#MMGM: Born Behind Bars by Padma Venkatraman

When she was pregnant with him, Kabir Khan's mother was accused of a crime she did not commit and put into a Chennai jail where he was born. He has lived there since that day, in a cell with several other women besides his mother. Small for his age, no one paid much attention to Kabir until the new warden decides that at age 9, he is old enough to be released. Before he goes, his teacher at the prison school tries her best to prepare him for the outside world, as do his cellmates. 

On the day of his release, Kabir is picked up by a man who says he is his uncle. But it doesn't take long for him to realize that the man is not a relative and that he plans to sell Kabir. Using his wits, Kabir manages to escape and in the process he meets Rani, a Kurava (Roma) girl a few years older than him and living on the streets with her pet parrot. 

Rani take Kabir under her wing, teaching him how to survive on the streets, educating him on India's caste system that makes low caste people like them invisible to others. Together, they manage to earn money for food - Rani tells fortunes and Kabir sings. Kabir knows all about his father and how much his dad loved his mother, but his father never told his parents about his wife before he left for Dubai because she is Hindu and Kabir's father's family are Muslim. Now, Kabir is determined to go to Bengaluru to find his grandparents. 

A stroke of good luck and Kabir's strong sense of honesty enables him to get enough money to buy train tickets to Bengaluru for him and Rani. Sadly, they face caste discrimination buying the tickets and riding the train, but also kindness of strangers helping them. In Bengaluru, they find the mosque that the Khan family worships at and follow a man to his business thinking he might be a relative of Kabir's. But when fighting over water breaks out, Rani manages to help the man save his business. In return, he posts their pictures on social media and luck is once again on Kabir's side. His grandparents see the post and manage to find him and Rani. Soon, Kabir finally has new, clean clothes, enough to eat, a room of his own and he even makes another friend who teaches him how to play cricket. Rani, who hates being confined indoors, is introduced to a woman who runs a school that allows her to live in a tent of her own with her parrot,  and get an education. The woman also knows lawyers who may be able to get Kabir's mother released so that they can be reunited. 

Born Behind Bars is told in chapters that consist of short paragraphs and that are narrated entirely from Kabir's open, honest, observant perspective. Though his eyes, readers learn what jail is like for the women and children who are incarcerated there, and also what life on the streets is like for so many children in India. Kabir's story is a nice mix of good and bad things happening to both him and Rani as Venkatraman explores themes of poverty, tolerance and intolerance of religious and caste differences, justice and injustice, loss and revelation. I also think it may be surprising for young American readers to realize that children can find themselves alone in the world on the streets of India and that it isn't just a thing of the past. 

But is Kabir's luck too good to be true? I wondered that as I read the book and perhaps the story focused on the upshot of his good luck rather than the alternatives. Think what could have been if his fraudulent uncle has managed to sell this plucky, hopeful boy into what would have amounted to slavery.

I have always enjoyed reading Padma Venkatraman's novels set in India and this is no exception. The writing is beautiful, the story is poignant, and Kabir is a character you won't soon forget. He is honest, with an engaging sense of humor regarding his circumstances (I loved his private nicknames for the women with whom he shared his jail cell) and the challenges he faces on a daily basis. It is, in short, an enlightening, compelling novel.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+

This book was an eARC gratefully received from NetGalley.com

Be sure to check out the other Marvelous Middle Grade Monday offerings, 

now being carried on by Greg at Always in the Middle

Mangoes, Mischief, and Tales of Friendship: Stories from India by Chitra Soundar, illustrated by Uma Krishnaswamy

Mangoes, Mischief, and Tales of Friendship:

Stories from India

by Chitra Soundar, illustrated by Uma Krishnaswamy

Candlewick Press, 2018, 192 pages

I love reading folktales from other countries and so when this one came my way, I was very excited. And what a pleasure it is to read. Originally published as two separate books with four stores each under the titles A Dollop of Ghee and a Pot of Wisdom and A Jar of Pickles and a Pinch of Justice, they have been combined in this volume of eight stories altogether.

