India
29
Agarwal, Deepa (text)
Roy, Atanu (illus.)
What's right, what's wrong
New Delhi : Save the Children, 2001. - 44 p
Children's rights - Education - Child labour - Poverty - Hunger –
Violence
The six stories in this small booklet all describe the everday life of
poor children in India, with each of the children fighting against a
particular problem. The topics touched on range from a boy's struggle for
better education, to a family's close escape from a devastating flood, and a
girl's frustration and fear when her little baby sister is killed after birth,
simply because she is a girl. Written in a simple language, the stories, aimed
at readers from 8 to 14, clearly suggest how improvements may be achieved.
Small boxes at the end of each story do not only contain additional facts and
information about the particular problem embedded in the narrative, but also
ask the reader to question the treatment of children in poor countries like
India. (8+)
30
Dutta, Arup Kumar (text)
Basu, Suddhasattwa (illus.)
The counterfeit treasure
New Delhi [et al.] : Scholastic, 2001. - 172 p
ISBN 81-7655-026-4
India/Meghalaya - Counterfeit money - Adventure - Village community –
Trust
Travelling to Meghalaya (a beautiful Indian region near Bangladesh) with
their father, twelve-year-old Paloma and her brother Arnab stumble into an
exciting adventure. Soon after their arrival, they befriend Yuri, a local
girl, and together they secretly start exploring a cave nearby. When they
discover that a gang of counterfeit printers has hidden away their treasure
there, events get out of control; still, the children are saved and return
home as »heroes«. Arup Kumar Dutta not only tells a vivacious and gripping
detective story, he also acquaints the readers with the life and different
cultures in a rural region of India. The detailed landscape descriptions will
certainly arouse the readers' interest in the country. (10+) <>
Special
Mention
31
Wolf, Gita / Rao, Sirish (text)
Ramanathan, Rathna (illus.)
Ladha, Rachana (illus. concept)
In the dark
Chennai, India : Tara Publ., 2000. - [34] p
ISBN 81-86211-54-3
Fairytale – Perspective
In this witty version of a well-known traditional Sufi folktale
(folktales with a similar plot also exist in other countries) five men bump
into a huge and very strange object on their way home one pitch dark night.
Since each of them has his own opinion about what he has encountered (a wall,
an octopus, a bugle, etc.), the stubborn men soon start quarrelling. Only the
next morning, when the sun rises and reveals the object's true identity, do
they become aware that neither of them had adequately named it - even if
neither of them was wrong, either. This small square book is a handcrafted
treasure with simple, two-colour pictures printed in silkscreen technique.
Each picture depicts only that part of the mysterious object, which perfectly
matches the respective person's description; thus, it leaves the readers as
puzzled as the protagonists. The pictures and the short calligraphic text,
written on handmade paper, and the small bag in which this book is sold, make
it a special treat for children and book collectors alike. (4+) ¤