As someone who grew up devouring adventure and mystery stories with passionate interest, I began reading this one expecting a similar roller-coaster ride that ended with the catharsis of a happy ending, suitably punctuated with nail-biting tension and thrills.
A genre that is neither new to children nor young adults, visual narrative be it in comic books or full length illustrated novels feeds on generations that have grown on Amar Chitra Kathas whose reach is evident in the vast number of languages it is published in. Even in its full-length avatar with a focused lens on themes beyond the voracious need for mythology, graphic novels no longer qualify as nascent and upcoming as mainstream publishers ensure that supply meets the readers’ growing demand.
The book is replete with wonderful anecdotes like the one of meteorologist Anna Mani from Peermade, Kerala, who at the age of eight, declined the gift of diamond earrings and requested a copy of the Encyclopedia Britannica instead!
Rivers are an integral part of our lives. Their importance is immeasurable. No wonder our ancestors worshipped them. Moreover, rivers are intriguing. They may gush madly or flow sleepily as they meander down their course. Sometimes they are in spate, and at other times they dry up.
Roshan (Cinnamon) is a student at Diamond International School, Pune. He is the school’s U-13 goal-keeper, and we meet him pulling off heroics against their arch-rivals. We learn that he is adopted and lives with his adopted parents and has one burning desire—to meet his birth parents. The book follows Cinnamon’s life through school and him meeting his birth mother
Gond art and a folk song sourced from a tribe in Telangana come together in a delightful picture book for children, Hum Jungle ke Jagar Magar. The three people who got together to make this book: Raj Shekhar, Venkat Shyam, and Nina Sabnani have rich experience and credentials for this kind of work. Raj Shekhar is a well-established poet and has been awarded Kavya Samman by the Hindi Academy.