To Market! To Market!

Author: Anushka Ravishankar
Illustrator: Emanuele Scanzani
Ages: 3+

We discovered this book last week on a trip to Crawley. It was raining and the trains were getting delayed and so we retreated into the waiting room, annoyed, cold and wet. The annoyance, however, was short-lived and our faces broke into huge grins the moment we saw this new collection of children's books in the unmanned charity library / book sale corner inside. Suddenly, delays became the in-thing and trains were a thing of the past!

DS1 spotted a HP book that wasn't there in his collection, so instantly dropped off the change (the donation asked was a minimum of 50p) and settled down in a cosy corner of the sofa and was lost to the world. I and Milind were looking to take a picture book and read, and that was when this vibrant, nostalgic front cover caught our attention. With an overloaded cycle, bangles, sarees, cats and mice, colourful buckets and plenty of bold, beautiful colours, it was the Indian market in all its splendour!

A little girl gathers her pocket money and goes off to the market with mum. She has been given permission to buy anything she wants and she is eager to find out what she might get. But when she reaches the market, she is so taken in by its scents, flavours, textures and hues that she completely forgets her mission. She has so much fun just gazing and playing around that getting something for herself never even crosses her mind.

This was a nostalgic read for me and every small detail in every single picture brought back wonderful memories of trips to market or to the shops inside temples. Anushka has done a beautiful job of bringing such a simple theme to life with even more simple, yet catchy verse.

"Creeping creeping creeping, I am peeping, I am a spy"
"Tutti tutti tutti, I'm a fruity kind of dish"

It is, however, the illustrator who has poured so much life into the scenes. Emanuele Scanzani is an Italian illustrator who resides in the serene village of Auroville in Pondicherry, India. His familiarity, or rather, the acceptance of Indian culture is visible in even the tiniest detail. From the colourful rangoli powders heaped up in sacks to the Ganesha idol in black decked with flowers, the vibhoothi (sacred ash) and kumkum (vermillon dot) on the foreheads of most of the people, the many framed deities in golden frames and the demon faces hung in the front door to ward off evil eye, the rubber slippers in brilliant colours, the sarees, fruits, crows, cobwebs, bangle shops and hanging coir baskets, the detailing is so perfect that it teleported me right back to the stream of traditional shops inside Meenakshi Amman Temple in my hometown, Madurai. No doubt he is a very talented artist who has found peace in Auroville ashram.

Anushka is an award winning Indian writer whose books have been published internationally. She is popular for her "nonsense verse" and has won many international awards. I couldn't find any nonsense in this book though, but I suppose much of little children's healthy imagination is built on a foundation of remarkable nonsense!

In all, a brilliant book that will appeal to everyone with its colourful Indian backdrop and a bubbly storyline.

Penguin

Author: Polly Dunbar
Ages: 2+

Back in the nursery, my DS2 wasn't quite the talker. When he ended up making friends, I was honestly quite surprised. More so when I silently watched them interact. It was completely a one-way exchange with my DS2 remaining the mute conversationalist while his friend was more than making up for the loss in conversation with his animated speech.  Both of them were so deeply engrossed although DS2 was only supplying the odd nod or a tiny smile. It was wonderful to see how very different they both were, yet how easily they accepted that and enjoyed their time.

Penguin is exactly the same. One day Ben receives a penguin as a present. He is so happy to see a new friend and asks Penguin what he wanted to play. Penguin says nothing. Ben then tries to humor the Penguin with silly faces and tricks, but Penguin says nothing.

Now Ben starts getting annoyed. He prods the Penguin, blows raspberries at him, makes fun of him, but Penguin still says absolutely nothing.So Ben ignores Penguin, and ( this bit is so cute!) Penguin ignores him back. Eventually, Ben gets upset, ties Penguin to a rocket and fires him into space. Penguin not just returns back, but says absolutely nothing, not a single word!

A very irritated Ben then tries to feed Penguin to a passing lion, but lion isn't interested in eating him. By then, Ben is infuriated and he shouts out to Penguin to JUST SAY ANYTHING!!. Now the lion swallows Ben as he is so noisy.

The silent Penguin springs immediately into action to rescue his dear talkative friend and bites the lion's nose. The lion spits Ben out and then finally Penguin says...

...everything!

What a beautiful celebration of friendship this book proved to be! You talk to them or you don't, you ignore them, you fight with them, you try to stay away from them, but buddies just know how to save you at the right time, how to make you smile, how to always be there for you when you need it most.

Such a lovely story and I was so moved that I actually had to make Penguin for my DS2 to go with the book, which I got for him in a school fair. ( not quite a replica, but does he bother!)

Polly Dunbar says she wrote Penguin for her brother Ben who gave her the original Pingouin, handmade with velvet in France in 1930. She has received many awards for this book as well. There's more about Penguin and her other books in her website.

As usual, here is a Youtube version, although it is a bilingual version, the book being in spanish!

It really doesn't matter if the story is totally fictional ( talking penguins, lions inside the house swallowing boys!). It is one that the children will quickly relate to, or simply enjoy the beautiful illustrations and Ben's silliness. And Penguin's silent stand! It has been read so many times in our house, and is still a firm favourite!

