The Kite Tree.
By Avanti Mehta.
Pictures by Nirupama
Sekhar.
Tulika Publishers,
Chennai.
32 pages.
11 x 8.25 inches. Full
Colour.
Softcover.
2011.
Rs. 160.
Available in: English,
Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali
Age group: 6+
A TREE is a tree is a tree, did you say?
Not when a child looks up at a canopy of green that he/ she
walks under on a scorching day. The streak of blue through the patchwork of leaves
could provoke a question: If I reach out, can I touch the sky? The rustling of leaves
overhead could make a growing mind ask: when it rains, will the clouds turn
green? Is the pink-dappled tree in the distance as tiny as it seems? Do
monsters live amidst odd-shaped branches?
In the child’s world of unrelenting questions and
multi-pronged answers, the impossible is always possible. And any tree becomes
a universe in sync with the irrepressible
imagination, morphing into fabulous forms and undreamt-of feats.
Yoking together curiosity and the imagination of a child of
6-plus, Avanti Mehta’s text takes us on a walk through seasons, through cycles
of growth, and through ways of re-imagining. En route, we acquire alternate
lenses through which to perceive the ordinary. And we hold our breath as the
mundane becomes magical with every page we turn.
For instance, at a bend in the road we glimpse an outlined
tree trunk and gorgeous autumn foliage. That provokes the words: ‘A yellow
scrap of cloth hangs from a branch. Is it a man’s shirt that tore as he fled
from a ghost?’
Roorkee-based Avanti’s passion for the environment comes
through with every line. How does she sustain her passion? By living in a mango
orchard, we learn.
Nirupama Sekhar’s illustrations elevate the text to a fantastical
level. Her flowing lines lend direction to the journey to the top of the hill,
to the flight of birds, to the trail of ants, and more. Her Master’s degree from
the London College of Communication feeds into her delicate watercolour washes
of breeze-swept branches, a skeletal tree by moonlight, even a web of insect
life.
This is a luminous, magical read-aloud or read-alone book
that will bring alive bedtimes, mealtimes and cosy-in-a-corner times for early
learner children and their parents. It could enhance the classroom experience
equally deeply, if sensitive teachers would take a cue or two from it.
More reason to cheer? In keeping with Tulika Publisher’s vision
of reaching across the spectrum of India, this book is available in
nine languages.
* * *
Magnolias
By Malati Shah
Illustrator: Amrita
Kanther
Tulika Publishers,
Chennai
24 pages
8.5 x 9.5 inches
Full colour
Soft cover
2011
Rs. 135
Available in:
English, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali
Age group: 5+
ANOTHER TREE, another tale. But with a difference.
This story by Malati Shah is set in the hill station of
Shimla. Gulab is a gardener who loves his work. One evening, he decides to take
a bunch of soft while magnolias ‘like the moon’ home to his wife.
But on the way, he meets many friends. He gives each of them
a flower. One for the girl who loves to paint. One for the mother from Tibet and her
baby. Do any of the magnolias reach his wife? That would be telling!
The story is charming. A simple one about chance meetings. About
the joys of giving.
About the little things that brighten an ordinary day. And,
of course, why we need flowers and trees and a green world around.
The illustrations by Amrita Kanther lend a local touch to
the book. For they are in the regional style of the Pahari miniature from
Himachal, which has Shimla as its capital.
The brilliant white magnolias are central to each frame. A
bloom lights up the wheelchair in which Santosh Aunty sits, for she found Gulab
~ lost and alone ~ years ago. Another looms over an old-fashioned bridge as a
train chugs over it. And so on.
I can imagine how much a child of five-plus would take to
this story ~ and the million stories she/ he would learn to ask as a result.
Over the past 16 years, Tulika has published some wonderful
picture books for children, especially Indian children. A reprieve from the colonial
world of cucumber sandwiches, licorice and ginger ale that today’s young
parents grew up with ~ and a long overdue one at that.
* * *
Contact:
Tulika Publishers,
24/1 Ganapathy Colony, Third
Street, Teynampet, Chennai – 600018, India.
Website: www.tulikabooks.com/
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