Younguncle (he’s been called this for so long, everyone has forgotten his given name) likes to do things his own way. From the moment he arrives during a monsoon, his nieces and nephew know things will be more interesting. He switches jobs frequently because he becomes too involved in his workplace. He saves his sister from a bad marriage by acting like a monkey only around her intended in-laws. He enlists the help of a band of wild monkeys to rescue a kidnapped cow. Using his genius for schemes and with the help of a tiger and a ghost, he saves a wildlife preserve and rescues a kidnapped horse. Though the children appear at the beginning, only the baby, who desperately wants to consume one whole shirt of Younguncle’s, plays a role in any of the stories. There are unexplained references to aspects of Indian culture, and the pictures don’t always match the text. Still, this Bollywood-meets-Mary-Poppins import from India is an acceptable choice for larger collections, good for those serving large Indian populations. (Fiction. 7-10)
