In recent times, few picture books have enthralled me as much as this one. I have been using it in my Library Education Sessions for teachers, to introduce them to the power of children's literature and the magic of picture books. Everywhere I have introduced this gem of a book, it has been received with admiration by adults and children. Here is a brief review of the book:
ABOUT THE BOOK
“We were late. We were running in the street. We had played
in the river, and we had climbed trees …” Everything Amma had said NOT to do!
Woven into this story of everyday fun lit up by Proiti Roy’s joyous pictures,
are sensory descriptions, and visual details like a walking stick in the boy’s
hand, the dog guiding his friend … clues that gently tell us that the boy is
blind.
What Works:
A Walk with Thambi is a beautifully
written tale that features a blind boy and his guide-dog without ever using the
words ‘blind’ or ‘guide’. It normalizes the state of blindness – Thambi happens
to be blind just like another child might happen to be allergic to brinjal –
neither of these realities needs to prevent children from living life the way
they’d want to.
This book is one
of those little gems that rekindles your faith in the power of a picture book. It has sparse text and wonderfully speaking pictures, and as a reader, one feels
compelled to go through the text and the illustrations again and again,
marvelling all the while at how effectively they reveal the story, even when
you are not observant enough to notice.
The text and the
art work wonderfully together and both are an integral part of the narrative.
It was
short-listed for the 2019 The Hindu Young World-Goodbooks Awards for children’s
books in the Picture Book (Story) Category.
CONCLUSION
This delightful book should be included in every school
library, and be read by the parents of every child who is considered
‘disabled’. A child’s ‘disability’ does not have to define or constrain her.
She is as ‘normal’ as the next child and has access to an equally rich world
and worldview.
BOOK DETAILS
Author: Lavanya Karthik
Illustrator: Proiti Roy
Language: English
Page Extent: 28
Price: 175
ISBN: 978-93-5046-945-3
Publisher: Tulika Publishers 2017
Subject Category: Fiction/Picture Book/Inclusive
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