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

A sea prayer - for children at sea

Khaled Hosseini's book for children, Sea Prayer, was an appropriate book to read as this year slowly draws to an end. This slim children's book is a requiem to loss - the loss of home, homeland, security, identity, relationships, a way of life - the annihilating, bewildering, confounding loss faced by refugees everywhere. It is also a prayer - not for oneself but for one's child, for "the most precious cargo there ever was". Hosseini sums up the refugee's fate "unwanted, unwelcome" wherever they go, their hearts unhinged, their future as unstable and threatening as the stormy sea.   

Dan Williams, the illustrator, has transformed the emotions evoked by Hosseini's words into images that are a visual delight. There are the warm yellow tones of sunlit afternoons drenched in nostalgia, the blue-black hues that capture the uncertainty and fear in the hearts of the refugees as they wait for a perilous sea-journey to take them to safety, the bright bursts of red poppies like the laughter of children playing in the garden. 

This children's book brings the focus on an aspect of childhood that is rarely in the limelight - children at peril and in exile. 

Getting your child to read

Do children read these days? Never having done a survey, I can't say for sure, but going by the sales of books, and the increasing occurrence of children's literature festivals, either the kids are reading a lot, or someone out there is hoping and praying and working really hard to make sure they do!

How does one ensure that children read regularly and enjoy the act of reading? After teaching kids of all ages to love literature, here are a few tips that I know work for sure -

1. Remember they are watching you! Your child may not listen to all that you say, but she is certainly watching you as you go about your day. If you spend a lot of time on the phone, she will wish to do the same, if you like to walk around the park, she will want to go cycling there, and if you spend some time reading every day, she will pick up a book too! Do spend some time reading every day, and talk to your child about the book she is reading.

What if you aren't a reader? Well, become one. Kids love to imitate their parents and so try to read something every day. It can be the newspaper, magazines, recipe books, the atlas, or your prayer book. The point is, that you should be spending some time with your child with a book in your hand.

2. Keep some books lying around the house - That might not be welcome advice if you are the kind of parent who's obsessive about everything being in its rightful place, but, hey, you can ensure you have a little bookshelf in every room or a little basket in which nestle the books you and your child are reading currently.

3. Get to know the books that are available in the market - especially books by Indian writers. Don't get caught in the trap of buying only retold folktales, moral stories, educational books or Enid Blyton - because that's what YOU grew up with! There's nothing wrong with them, but the children's book market today has an exciting range of genres and offerings, and I am sure you'd like your child to benefit from it. Become a part of FB groups that discuss children's books and keep yourself updated with the latest and most recommended publications. 

4. Choose diverse books - read across genres and authors. don't try to stick to one sort of book. Your child may have tastes that are different from yours. Remember that a children's book serves as a window and a mirror - it offers the child a mirror to her world, and gives her an opportunity to look out into other worlds.

There's lots and lots of other ways to raise a reader - you will find out for yourself, and I will share more tips in another post. Until then, open a book ... those squiggles on the page are the password into a wacky and wild world!

Reading children's books from Japan

THE BARBER’S DILEMMA AND OTHER STORIES FROM MANMARU STREET

By Koki Oguma and Gita Wolf, illustrations by the author, Tara Books, 2017, pp. 44, Rs. 450.

Young children play in the most unstructured manner. A child holding a ladle may decide it is a mike and begin to sing a song. Moments later, the ladle becomes an umbrella, or a bus, or a spoon to stir her mother's coffee. A game of pretend swordsmanship transforms into one playing with fallen flowers and seeds, or a classroom game. There is a marvellous sense of fluidity in the way children negotiate their way through a world that seems infinitely wondrous and ever-changing.



Koki Oguma's stories and illustrations attempt this unstructured, even stream-of-consciousness method of negotiating with the world. He is an art teacher in Tokyo and created this book when he was artist-in-residence at Tara Books, Chennai, a couple of years ago. Oguma writes about the people who live and work and play on Manmaru Street. 

There's Ms. Oda who made a giant candy which reminds her of a slide, and so she and her friend slide down the candy, licking it as they go along.

And there's Mr. Tuchida who wants to build a house on his head. As the house takes shape, his neck begins to hurt with the weight of the bricks. A kind builder gently puts a compress on it. 






Mr. Isoda, a fisherman, listens to the river and begins to speak its language. HeMr. is so good at it, that a shoal of fish mistake his mouth for the river and enter it. Oguma writes, "Mr. Isoda didn't mind at all."

Oguma's tales are more like slice-of-life renditions. The word 'stories' in the title may mislead you into expecting traditionally structured tales. But as you read further, you realise that these are tales of the everyday - of the ridiculous, the philosophical, the quirkiness, and the profundity in the quotidian.

The spare quality of the text is complemented by the rich creativity of the drawings. Oguma's paintings are full of whimsy and flights of fancy rendered in a pastel palette which gives it a dream-like feel. 

Bela Has Buck Teeth

By Mamta Nainy, Illustrated by Ankur Mitra, CBT, 2018, pp. 16, Rs. 40

This prize-winning story is a heart-warming tale of a little girl who dreads the annual Class Photo session at school as she is self-conscious about her buckteeth.  It touches lightly upon issues of body image and peer pressure. Bela finally faces the camera with a broad smile, as a compliment from a thoughtful teacher fills her with delight.  She still has her buckteeth, but that’s alright, for she now knows she has ‘the cutest smile’ ever. 

The illustrations and choice of colours are very professionally done, and the book is a delight to go through.

There are some issues however that I wish to highlight. Since these picture books are generally directed at beginner readers, it might be a good idea if the author does not use words like ‘stifle’ or ‘vigorous’. The editor also needs to check for grammar as the author tends to incorporate both past and present tense in a sentence, which is just plain wrong. 

This review originally appeared in The Book Review, November 2018.

Reading Dalit literature in translation - a gift that comes through many hands

After reading a whole bunch of children's books recently  - professional requirements, and just plain  fun - I picked up a book that had found its way to my TBR pile a few months ago. The book was one that was highly recommended and boy, this was one of those times when the expectations created by the hype were fully met!

Reading #kusumabale by #devanooramahadeva was a novel experience (pun intended). 

The translator #susandaniel has done a marvellous job, bending the English language to suit the rhythms of Kannada as #devanooramahadeva uses it, and creating a strange new beauty with it. 

How I long to #translate like that! 

But what was even more wonderful was the way Devanoora Mahadeva disregards the form of the novel as we know it, and defying linear time and plot strictures takes us on a journey into a world shaped by Dalit perspectives. I found the last couple of chapters most moving and mind-boggling. I don't often cry when I read books, but this was one time that I did. 

#translated #indianliterature #kannadabooks #dalitliterature #intranslation