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
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Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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
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