The stories center on Prince Veera, the son of King Breema, who ruled over his small Indian kingdom with fairness, kindness, and wisdom, and Suku, the son of a farmer who had won a scholarship to study with Prince Veera. Naturally, the two 10-year-old boys have become the best of friends.

As a kind and just king, the people in his kingdom knew they could come to King Breema with their problems and disputes and he would always find a way to help them. One day, when the King falls ill, Prince Veera and Suku ask if they may hold court that day instead of sending the people away. The first few cases they hear are simple and easy for the two boys to resolve, but as the day goes by they become more difficult. Once case involves a maker of sweet treats who wants to charge the man who stands outside his shop smelling the delicious scent of his sugary, buttery treats but who never buys anything. Another case involved a man who sold his well to another man, but now wants to charge the buyer for the water in the well.

Prince Veera and Suku both enjoy running the court whenever King Breema allows it, and the King is quite impressed with their collective wisdom. But when the Prince Veera's strict, elderly granduncle Raja Apoorva comes to visit, he is not impressed and thinks it is wrong from his young grandnephew to hold court, and especially with Suku, the lowly son of a farmer. When granduncle, who doesn't like crows one bit, puts their talent to the test challenging them to count the number of crows in the kingdom, have Prince Veera and Suku been outsmarted or can they outsmart the old uncle?

The eight stories included in Mangoes, Mischief, and Tales of Friendship are basically light and easy, told in a very straightforward way and each has a simple moral that never feels preachy. The relationship between Prince Veera and Suku is one of affectionate companionship and respect, and although Suku is the son of a farmer, class isn't an issue here. Prince Veera loves to visit Suku's welcoming home as much as Suku loves going to the palace. This is a lesson we could all use.

Although there are not any notes about these stories and where they came from, they still have an authentically Indian quality to them culturally, and that is supported by the wonderful black and white spot illustrations by Uma Krishnaswamy.

Young readers will certainly enjoy these trickster tales and seeing how the two young friends deal with the often cunning disputes brought to them. Additionally, all the stories stand alone, making this a useful book for some great read alouds.

Mangoes, Mischief, and Tales of Friendship is a solid collection of folktales that are sure to please young readers who are already enjoying chapter books. 

This book is recommended for readers age 7+
This book was gratefully received by me from the publisher, Candlewick Press

The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani

The Night Diary begins in July 1947, just a month before the end of British rule in India and the Partition, the division of British India along religious lines into the two separate and independent countries of India (Hindu) and Pakistan (Muslim/Sikh) between August 14-15. Twelve-year-old Nisha and her twin brother Amil live in what is to become Pakistan, but they will soon be leaving the only home they have known to live in the new India. Their father is Hindu, and their deceased mother was Muslim. And although the family is mixed and secular, they are still considered to be Hindu.

Nisha is a quiet, introverted girl who has just received a diary for her 12th birthday from Kazi, the family's Muslim cook and the one person with whom she feel most comfortable, besides her brother. She decides to write her diary to the mother she has never known in an attempt to feel closer to her. Nisha records the small events in her life, like spending time in the kitchen with Kazi and her developing interest in learning to cook like him, but she also records the way life is changing outside the home as the day of Partition draws closer.

As violent incidents increase against Hindus in their town of Mirpur Khas, it becomes evident to their father and grandmother that it is time to leave. Nisha and Amil can't walk to school safely any more, and even home proves to no longer be a safe haven. Leaving beloved Kazi is difficult, especially for Nisha. The family is forced to set out for India on foot after hearing about deadly violence erupting between Hindus and Muslims at the train station. The plan is to stop at Rashid Uncle's house, which is halfway to the new border.

The journey, a distance of 91 miles between Mirpur Khas and the Indian border, is fraught with perils and problems. Leaving home with only what they can carry, it soon becomes apparent that the trip is going to take longer than expected and now they have become unwelcome refugees in Pakistan. They soon find themselves traveling slower than hoped, walking is dangerous, and the air is hot and water is scarce, and then Amil becomes seriously ill from lack of water.

