Whether newbies to Indian mythology or longtime Amar Chitra Katha aficionados, readers are sure to be entertained by these...
Lovably mischievous Ganesha figures out how to win a race and get his belly full of yummy rice in modern interpretations of two favorite Indian stories about the childhood of the elephant-headed god.
When Ganesha is challenged by his godly parents to race his superfast brother around the world to win a magic apple, his lumbering pace and portly form make him rethink the meaning of what is most important to him in the whole world. In another story, Ganesha’s boundless appetite causes great consternation to his host, the proud king Kubera, who must learn the secret to satisfying this young god. Told in hilarious rhyming couplets (“I am hungry, can’t you see? / You will have to get more food for me”) and illustrated playfully, this brief graphic novel ably introduces kids to the wise, exuberant child Ganesha. While most of the characters are drawn with cartoony panache and humor, the notable exception is a rather Caucasian-looking goddess Parvati, whose face is stuck in a constantly downcast direction—a puzzling choice for depicting the only female character. Despite this and some forced rhymes, on the whole Dutta and Nagulakonda leave readers happy and wanting more—which is on the way, if the last line, “Not the End,” is to be trusted.
Whether newbies to Indian mythology or longtime Amar Chitra Katha aficionados, readers are sure to be entertained by these fresh interpretations of ancient Indian tales. (Graphic novel. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-93-81182-10-9
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Campfire
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity.
Buzz and his buzzy buddy open a spinoff series of nonfiction early readers with an aquarium visit.
Buzz: “Like other fish, sharks breathe through gills.” Fly Guy: “GILLZZ.” Thus do the two pop-eyed cartoon tour guides squire readers past a plethora of cramped but carefully labeled color photos depicting dozens of kinds of sharks in watery settings, along with close-ups of skin, teeth and other anatomical features. In the bite-sized blocks of narrative text, challenging vocabulary words like “carnivores” and “luminescence” come with pronunciation guides and lucid in-context definitions. Despite all the flashes of dentifrice and references to prey and smelling blood in the water, there is no actual gore or chowing down on display. Sharks are “so cool!” proclaims Buzz at last, striding out of the gift shop. “I can’t wait for our next field trip!” (That will be Fly Guy Presents: Space, scheduled for September 2013.)
A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity. (Informational easy reader. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-50771-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
