Shah Jahan and the Ruby Robber by Natasha Sharma

It's #femmeMarch and I am reviewing books by women, or books featuring women characters. I may not always have nice things to say about the books, but my review will be fair and honest. Read on...

(This review first appeared in GoodBooks.in. http://www.goodbooks.in/version2/2019/02/22/shah-jahan-and-the-ruby-robber/)

Shah Jahan, the Great Mughal Emperor, is hopping mad. Someone has replaced the precious Timur Ruby on his new throne with a … plum! What’s worse, plums are suddenly turning up everywhere. Who can help the emperor solve this mystery?

What Works:

• Part of Duckbill’s History-Mystery series, this book, like the others in the series, blends history and story together in an imaginative way.
• Since the book is aimed at younger readers, the length, the chapterisation, the sentence structure, the use of repetition (such as in the opening lines: “A great Mughal king must not hop. He must not skip. He must not high-five.”) – all these elements work very well.
• Unlike the first couple of books in the History-Mystery series, such as Akbar and the Tricky Traitor and Ashoka and the Muddled Messages, which are not well-grounded in history and present the reader with two-dimensional cardboard characters, Shahjahan and the Ruby Robber evokes the period in which it is set much better and offers us glimpses into the eccentricities of some of the characters.
• Having Shahjahan’s children solve the mystery for him is a very good idea. It serves as a reminder that history is made not merely by famous folks, powerful people and other adults, but also by children, and even a little toddler. Young readers are likely to appreciate this inclusion.
• What does not work:
• Natasha Sharma researches exhaustively and writes well but is not always able to integrate her research into the story or plot the intrigues and conspiracies convincingly.
• Dara Shikoh, Shah Jahan’s eldest son, is presented rather shabbily in the story. Why on earth would he suddenly utter the words, “As the great poets say: The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog”? Not only is this anachronistic, it in no way adds to the story or to the character.
• Considering that Shahjahan’s court was fabulously wealthy and magnificent, one wishes that the illustrations had been in colour so that they could have evoked the splendour and grandeur.

CONCLUSION

A book for a 7-9-year-old that is sure to make her laugh and, hopefully, become interested in history. Some of the inauthentic bits should have been edited out, though.

Book Details

Author: Natasha Sharma

Illustrator: Lavanya Naidu

Language: English

Page Extent: 70

Price: 199

ISBN: 978-93-83331-68-0

Publisher: Duckbill 2017

Age Group: 7-9 years 

Dada's Useless Present

It's Femme March and Women's Day as well, and so I have decided to post a review a day on a book written by a woman. Maybe I will say nice things about the book, maybe I won't. But I will strive to be fair and honest.

Beginning with the first of my #femmeMarch 2019 posts ... 

This review first appeared in GoodBooks.in
http://www.goodbooks.in/version2/2019/02/12/dadas-useless-present/

Dada may be celebrating his 82nd birthday but he still considers himself spry, until a seemingly thoughtful gift from his son tells him otherwise. Dada, however, is convinced it is a useless present – until he finds many useful things to do with it!

What Works:

• A charming story about the spirit of ageing grandparents who refuse to give up their independence. Dada gets a walking stick as a present from his son and believes it is completely useless till he finds all kinds of other uses for it except what it is meant for!
• Author Nalini Sorensen’s text is concise and skillfully portrays Dada’s various reactions to his present without being unnecessarily verbose. She also fleshes out the relationship between Dada and his granddaughter Panu lovingly.
• The author blends humour, affection and the little details of everyday life into an engaging tale.
• Allen Shaw’s beautiful water-colour illustrations invite the reader into Panu’s home and show the story of how her grandfather dealt with his ‘not-so-useless’ present. Shaw captures the beauty of the interiors as well as the verdant lushness of the mango orchard close by. The clever use of different angles makes Panu’s home appear three-dimensional.
• This picture book was the winner of the Jarul Book Award 2018.

What Does Not Work:

• If I can pick a bone with Allen Shaw’s art, it is that the facial expressions of his characters are indiscriminately jovial and pleasant.

CONCLUSION

It’s a lovely picture book for the 6-8-year-old and encourages the reader to be innovative and think out of the box.

BOOK DETAILS

Author: Nalini Sorensen

Illustrator: Allen Shaw

Page Extent: 26

Price: 250

Publisher: Karadi Tales 2016

Subject Category: Fiction/Picture Book/Humour

Age Group: 6-8 years