Eventually, the family arrives at Rashid Uncle's home. Nisha is very excited about being there because it was her mother's home growing up. She has so many question to ask her mother's brother, but he has a cleft palette and doesn't speak. Soon, Rashid Uncle and Nisha begin cooking together in companionable silence, much the way she had cooked with Kazi.

Nisha would like to stay at Rashid Uncle's, but he lives in what is now Pakistan, and they are forced to leave again. Eventually, they arrive at their destination, Jodhpur, India, and settle in. But one day, there is a wonderful surprise at their door that again completes them as a family. one that has finally found their true home.

The Night Diary, so called because Nisha only writes in it at night when everyone is sleeping, is a thoughtful exploration of one young girl seeking her own cohesive identity and home. Nisha's story is nicely reflected in and paralleled with the events of the country she knew and loved at the moment of partition, when it too must forge its own identity.

Written as letters to her mother, Nisha's longing to know her, fueled in part by curiosity and in part by her need for the love and guidance a mother provides a daughter as she becomes a young woman, is both poignant and understandable. And perhaps these letters have helped because as the family travels closer to the new India, Nisha begins to discover her own voice, a voice that has always been silent, as well courage, resilience, and strength within herself that surprises everyone, especially her father.

I've read a number of novels about the 1947 Partition, and this ranks up there with the best of them. Veera Hiranandani based Nisha's story loosely on her father's family and their journey from Mirpur Khas to Jodhpur, giving this novel a wonderful feeling of authenticity, so important in historical fiction. I loved the way Nisha's diary captures the sights, sounds of what is going on around her, and especially the smells and tastes from Kazi and Rashid's kitchens that she loved so much. At the same time, Nisha also captures the disintegration of different people who previously had been living in relative harmony and who become hateful and violent once the borders are drawn. As Hiranandani writes in her Author's Note, more than 14 million people crossed the border and at least one million died or were killed.

The Night Diary is a wonderful coming of age story that should not be missed, presented with honesty (there are some violent scenes) and intelligence and an objectivity that doesn't allow the reader to take sides for or against either Muslims or Hindus.

An Educator's Guide to The Night Diary is available courtesy of the publisher, Penguin Random House

This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was an ARC received from the publisher

This map shows India before and after Partition

Ahimsa by Supriya Kelkar

It's 1942 and while Britain and the rest of the world are engaged in WWII, in Bombay (today's Mumbai), the Quit India Movement, whose goal is to rid India of British rule and gain independence, begins with a speech by Mahatma Gandhi on August 8th. The very next day, Gandhi is arrested, but it doesn't stop many from still having faith in the Quit India Movement.

Gandhi, a practitioner of Ahimsa, or civil disobedience, had already asked that one member of every family become a freedom fighter for Indian independence. Anjali Joshi, 10, a member of the high born Brahmin caste, knows that some kids in her class have family members who are freedom fighters, but after Gandhi's speech, she is more than surprised to learn that her mother has also joined the fight. And one of the things her mother is focused on is attempting to make the lives of those considered to be untouchable better (Gandhi referred to the untouchable caste as Harjian, meaning children of God, but Anjali learns that they consider it an insult and would rather be referred to as Dalit, meaning oppressed).

At first, Anjali isn't really too happy, especially when her mother makes her burn all of her beautiful foreign-made ghagra-cholis and replaces them with plainer khadi, a handwoven homespun cotton they spin themselves. She is particularly unhappy after her mother shows kindness towards the young Dalit boy, Mohan, who cleans their outhouse, causing him to run away, and then decides that Anjali and she will clean the outhouse themselves.

Slowly and reluctantly, however, Anjali begins to support her mother's attempts at being an activist. They begin attending Freedom Movement meetings together, and after visiting the basti where the Dalits live and getting to know the people better, Anjali decides that it is unfair that the young Dalits are not able to go to school, too. They begin teaching the children in the basti, even finding help from a very surprising source. Soon, Anjali and her mother are working to make it possible for the kids to actually attend the school that Anjali goes to, getting uniforms and tiffins all ready for them.

