchal bent, to fifty shades of the same old , predominantly urban, Indian household.

So, while Being Boys  presents itself as an anthology of short stories with young male protagonists, what stood out for me was its inclusion of narratives that one would be hard pressed to find in mainstream Indian publishing. Sure, it has its share of regular schoolboys venting spleen over the usual suspects -girls, pimples, pesky younger brothers. But it also gives us a Dalit struggling  not just with abject poverty but the daily humiliation of casteist discrimination, a Sikh boy being bullied for his long hair, a transgender child struggling with identity , a sweeper’s son humiliated at wearing hand-me-downs. And, in what, for me, was the best story in the book by far, there are Kalmu and Karma, two boys with very similar stories, whose choices put them on opposing sides of a violent conflict.

Being Boys brings together a diverse range of authors, and an interesting mix of narratives – fables, memoirs, diary entries, historical fiction, even a glimpse into the beleaguered childhood of  Indian Supervillain No.1. Some , like Big Brother, Rinku’s Hair  and Kerr-rack are about boys trying to find their place in the pack, while stories like Man Up-its’s Football! and The Haunted Sampige Tree are true life accounts of facing casteism and racism. In General Apron Strings, a boy ridiculed for his interest in cooking becomes the savior  of his bullies on a picnic gone awry. Destroy, Boy, A Hero and Rave On  are light hearted looks at  the daily  tribulations of being Boy , and surviving acne, siblings and overbearing fathers. Guthli has Wings is a sensitive examination of alternate sexuality and joins  The Red Suit, Abu and On Founder’s Day (extracted from a speech given by Vikram Seth at his alma mater)in stressing the importance of embracing your individuality regardless of societal pressures. The Ugly Boy, the book’s sole piece of historically inspired fiction ,  gives us another side to the story of Emperor Ashoka, that of a boy ridiculed for being homely. It makes you wonder if the derision he suffered as a boy helped shape the ruthless warrior he grew into, before turning pacifist as a follower of Buddhism.

  

I would have liked to see more female characters in the book… barring some exceptions, these stories are almost exclusively about boys in power struggles of different kinds with other boys, with female characters relegated to the background or totally absent. Then again, most ten year old boys (and girls) I know do seem to move almost exclusively in packs of 'their own kind'.  Also … what, no comics!!! Given the growing popularity of graphic narratives in short story anthologies today, I was actually  surprised NOT to find one in this collection. Surprised and more than a little disappointed, given the presence of both Niveditha Subramaniam and Manjula Padmanabhan in the list of contributors. These minor grouses aside, Being Boys is an anthology that could get young readers thinking . More significantly, it suggests that sometimes, being a boy in India can be confusing and mysterious, as much a burden as a socially conferred privilege, as much about celebrating one’s feminine side as flaunting the masculine. 

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book from the publisher; the opinions expressed in this review are, however, my own.

Image courtesy: Tulika publishers

Juna's Jar

Juna's Jar

by Jane Bahk
illustrated by Felicia Hoshino



Little Juna loves adventuring with her friend Hector. Armed with an empty kimchi jar, the two friends would explore their neighborhood collecting bugs and rocks, much like any kid their age.

One day, Hector moves away, abruptly, without a chance to say goodbye. How Juna deals with it forms the rest of the book, told in a whimsical, fantasy-style presentation that comes across as Juna's reality.

From Lee &  Low Books website

Seeing Juna's sadness and her empty kimchi jar, her brother gets her a fish to cheer her up. Juna watches it swim in circles in her jar. And then, in the same breath, we are whisked away with:

Juna watched the fish swim in circles in her jar.

That night when everyone was asleep, Juna put on a diving mask and fins and dove into the water.

Juna’s fish took her everywhere. They swam with sea turtles, played with dolphins, and discovered a giant clam.

“Can you help me find my friend Hector?” Juna asked her fish.

Kids may not quite catch the subtlety woven in via Juna's nightly adventures. At some level, kids may understand it as Juna's imagination, but they might also be confused by the magical realism woven in, mistakenly assuming that Juna actually gets to go underwater and search for Hector, or that she is dreaming about it all.

Leveraging the power of threes, Juna gets a fish first, then a bean plant, and then a cricket. Each time, she is out on a nightly adventure with these, and at the end of her adventure the things outgrow the jar (or, Juna outgrows them), predictably, as Juna eventually makes peace with Hector's absence.

In the end, she takes her empty jar to the park, not knowing what to put in it, when she comes across another girl looking for a jar to put her inchworm in.

The dreamy watercolors in greens and yellows add a freshness and capture the mood well.

