Hi all! Welcome to Saffron Tree. This blog is a
culmination of my passion for children's literature. I have two daughters - a four yr old and a four month old! I know there are lots of book blogs that focus on mainstream American children's books, but I haven't been able to find any that focus primarily on children's books by Indian, Indian American and South East Asian authors. The goal for this blog, to start with, is to provide book reviews and recommendations of titles with a South Asian, particularly Indian flavor.
The first book that I would like to review is a title that is really close to my heart. Having spent close to 22 years of my life in India, and having done most of my schooling there, I was thrilled to find this picture book titled, Going to School In India in the 4-8 yr old category.
Going to School In India
by Lisa Heydlauff, Nitin Upadyhe, Global Fund for Children (Organization)
Going to School In India is a delightful, non-fiction book designed with brightly colored illustrations and photographs that capture the real life stories of how children get to school in India. There are twelve inspiring stories about children attending schools in different settings - in city schools, under mango trees, mountain fields, desert tents, etc. that serve as classrooms, and depictions of how children make their journey to and fro climbing on to bamboo bridges, boats, cable cars, school buses, rickshaws to get to their schools. The book's center is a colorful foldout with pictures of lunchtime goodies.
At bedtime the last few weeks, we've been looking at this book and its pictures. I talk to my daughter about the experiences of children depicted in the book, and it's a sheer joy being able to share this book with her.The lunchtime pictures also helped me talk to her about the kind of foods children take to school with them - Dal (lentils), Roti(the indain bread - wheat tortillas) and other rice and vegtable dishes that are healthy and tasty. Hopefully, the pictures will serve as an inspiration to get my 4 yr old to enjoy a variety of Indian foods going forward!
The only negative aspect about this book is that it looks a little cluttered and busy in terms of how the information and pictures are organized, and the font colors on some pages a little difficult to read - but you get used to it after a few reads. The book is a celebration of children and the different kinds of schools they attend in India - colorful and eye-catching, and heart warming in many ways, just like all the other sounds and sights of India that one can relate to when it is about India.