But the weekend before their first day of school, rioting breaks out between the Hindus and Muslims and schools are closed. Later, Anjali's mother is arrested on charges of helping to instigate the riots. While in prison and still practicing Ahimsa, her mother goes on a hunger strike, and although Anjali is afraid for her, she decides to carry on their work, even as she realizes that she herself must unlearn the prejudices and superstitions that have always been so much a part of her life.

Ahimsa is a debut novel for Supriya Kelkar, and is based on the experiences of her great grandmother, who had joined Gandhi's Freedom Movement so her husband could continue working, much the same way Anjali's mother did.

I found Ahimsa to be a very interesting novel about social injustice in 1940s India that covers quite a lot of historical and political ground, some of which may not be familiar to young American readers. But, Kelkar has taken great pains to make this important period in Indian history accessible, although at times she waxes a little on the didactic side when it comes to describing the political situation.

One of the things I did like is that Kelkar has included a lot of interesting, personal details in her narrative descriptions, including what daily life was like, the kinds of clothing people wore, the food they ate, games kids played and holidays celebrated as well as accounts of living conditions of someone in the Brahmin class, the basti where the Dalits lived, and even a bit about how the members of the British Raj (rulers) lived. These are the kinds of details that really work to bring a story to life.

The other thing I liked is that Kelkar has written flawed characters who learn from their mistakes. Anjali's mother is an enthusiastic freedom fighter, so enthusiastic that she can't see better alternatives to some of her actions, and sometimes not listening to the very people she is trying to help. Even Anjali is flawed, at first not really understanding what her country is going through, but slowly becoming more enlightened, though no less feisty and headstrong, which can and does get her into trouble. Even Gandhi and some of his ideas are presented as somewhat flawed, as Anjali discovers the more involved she becomes in the Freedom Movement.

Ahimsa is a very readable novel and a nice introduction to the Freedom Movement in India. It is also a novel about trying to make a difference, about social injustice, and about resistance, and although these themes are put into the context of Indian history, they will certainly resonate with today's young readers.

Be sure to read the Author's Note for a detailed overview of this period in Indian history and the leaders involved in it. Kelkar has also included a list of books for Further Reading and a very helpful glossary.

Although it's for slightly older readers, think about pairing Ahimsa with Padma Venkatraman's Climbing the Stairs for another view of India's fight for independence.

This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was purchased for my personal library

I've read a number of books that are set in Indian or have Indian characters and often the kids in them play a game called Gilli Danda. If you've wondered, as I have, what the game is and how it is played, you may find a helpful article HERE 

Pattan's Pumplin: A Traditional Flood Story from Southern India by Chitra Soundar, illustrated by Frané Lessac

Since fall is traditionally pumpkin season, I thought I would share a lovely folktale from India about an truly amazing pumpkin and a truly amazing flood.

A farmer named Pattan has some animals, rides about on elephants, and grows lots of vegetables and fruit on land that lay by a mighty river. When Pattan finds an ailing plant with beautiful yellow flowers, he decides replant it so he can care for it. One day, in among the yellow flowers, Pattan notices that a pumpkin has started to grow.

And grow and grow and grow. Soon, it was even larger than his elephant, and still it grew and grew and grew. 

Then one day, it begins to rain, and rain, and rain. Afraid the rain would wash away everything Pattan and his wife Kanni had, he makes a big decision. With the help of his wife and animals, he collects every seed and sapling from his plants. Then, Pattan harvests his enormous pumpkin, and along with help from his animals, they hollow it out. Meanwhile, his wife is busy filling sacks with grain, seeds, and herbs, that the animals then bring to the hollowed out pumpkin.

As the rain continues to pour down, and night falls, Patten, Kanni, and all the animals climb into the hollowed out pumpkin, the last stem holding the pumpkin in place is cut, and they are on their way. The rain pours down, the pumpkin bobbs along, and Kanni sings lullabies to the baby animals and birds. Until one day, the rain stopped and the sun comes out. The mighty pumpkin had saved them!

