A SLIVER OF MOON AND A SHARD OF TRUTH

India’s lively wisdom tales retold, starring two quick-witted boys.

As in Soundar and Krishnaswamy’s Mangoes, Mischief, and Tales of Friendship (2018), these linked stories feature a down-to-earth prince, Veera, and his best friend, Suku, a farmer’s son. Visiting Prince Veera’s rash granduncle’s kingdom, they solve mysteries, decode puzzles, expose charlatans, and defeat wickedness with ingenuity. The writing flows, the boys are wisecracking, and the tales celebrate shrewdness, friendship despite differences in social status, Solomonic insight, and fairness. It helps that the adversaries are given to excess and not too bright. Black-and-white vignettes flavor the pages in a naïve style appropriate to the stories, which, though they borrow heavily from folk tradition, are likely to be new to many readers. Names and some details—e.g., the game kabaddi—may be unfamiliar, but most things need no translation, like the adage, “Hasty elephants fall into the pit.” A good prince, Veera knows that justice must be “based on truth and fact,” and these reimagined trickster tales offer more than a shard of the former.

Lighthearted, brief tales of common sense, virtue, and valor, perfect for reading aloud.