Just the right book for teeny Penguin fans, this book is truly adorable and a celebration of diversity, acceptance and the spirit of friendship.

The Hueys - It Wasn't Me

Author and Illustrator: Oliver Jeffers
Ages: 2+

If you asked what the maximum used kiddy statement in our house is, I'd immediately vouch for this - "It wasn't me!". Especially with their eyes admitting guilt since their innocence can't mask it. It would be extremely difficult then to stifle the instant laugh that the scene would generate. :o)

The other day I was "Windows" shopping in one of my favourite store, I saw this card and went "Awwwwwww!, how cute is that!". Kids all over the world, they're all the same, all so cute, especially in their guiltiest-most moment ( Disclaimer : Not Always, please adore them at your own peril. Those little brats have a mind of  their own, enough to drive you out of your mind).

And so when I read this book ( standing in the bookstore :o)), it is this very same cuteness that appealed to me almost immediately. The Hueys, if you remember from one of my earlier posts, used to all think and look alike until Rupert and his friend Gillespie created a revolution. The Hueys have since moved on and started being unique.

The Hueys almost always agree upon everything. Until they have one of those moments when they disagree, which is what happens in the story. Heated arguments and blame games ensue and the fight intensifies. That's when Gillespie comes along and asks what the fight was all about. Nobody actually remembers why it started. Gillespie then asks them if they wanted to see a dead fly.

"Of Course!".

"Why didn't you say earlier?".

"How long has it been dead?".

And the gang disperses enthusiastically to check out the fly, the fight dumped and completely forgotten.

Utterly cute, somehow it makes you feel connected with the story the moment you read it. How many times would you have effectively diverted a raging toddler in terrible twos by pointing out to a totally simple, silly, stupid thing! Or jumped in to mediate kid fights and they don't even remember why they've been mad at each other and worse still, start giggling uncontrollably just when you're sternly delivering a serious lesson of forgiveness, love etcetera.

And oh! It holds equally good for all grown-ups as well. If only we could be diverted this effectively by a dead fly...

A cute book that kids would love. Oliver Jeffers certainly must have a pair of kids' shoes that he gets into every time he writes a new book. He somehow brings out little sweet nothings of childhood so well in his books. And his doodle characters emote so well and speak volumes with monosyllables!

I only wish they weren't this pricey, though.

We're Going On a Bear Hunt

Author: Michael Rosen
Illustrator: Helen Oxenbury
Ages: 2+

My little boy came home with a handful of scratches yesterday. Hands full of scratches and scrapes, to be precise. He had been jostled against his more agile classmates in the post-break scramble to class. Having proved to his mates that he was a brave young man with a "Bah, no pain at all" face, he came home whining like the wee boy that he actually is. As much as I cuddled and comforted him, I also quite frankly told him it was going to burn and pain for a while before it went away and that he would have to be brave and bear it. He immediately said " Oh I know! The pain. It's like the bear hunt, Mum! - We can't go over it, we can't go under it. Oh No! We have to go through it!".

It was one of those special moments when your patient efforts bear the most beautiful fruit of understanding and acknowledgement in your little one. I was so moved, touched by his reasoning. I knew then that all the time I had spent reading to him hadn't been in vain.

So then of course, I had to blog it!

We're going on a bear hunt, by Michael Rosen, is a very catchy poem for children. It is about a family that decides to go on a bear hunt and their rather adventurous trail into the bear cave. And the rush back home when the bear comes after them. Told as a poem with nice repetition, adjectives and onomatopoeia (just did Grammar with elder son heh heh), it gets the children's enthusiasm up to infectious levels!

The family has to tackle wavy grass, oozy mud, splashy river, a forest and a snow storm before they could get into a cave and see a bear. But when they do see one, they are scared out of their wits and they go running back again through all of the same things and into their bedroom, with the bear in  close pursuit. Once tucked safely in bed, they decide they would never ever go on a bear hunt again.

The bear gives up the chase and goes back home. I actually like the last page picture of a rather sad looking bear ( you can only see the rear, but it does all the talking! ;o)). It kind of gives you a feeling that the bear is rather a timid one that maybe only wanted them as friends, not dinner! And perhaps it was sad of being rejected thus and made its lonely walk back to its cave. Awwww....

And if you hear Michael Rosen reciting it, the infection quotient truly multiplies many times over. You know I really have a soft spot for egg-eyed people ( sorry if that appears to be the worst ever equivalent of Muttai kann, in Tamil!), and Michael Rosen's eyes certainly top that category. Even better, his eyes do all the talking and singing for him! You should definitely check it out here.

As always, here is an online reading of the book.

Here's an animated version.

This is a poem that me and my little boy sing almost every day while walking through the woods to school. The vagaries of British weather means that we have gone through most of what is in the poem, sometimes all on a single day! Sans the bear that is. And perhaps with an odd fox thrown in for a good measure :o)

We're Going On a Bear Hunt. You have to go through it!