When I read Pattan’s Pumpkin to my kids, they loved it. In fact, we read it a lot. Chitra Sounder has written a timely, straightforward and fully accessible retelling of a traditional flood story that was handed down by the Irular tribe in Southern India. And as with all flood stories, there is a definite theme of harmony disrupted by nature, and harmony restored by nature with a definite message of hope, thanks to Pattan. And despite the threat to their lives and home, it was nice to see how Pattan, Kanni, the animals and birds all worked together to save themselves. 

My young readers also loved the folk art style illustrations, which both reflected and added to the storyline so well. They are done in a pleasing gouache palette of bold greens, blues, and of course oranges. 

Do read the Author’s Note at the front of the book giving more information about the origin of the Pattan story and its cultural roots.

Chitra has some wonderful Teaching Resources for Pattan's Pumpkin HERE as well as some fun facts about pumpkins HERE

Artist Frané Lessac has a fun pumpkin coloring sheet like the one below. An enlarged version can be downloaded HERE. 

This book is recommended for readers age 4+

This book was sent to me by the author, Chitra Soundar

Book Uncle and Me by Uma Krishnaswami, illustrated by Julianna Swaney

Yasmin, 9, loves to read and her goal is to read a book a day forever. So far, she has read over 400 hundred books. Everyday after school, Yasmin visits Book Uncle, a retired teacher and widower, who runs a free lending library near her apartment. Book Uncle's motto is "Right Book for the right person for the right day," but when he gives Yasmin two books one day, she is a little taken aback. One is an old Indian story, too easy for her. But he insists, and it is a story the she finds herself pondering all weekend long, and even in class Monday, to the annoyance of her teacher, Mrs. Rao.

Later, when Yasmin returns her book, she finds a very unhappy Book Uncle. His books still in their boxes, and holding a summons, Book Uncle has been told by the mayor that he must get a permit which he cannot afford in order to continue his free lending library.

At the same time, Yasmin discovers there is to be an election soon to elect a new mayor. Yasmin's friend Anil is rooting for Karate Samuel, a popular action movie actor, to win, but his is running against the current mayor, S.L. Yogaraja, or Mayor SLY for short, who seems to be the front runner.

Not willing to lose Book Uncle, Yasmin begins a grassroots movement to save his library, enlisting the help of friends, neighbors and her schoolmates, and finally getting a campaign promise from Karate Samuel that he will support Book Uncle. And it doesn't hurt that Yasmin and her fellow activists discover the real reason the the Mayor SLY issued the summons to get rid of Book Uncle.

Is it too late to help Book Uncle and save the Free Lending Library? Or can a grassroots movement begun by a 9 year-old girl really make a difference?

Book Uncle and Me is an absolutely charming story about a book worm turned activist. Yasmin is an chatty, energetic, sometimes sassy, other times caring and considerate character, a protagonist that readers will certainly be able to relate to. I loved seeing her struggle to find the meaning to the old Indian story Book Uncle gave her to read, and how she is eventually able to relate it to her attempts to save the library. And I think her dedication to the cause will serve as inspiration for young readers who may feel they can't make a difference.

Yasmin's story is also a nice slice of life story.  Shopping with her mother, and a visit from her overbearing uncle are not really necessary to the fight to help Book Uncle, but at a nice dimension to the story. And along the way, readers are introduced to some wonderful Indian elements of Yasmin's everyday life, from her flip-floppy chappals to her neighbor who plays a a traditional Indian ghatam, a musical clay pot, to favorite Indian foods like coconut puttu, and the wonderful istri lady"who does peoples ironing for them (istri describe the flat iron she uses for ironing).

Book Uncle and Me is a book I highly recommend, with themes perfect for young readers - friendship, community, family and making a difference.