Asian American (and Hispanic) elements are woven in lightly in this book; at the same time does not isolate the cultural identity of Asians thereby excluding kids of various heritages besides Asian to enjoy this story. If we replace Juna and Hector with a non-Asian Ana and non-Hispanic Victor, and replace the kimchi jar with a typical Mason® jar, the story will still hold together, thanks to the universality of friendship and imagination.

The fact that kids' books still are not diverse enough makes books like these all the more needed. Kids will pick up books with which they can identify better.

Being of mixed heritage, the resident nine and seven year olds have been exposed to as many multicultural books I can get my hands on, right from their toddlerhood. They were quite ambiguous about this book, reluctant to finish the first read, let alone ask for repeat reads. The seven year old was confounded by the fuzziness of logic as well as the monotonous repetition of the pattern of Juna's nightly forays with no surprises or satisfying resolution of Juna's friendship with Hector.

And that is okay - some stories/situations do not have a tied-up-in-a-neat-bow type of resolution. The book is about how Juna fills the lacuna left by Hector's disappearance, leveraging her power of imagination.

Winner of Lee & Low's New Voices award, Juna's Jar presents a young Asian American protagonist who cares about nature, values friendship, and is not easily devastated by life's setbacks - she uses her imagination to come to terms with reality.

[image source: Lee &  Low books]

[Disclaimer: The review copy was kindly sent by the publisher, Lee & Low, but the decision to share this review and the opinions expressed here are entirely my own.]

A Bhil Story

A Bhil Story

Sher Singh Bhil and Nina Sabnani

Tulika Publishers

Ages 5+

A Bhil Story, Tulika’s latest  picture book, is based on a traditional origin myth  of the Bhil tribe from Jhabua, central Madhya Pradesh. Released just ahead of  World Water Day –which is today, good reader – it makes a striking addition to Tulika’s collection of water-themed books, and the inventive collaborations writer/ illustrator Nina Sabnani  has struck with various folk artists.  It also introduces its  readers to Pithora painting, a folk tradition  kept alive by tribes in central Madhya Pradesh. Pithora, for its exponents, isn’t art so much as a sacred ritual, and each colourful daub of paint is said to represent an ancestor invoked to bless and safeguard the community. Originally executed only on walls, Pithora has (like Gond art and Mithila painting) made a smooth transition  in recent years to  other media, thanks to the work of artists like Bhuri Bai and the efforts of  institutions like the Manav Sangrahalaya and the Adivasi Lok Kala Academy.

The rooster’s throat is so parched from thirst, he can scarcely do his job – announcing daybreak in the village of Jher. But what little water remains in the pond is being fought over by the other residents of the village – human and animal – and poor rooster finds himself tossed aside in the melee. Wise old Bhuri Bai suggests they find a badwa , a priest or wise man, traditionally approached for help  during times of water scarcity, and who usually initiates a sacred pithora, that is believed to draw rain. After a false (if hilarious) start involving an imposter, they are led to a badwa  - but will he help? Will the people of Jher succeed in finding water? And what of our poor rooster  - will he wet his throat, only to lose his life as a sacrificial offering?

Pithora artist Sher Singh Bhil’s art is vibrant, brimming with simple but intricately decorated forms . Each page is beautifully composed and packed with colourful detail  that I quite enjoyed poring over. In fact, the lack of variations in the patterns used (dots and lines against dark backgrounds) actually works in the book’s favour -  as the book has been laid out digitally,  the densely patterned art has been scaled down and collaged in several instances, making each page a stunning visual experience. I suspect this wouldn't work as well with Gond art or Mithila painting, where the detail is everything.

A Bhil Story combines humour with lots of action. It reads as simple enough, yet I discovered layers to it over several readings. The story’s  message for water conservation is obvious; it also emphasizes the importance of learning from nature – birds, snakes and turtles are critical characters in the book, leading the villagers towards water and ways to hold onto it.  No creature is too small or insignificant - brave rooster grows, through the course of the story, from a timid and fearful bird  into a community hero, offering his life for the greater good.  I was also struck by the story’s quiet stance against blind faith – the imposter talks of rituals and appeasing gods for their favour; the real badwa silently shows the villagers how to take control of their own lives and environment. In a very contemporary stroke, Sher Singh Bhil writes himself and his mother into this origin myth too, a la Alfred Hitchcock!

A  Bhil Story is a good book to use, to introduce  a variety of environmental themes and concepts to young readers . Much like its art – small strokes and simple lines, combined to make a stunning whole – it underscores the powers of collective action to make a change in our lives, and the world around us. 

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher - the opinions expressed in this review, however, are my own.

