I selected this book after reading its title. The solar system is an interesting subject in itself. There is always curiosit to read about the planets which we see from the Earth, and about which we have heard stories in our childhood. The second reason was that this book is available in both Hindi and English.
Alankrita Amaya has written the story in Hindi. This story is about a character named Champu and her journey to the planets. Distinguishing characteristics of each planet have been woven into the story—an easy and engaging way to learn about planetary facts! It has been written in Hindi in a rhythm that at some places gives the feeling of the rhyme of a poem. At some places, some words bothered me, for example, ‘y?kq cq)’—I did not understand what is meant by ‘y?kq’, and secondly, there is probably a difference between ‘cq/k’ and ‘cq)’. While it is good to use popular vocabulary while writing for children, it is important to use the correct terms and present the reader an opportunity to learn a new word. As the story progresses page by page, the interest decreases because the suspense in the story becomes limited. The English translation is somewhat better than the Hindi one. Attention has been paid to age-appropriate vocabulary.
This is a solar system-themed board book for children aged five and above. Since this is narrative non-fiction, it is important that the information in it is clear and correct and presented in an interesting manner. The reader should be inspired to acquire further information on his own. As an educational resource, it is essential that the content is presented clearly and in an engaging manner. The goal is to encourage readers to seek out additional information independently.
The illustrations of the story have been made by Devika Oza, and there are many colours in the illustrations, based on which an attempt has been made to depict the solar system. However, the illustrations depict only what is written in the story. When illustrating books for children, if there are elements different from the story, not only does the reader enjoy reading the story, but there is also a space to connect with some information. Devika has tried her best to maintain dynamism in the illustrations, depicted by a cat accompanying Champu in his journey!
Overall, it seems that children will enjoy it. And if a librarian uses it, he or she should add some more facts about the solar system to their pre- or post-read-aloud activities.