This book is recommended for readers age 7+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL

Bombay Blues by Tanuja Desai Hidier

When first we met Dimple Lala in Born Confused, she is a 17 year old Indian American who up until now had been living in the confusing space between those two words with nothing concrete to stand on - a space where she is too Indian to be American and too American to be Indian.  She is an ABCD - American Born Confused Desi (Hindu for a person from South Asia).

Dimple is also a talented photographer, carrying her Chica Tikka, her third eye SLR camera, everywhere and recording everything with it.  A gift from her beloved grandfather, her now deceased Dadaji, its photographs were how the two bridged their language barrier, communicating their lives to each other in pictures from half way around the world - Dimple in New Jersey, Dadaji in Bombay.  Dimple also found herself involved with the boy her parents had considered 'a suitable boy' and whom she originally rejected simply because meeting him was arranged by their parents.  The very handsome Karsh Kapoor is a favorite Indian DJ playing gigs in Manhattan night spots.

Now, in Bombay Blues, it is two year later and Dimple is 19, a student at New York University and still with Karsh.  Dimple is heading to India along with her parents to celebrate the Lala's wedding anniversary and for the wedding of Dimple's sister-cousin Sangita.  Karsh arrives a few days later, to hopefully break into Bombay's music scene and to DJ Sangita's wedding.  Dimple and Karsh have been growing apart recently and she is hoping the trip will help them reconnect to each other again.

But Karsh has other work to do - he needs to find closure and come to terms with his father's tragic death, a death that has shattered him.  This work that doesn't include Dimple, but does include some Hare Krishana, especially after his first DJ gig doesn't go as well as he had hoped. 

And in reaction to Karsh pushing her away, Dimple has a fling with a fellow photographer simply know as Cowboy.  She had noticed him at the airport and after running into him a second time in Bombay, Dimple decides it is a fling that is meant to be.

For her part, Dimple, has taken two giant steps backwards since her cross cultural identity crisis in Born Confused.  Now, she needs to rediscover and reconnect with who she is and what she wants to be.  Oddly enough, it is the bride-to-be Sangita, the most traditional appearing character in the novel, who teaches Dimple about finding ones true self - about identity fusion and finding a way to bridge her Indian and her American selves.

To add to all this, Sangita's sister Kavita, who came out to Dimple in Born Confused, is determined to now come out to her parents as a lesbian, as well.  But when her ex Sabina shows up in Bombay, well, things get interesting…

The story lines in Bombay Blues are actually quite simple, just as they were in Born Confused.  It is a story about journeys - internal and external journeys in search of 'home.'  And that is just what gets interrogated in this novel - the idea of what and where home is.

I loved Dimple in Born Confused and the way she took the reader along on her coming of age journey. In Bombay Blues, Dimple again invites us to ride along in rick, tuk tuk, on foot or by taxi through the maze that is Bombay, narrating her story using the same funny, deprecating, sarcastic stream of consciousness thinking as before, but with a difference.  Two years has given her stream of consciousness a more mature feeling, so her language is much more lyrical with incredible alliteration, wonderful word play, and poetic imagery.

Hidier holds the reader spellbound as she perfectly catches all the tensions, all the confusions, all the jealousies, all the happiness that make up a novel about family, friendships, relationships, identity.  All the while, she conjures up the sight, sounds and smells of Bombay, creating a lovely aromatic and musical reading experience.

If you haven't read Born Confused, that doesn't mean you can't read Bombay Blues.  It does work as a stand alone novel since you are given enough information to be able to understand how Dimple has arrived at where she is in the beginning of this second novel.

And, it is another big book - my copy of Born Confused is 432 pages, Bombay Blues comes in at 560 pages, so they are an investment in time.  But if you stick to it, to the end, you will be rewarded with a reading experience you won't soon forget.  Besides, don't you just love the name Dimple Lala?

This novel is recommended for readers age 14+
This book was an EARC received from NetGalley

A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman

Veda, a teen living in Chennai, India, lives to dance.  Ever since she was a young child, Veda has felt the music and dance of Shiva moving deeply within her.  She has studied classical  Bharatanatym dance for years, with the support of her father and her grandmother Paati, but not with the blessing of her mother, who would like to see Veda study engineering instead.