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Saffron Tree had also sent a few questions to Nina Sabnani on the making of  A Bhil Story that she promptly answered...

1.How does the collaborative process work, especially with an artist with no prior experience of the print media? 

Collaborations can be and is beyond know how. The artist is well versed with image making on paper exercises full control on how he imagines the situation or the elements concerned. So our process involved working with images already created by the artist on various themes. The usual imagery of their paintings includes festivals, rituals, specific characters and objects, environment and activities. On our part we composed the elements together adhering to the artist's aesthetics of space, counter space etc. When we shared the composed image with the artist he was excited and also made valuable suggestions and modifications that we incorporated. He adapted to the technology very easily and suggested changes in size in an image in Photoshop rather than repaint it.

2. Is the story inspired by from traditional folktales of the region ? What came first - the story or the drawings, or did they evolve together?

The story is inspired by an origin myth recounted to us by the artists. They paint because it brings rain and therefore the act of painting is revered as a prayer, for a good and peaceful life and to honor the ancestors. The images and text evolved together but the story was the starting point for the book and film.

3. There is a Bhuri Bai mentioned in the book, and on the back cover as the artist's mother. Is this the famous artist Bhuri Bai ?  Did she have an influence on the book's creation?

There are two Bhuri Bais and Sher Singh's mother is not the famous one from Pitol, our Bhuri Bai is from Jher. She is equally gifted and articulate but we chose to work with Sher Singh because his art had a refreshing feel untouched by fame or fortune. Secondly, in our effort to collaborate we wanted an equal participation from the artist, to be able to tell us off if and when needed. Sher Singh was comfortable arguing, sharing and participating. We traveled with him to Jhabua, to all the places he holds dear and sacred and which then found their way into our visualization. This may not have been possible with his mother, I am not sure though. But Sher Singh could travel easily with us around Jhabua and then came to us in Bombay so the level of collaboration was a desired one.

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A Curious Collection of Cats, A Dazzling Display of Dogs

A Curious Collection of Cats,
A Dazzling Display of Dogs
Concrete Poems by Betsy Franco
illustrations by Michael Wertz


Concrete Poems are a favorite at home - some are ingenious, some are a bit sketchy, some are hard to read and comprehend, while some are subtly funny. The words in this poetic form are carefully arranged on the page to convey the subject of the poem. The interplay of textual and graphic elements challenges the reading experience.

A favorite book of concrete poems is A Poke in the I by Paul B. Janeczko, illustrations by Chris Raschka. Another favorite in this series by the duo is A Kick in the Head which is a fantastic introduction to poetic forms. The last in the series, A Foot in the Mouth, is a collection of fun read-aloud poems. One of my favorites is "Tennis, anyone?"  where the words are arranged to go back and forth between the courts, as Raschka shares in the teachingbooks.net mini documentary.

Recently, I came across A Curious Collection of Cats at the library and had to bring it home for the kids. Cohabiting with distinctly individual felines from their infancy, both the 9- and 6- year old are familiar with cat-antics and enjoyed quite a few of the poems in their own way - "Lenny vs. Patch", "Q-tip and Rosie", "Veronica goes Wide"... My favorites were "Bingo's Birthday Party", "Techno Cat" and "Cat Door" - clever and deceptively simple!

text copyright 2009 Betsy Franco
illustration copyright 2009 Michael Wertz

Also by the same team, A Dazzling Display of Dogs, is a collection of concrete poems about dogs. It was the monthly book pick for August 2013 by the Children's Poet Laureate, Kenn Nesbitt, featuring an interview with the author/poet Betsy Franco.

Every dog has a favorite ball to play fetch - partly chewed, covered in saliva, possibly muddy (but who cares?). "Emmett's Ode to His Tennis Ball," shows the text enclosed in a tight circle held firmly in the dog's mouth. It begins, "Slobbery, sloppy, slimy, sphere—oh, tennis ball, I hold you dear" which will instantly bring a smile of recognition.

A haiku about a pup peeing on the newspaper, a dog with a white medical collar, a garbage-eater... the book showcases many quirks that dog-lovers will easily identify with.

Typically, concrete poetry books tend to be a collection of poems on various topics, but, these two books are each on a dedicated topic that is sure to entertain and engage the young pet lovers.

[Wertzeteria.com has a lovely portfolio of the illustrator's art work]

[image source: multcolib.org, betsyfranco.com]

Petu Pumpkin Tooth Troubles

Petu Pumpkin Tooth Troubles
Written by Arundhati Venkatesh
Illustrations Shilpa Ranade
Published by Duckbill
Age: 4-8 years

We have already met Petu Pumpkin a.k.a. Pushkin in Arundhati Venkatesh's earlier book, Petu Pumpkin Tiffin Thief. Petu, we know, is so named because of his love for food. His own tiffin would not be enough for him; he would eat his friends' tiffins too. These friends, Jatin, Sachin, Nithin, and Kiran, decided to play a trick on him to get him to stop stealing their tiffins, and of course, it worked! By the end of the year, the five were firm friends. Here they are back with a new adventure.

