GURU NANAK

In 1469, an extraordinary child was born to a Hindu family in Talwandi, India. Full of laughter and bathed in light, baby Nanak was clearly destined for greatness.

From a young age, Nanak resisted the rules of Hinduism, rejecting the oppressive structure of the caste system and questioning the necessity of religious rituals. He was, however, extremely devout. After his marriage at 18, Nanak left his family to travel the world, promising to return once he fulfilled his destiny. For the next 25 years, Nanak traveled all over Asia, spreading his message and gaining disciples. Those whom he met were awed by Nanak’s supernatural abilities, including reading minds, squeezing milk and blood out of food, and even causing the Kaaba in Mecca to move. When he finally returned to his family, Nanak had amassed a huge congregation—the basis of Sikhism, a religion that is still practiced widely today. This picture book contains a number of interesting tales about Guru Nanak, each of which is illustrated in a style reminiscent of Indian miniature painting. However, the story says little about the tenets of the Sikh religion, relegating this information to the afterword. Furthermore, the text often presents Sikhism in opposition to Hinduism and Islam rather than defining it as a profound and complex belief system in its own right.

This picture book about the founder of Sikhism relies more on myth than substance.