But no sooner does Veda win her first important dance competition, but the van she is traveling home in hits a tree.  The driver is killed, and Veda wakes up in the hospital to learn she has lost her right leg from just below the knee.  No one else in the van was hurt, including her dance rival Kamini.  For Veda, the music within her is gone and she is left with silence:

"It feels like Shiva destroyed my universe of possibility
like He's dancing
on the ashes
of my snatched-away dreams." (pg 44)

Her father and Paati are, as always, there for her; her mother, of course, it totally repentant, sorry she had been so hard on Veda's dancing dream; and her best friend Chandra feels awkward around Veda now.      But when the unspeakable happens, it's hard to find words to express yourself.

As luck would have it, an American doctor was in India working to develop better, more cost effective prostheses and when he invites Veda to take part in the project, he manages to get her up and moving, reassuring her that she isn't disabled or handicapped, just "differently abled." 

Eventually a new prosthetic is developed that may allow Veda to return to dancing and after being accepted at a school run by an elderly famous "differently abled" dancer, Veda meet Govinda, a young man who loves dance as much as she does.  No sooner does young love find Veda and Govinda than his parents demand he study for exams to go to university.  

Sometimes it feels like Shiva has abandoned Veda and her journey seems destined to be marked by loss, but in the process she does discover that the competition and applause she sought as a dancer before she lost her leg is nothing compared to what she now learns about herself and her spirituality and inner peace.

I loved Padma Venkatraman's novel Climbing the Stairs when I read it, so I was really looking forward to reading A Time to Dance.  And I am happy to say, it did not disappoint.  Written in free verse from Veda's point of view, the reader goes along on her intimate journey, experiencing her ups and downs, triumphs and disappointments, loves and loss.  

Venkatraman's portrayal of Veda is realistic, she is neither a martyr nor saint, just a teen who has experienced a trauma.  She has some really unkind things to say about her rival Kamini, she's angry, hurt, and there's some self-pity there, but the important thing is that she grows and learns, and that is what makes her such a great character.  And along the way, we learn lots of interesting things about Indian culture, religion and dance.  I found Veda's mother and grandmother's story, though not a big part of the novel, to be very interesting.  In fact, so interesting, I wish they could be expanded into their own novels.  

There are two things that bothered me a little.  First, I didn't get a good sense of time passing and I also felt that Veda didn't have enough time to mourn the loss of her lower leg.  I though maybe that was because of the free verse format, which leads me to the other thing.  As an American reader, I found that some of the poetic breaks came when I wasn't expecting them and I wondered if I understood Indian music better, if it would have felt more natural.  But these by no means detract from the narrative.  

Venkatraman is a talented writer and I hope she continues writing more YA novels set in India, sharing her first hand knowledge of this fascinating country.

This book is recommended for readers age 12+
This book was purchased from my personal library

Grandma and the Great Gourd retold by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, illustrated by Susy Pilgrim Waters

Grandma and her daughter are separated by a jungle.  One day, Grandma receives a letter from her daughter saying she misses her mother and could she come for a visit.  Grandma decides to go even though walking through the jungle scares her.  She leaves her two dogs Kalu and Bhulu in charge of things at home, but they tell her if she needs help to just call for them.

So Grandma sets off through the jungle to visit her daughter.  On the way, she meets a fox who wants to eat her.  Quick thinking Grandma tells the fox that she is so skinny, but if he waits for her to return from her daughter's house, she will be nice and plump since her daughter is such a good cook.  The fox considers this a good idea and agrees to wait.

Next, Grandma meets a bear who wants to eat her.  Grandma tells the tiger the same thing she told the fox and the tiger also agree to wait until her plumper return.

The whole thing is repeated when Grandma meets a tiger who wants to eat her and, just like the fox and the bear, the tiger agrees to wait.

Finally, Grandma arrives at her daughter's house and the two have a wonderful time visiting and talking, cooking and eating and yes, Grandma does get plumper just as she said she would.  But all too soon, it is time for Grandma to return home through the jungle and the waiting animals who want to eat her.