It is the second grade, and Jatin has (a bit foolhardily, of course) challenged the fourth graders to a football match. Kiran calls an urgent meeting of the Gap Club, of which the foursome are the only members. Pushkin (Petu) has been unable to gain an entry to the Gap Club. Reason - he has yet to lose any of his teeth. But there is hope. One of his teeth is shaking. How soon can it fall? Is there anything that can be done for it to fall? Maybe eat hard things?

But I digress. The urgent meeting of the Gap Club members is because there is a serious problem. They are sure to lose against the fourth graders because they do not have a proper football with which to practice. So what can be done? How is it tied up with Petu's aspirations of becoming a member of the Gap Club? And how is the gap in Petu's teeth destined to finally lead to their win?

Arundhati Venkatesh, who has gone from strength to strength with four published books already under her belt, doesn't fail to entertain in this second one with Duckbill books, a publishing house that has given us wonderful children's books in the past few years, with fresh voices, and original stories set in India. This is one of their hOle books series, perfect for younger readers.

I have read both the Petu Pumpkin books to my children at the special needs school I volunteer at, and they have given a unanimous thumbs-up to both of them. Worth a mention are the illustrations by Shilpa Ranade, which bring forth the playfulness of the text wonderfully well.

Here's hoping for more books from this author, also a member here at Saffrontree.

Image courtesy Duckbill books.

Apoorva's Fat Diary

Title : Aporva's Fat Diary

Author: Nandini Nayar

Illustrator : Lavanya Karthik

Publisher : DC Books Mango

This is a story of a twelve year old girl, Apoorva and her tryst with writing which almost gets 'thrust' upon her by her mother. Amma  wants to inculcate the habit of writing in Apoorva and after some intelligent negotiations between the two, Apoorva agrees to write about the twelve best meals that she would eat in the next few days. With this pact rightly in place, mother and daughter, both feel triumphant as 'a family which fools each other, stays together'.

Apoorva has some weight issues as well and Amma makes all efforts to make her run a few rounds around the building, very early in the morning. Because of her weight, she ends up being the target of many jokes(some not so innocent), criticism and suggestions. 

As she begins to write about some delectable meals, many other aspects of her life creep into her chronicle. How could it be otherwise? From her family, friends, school and bus buddies, home visitors, her activities to her musings - her diary entries have mention of everything, AND THE MEALS TOO. Through her diary readers get acquainted with her little brother Ashu, her elder sister Avantika, her grandmother Aji and her best friend Avinash.

Apoorva goes on with her life like any twelve year old does, enjoying support of some congenial individuals while having to endure some not so agreeable ones but her indomitable spirit remains unruffled. Her bus peers and some school mates tease her for her weight but Apoorva takes their jokes very sportingly, rather joins them in laughing at those jokes. But one particular uncle makes her extremely uncomfortable, more so because of his advances towards her sister. When  she confronts a certain situation where she needs to act, and act fast, she does pretty well, in fact she bravely salvages the day.

Nandini's Apoorva is a real and identifiable character, what, with her true to real description of how unsure usually pre-teens feel and behave. Many would identify with - eating others' lunch boxes, disliking Annual Sports Day at school, trying to learn the order of letters for the eye examination, seeing all clean world after getting first pair of spectacles, the feeling of discomfort in the presence of some people and much more. 

The book is a perfect gift for young adults who wage various battles at many fronts in their regular routine. It sure would impart some amount of self confidence in them and would help them believe that a few (in)consistencies in appearance or otherwise do not mean the coup de grace. What Apoorva takes away from the experience of writing in the diary is to remain true to her hunches, her wishes and her abilities. There are high chances that her experience would rub on to the readers too. Though the book subtly passes on some subtle messages yet at no point the narrative sermonizes or talks down to the readers.

Through the illustrations, our very own in-house artist, Lavanya has taken Apoorva's Diary to a completely new level. Her proficient strokes pump life in all the characters. With her simple black and white sketches, she brings beautiful colours as Apoorva makes progress in her writing. The chubby, warm-hearted Apoorva endearingly picturised by Lavanya would remain with the readers for a very long time.

[Disclosure: I received this book from the illustrator of the book. The decision to review it, and share my opinions here, is entirely my own.]