Author Archives: Thebookreviewindia

Author Shalini Srinivasan certainly has a weird and wonderful imagination. It’s almost as though mere words cannot do justice to the way her thoughts spiral out, creating bizarre characters and new worlds, fabulous realms and fables that might rival the ones found in our own Upanishads.

If you started reading this book without taking a look at its cover-page, you may think it’s been written by Roald Dahl. Mean and stupid parents, adults who are dumb as soup, grown-ups who are outrageously wicked, a granny who is wise and can stop them all (remember The Witches?)—they are all here.

In a world where the Greek gods are real, the legends about them must be real as well. And what were the Greek gods best known for? Two things: defeating the Titans, and coming down to Earth to have demigod children. Rick Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus series sees an old favourite hero—Percy Jackson, the demigod son of Poseidon…

There is no ‘handheld device’ that a child needs, other than a book. If you agree with this conservative claim, then here you may read a review of two such wonderful ‘devices’: The Merry Adventures of Harshabardhan and Gobardhan by Shibram Chakraborty, and Deki: The Adventures of a Dog and A Boy in Tibet, by George Schaller.

It’s a very eye catching cover—a purple and gold tiger with a huge lolling, shocking pink tongue springing out of a forest. Then the blurb on the back cover tells you it is a story set in the mangroves of the Sundarbans and you know you are in for a treat. Karthika Nair has set the story of her picture book in a very unusual location—the ‘beautiful forest’ of the Sundarbans…

I cried. I cried a lot.’ says Saurav Mohapatra in the introduction, talking about his reaction as a young child, when he first heard the story of Abhimanyu. Most of those who grew up on the Mahabharata would identify with the experience. Abhimanyu is the son of Arjuna, one of the five Pandava princes; and the nephew of Lord Krishna. He is also perhaps the most poignant figure of the Kurukshetra war…

Adolescence is a stage of life termed as ‘full of storm and stress’ by many. The ‘negativities’ that are linked with adolescence very easily range from conflict with adults, mood swings, mood intensity, irritability, criminal tendencies, risk-taking behaviour, attraction towards and seeking of thrills, and so on. No doubt this phase of life has been studied by psychologists for many decades.

There is such a disconnect between the books and toys Indian children read and play with, and the realities of Indian life. Even the materials are alien. Instead of clay, cane, wood and papier-mache, everything is plastic or moulded polymer, and the virtual world of the ubiquitous laptop or tablet rules all. The world of Harry Potter or Superman is more familiar than an Indian village to an average urban kid.

Visit to the Bhil Carnival is a charming book created by Subhash Amaliyar, a Bhil artist from Jhabua in central India.

How can a Pigeon be a War Hero manages to present what is otherwise a grim and complex historical period in a light and amusing manner. The book has a multitude of pictures and diagrams and charts which make the book less about reading and more a video presentation for young children.

In these lines Owen captures the monumental losses of a generation. In the four years of the War about 10,300 people died everyday for four and half years. Yet many who lived to tell their tales made places like Somme, Flanders and Gallipoli enter the domain of popular mythology across the world. There are no veterans from the War alive today…

History is not a hot favourite with students. Most look upon it as a monstrous subject that is not just voluminous but also irrelevant. Why bother memorizing names of people long dead and their complicated, boring histories? But history can become interesting if you pick up the right book.

Who are the Baigas? The author explains that the Baigas are Gonds, a tribal community that inhabits the forest areas of central India. Like the author, I have spent some years in the area around Raipur, now part of Chattisgarh, as well as in the forested areas of Jharkhand.

The simultaneous publication of two anthologies of the works of Ruskin Bond, Uncles, Aunts and Elephants, and The Very Best of Ruskin Bond is ample proof that he continues to be one of the best loved and admired writers today in India. While a few stories and essays, such as ‘Wilson’s Bridge’ and ‘Bhabiji’s House’ appear in both the selections, the first published by Puffin, is evidently meant for a younger audience.

Books for children cater to a range of interests, with stories of worlds distant and familiar, often with a mixture of fable, myth and the modern world.

Have you ever pondered the pleasure and excitement of solving a riddle? Would you like to explore a book on riddles? Riddles for the English Classroom is a unique collection of fifty-seven riddles by Dr. Phool Singh Narvaria, who is an experienced teacher educator from Gwalior, India and has documented numerous folk forms to use in the language classroom.

You plunge directly into the story, which starts with the birth of a girl called Sundari and an elephant called Lakshmi—at about the same time, and at the back of the palace where the elephant stables are. Sundari’s father is a mahout and so, naturally, she and Lakshmi practically grow up together, Sundari marking the milestones of a human being, and Lakshmi, those of an elephant.

The Adventures of Stoob is a breezy read that you probably will finish reading in one sitting.

A children’s book on all the books that children can read! Preeti Singh’s Great Books For Children is a compilation of books (including Indian ones) that might be of interest to independent young readers and parents or elder siblings of very small children who may want to introduce books to them.

A good story will always move you regardless of anything. On Sal Mal Lane by Ru Freeman makes no demand of its readers being associated with one or the other identity unlike the characters in the book. It doesn’t make the readers take sides, which is why it is so easy to let oneself be moved by it.