Can she and her daughter come up with a plan to fool the fox, the bear and the tiger so they won't eat Grandma?  Yes, they do and it involves using a giant gourd.  But how?

This is a wonderfully colorful retelling of an old Bengali folktale that has lost none of the flavor of the original.  Perhaps because it was so familiar and beloved by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, whose grandfather introduced her to a version of it when she was young.

Divakaruni uses repetition, a somewhat limited vocabulary and onomatopoeia, all devices that kids love and that make this a great read aloud book.  The sounds are strictly Bengali, which may be something new to kids, but not something difficult to grasp.  The context of the story makes the meaning of the sounds clear: Grandma's dogs don't go woof-woof, they go Gheu-gheu, her footsteps through the jungle aren't thump, thump, thump but rather khut-khut-khut.

The rich, vibrant illustrations by Susy Pilgrim Waters.  She has given the words in the story added texture by using collage and a palette of color ranging from deep earth tones to lively pinks and reds and it all works wonderfully together.

Grandma and the Great Gourd is definitely one of my new favorite folktales and a welcomed addition to any multicultural bookshelf.

This book is recommended for readers age 5+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL

In Andal's House by Gloria Whelan, Illustrated by Amanda Hall

It is Duwali, India's 5-day Festival of Light symbolizing the inner light within us that protects us from spiritual darkness.  It is a time for family, friends, food and of course, light - strung lights, lights in little clay pots lighting the way to one's house and fireworks, among other lights.  And young Kumar couldn't be more excited.

Kumar is the smartest kid in his class and can even speak three languages.  Now, he has been invited to his schoolmate Andal's house to watch the Duwali fireworks.   Kumar feels it is quite an honor to be invited, after all, Andal's family are high-born Brahmin and Kumar's family had once been lowly outcasts.  Not that they are well off now.  Kumar's father doesn't make much money and his older sister Anika must work to help pay for Kumar's education, even though she would also like to go to school.   Still, Kumar's mother bought him new clothes for his visit to Andal's house.  But at least the caste-system has been done away with.

As Kumar happily walks through the streets on his way to Andal's house, he experiences all the sights, sounds and excitement of Duwali - street vendors with sweets, lights everywhere, happy people being so friendly to each other.  At last, he arrives at his destination.

But just as he is about to walk into the room where Andal and his other classmates are hanging out, Kumar is stopped by Andal's grandmother who tells him he, a boy of no caste, may not enter the house of a high born Brahmin family and sends Kumar away.

Hurt and disappointed, Kumar heads home where he finds only his grandfather still there, everyone else is off watching the public fireworks.  Kumar tells his grandfather what happened at Andal's house, but can what his grandfather tells him next about his own life as a young man sweeping the streets help Kumar remember that he is living in a different India than the one his grandfather and Andal's grandmother lived in?

There is just so much material to be found in this 32 page picture book.  First of all, it introduces the customs and culture of the very important Duwali Festival of Light to kids who may not be familiar with it.  And then it gives them a short history review about the caste-system that had always existed in India until reformers like Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambecker help to eliminate the discriminatory system.  Great men, his grandfather tells Kumar.

Gloria Whelan is a prolific writer of books for young readers and once again, she has written a sensitive, informative book that is sure to become a classroom/home school favorite.  As Whelan shows, the themes of civil rights, discrimination and identity still resonate in today's world and not just in India.  The book's back matter contains a nice glossary to help the reader with unfamiliar words and Author's Note explaining how she came to write In Andal's House.

Amanda Hall's lovely folk art illustrations done with a combination of crayon and watercolor ink are perfect for In Andal's House, creating the bright, smooth look that Hall likes, and is an approach to illustration that she developed herself.  The result reflects the color and vibrancy of not just the Duwali festival but of everyday life in India as well.

This book is recommended for readers age 6+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL

Kumar is from an area on the western side of India called Gujarat, as you can see here: