When we see what the world is going through right now and what kids are up against, real life is scarier than fiction. Kids cannot choose their environment or the people in it. They do not always have the power and resources to seek out solutions, but they have an appetite, and a real need for stories about survival. The ending does not have to be happy, but the story should inspire to move forward, to persevere, and to endure. The book’s characters should believe in themselves, that they’ll survive somehow, because readers experience the journey alongside the protagonist, learning with them as they overcome obstacles, win battles, solve mysteries, or move toward a place of hope and understanding.
Shyamala Shanmugasundaram’s Painted Walls of Malainagar is one such bold and colourful picture book that captures the grim topic of urban decay, and the plight of relocated communities. It draws inspiration from a public art project. Told through the voice of young Soori, the protagonist, Shanmugasundaram sets the context—his family relocated during a slum clearance, moving from a bustling market in the middle of the city to the outskirts—to a rundown, unclean, unsafe, neighborhood, out of sight and forgotten. Trapped by lack of means to escape this dreary reality, Soori, his sister Kala and their mother live in a dull and drab multistoried building. The author weaves in the boy’s birthday wish for colourful rain brightening the surroundings as a wonderful connect to a community art project.