THE LEAPING LADDOO

“The Gingerbread Man” gets a contemporary Indian spin.

After Mrs. Kapoor makes a laddoo for her husband on his birthday, the small, round Indian sweet comes to life, runs away from her, and evades being captured by an ever growing cast of townspeople. The refrain, “Bhago, bhago, as fast as you can. You can’t eat me. I’m the laddoo man,” is a throwback to the original folktale. When a cunning young girl in the park challenges the tired laddoo to a tongue twister, he abruptly meets his demise, much in the same way the Gingerbread Man does in the original tale. The simple text is sprinkled with Hindi words—defined in the glossary at the end of the book—and introduces some sounds common to life in India: the “DINAK-DINAK” of bells on the ankles of dancers and the “DHUMM! DHUMM!” of drums at a wedding procession. The tongue-twister element feels arbitrary, and its significance will not be clear to some young readers. Nair’s vibrant, lively digital illustrations incorporate authentic cultural details and carry the story, portraying the hustle and bustle of a contemporary town in India. All characters have dark hair, and most of them wear Indian clothing; however, their skin tones have very little variation, and there is an odd line of shadow across every character’s face. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Not a necessary purchase, although the story’s cultural aspects provide satisfaction.