Book Review: Angry River by Ruskin Bond

I love short stories. They are perfect to read after those heavy reads that take a lot out of me as a reader. On that front, I think Ruskin Bond’s books excel. I admire the author a lot for his simplicity. I found this book at the library and just the title alone made me wonder what it had in store.

Angry River shares the story of Sita, her small family consisting of her grandmother and grandfather, and their life on an island at the middle of the big river. The river floods when her grandparents aren’t around, leaving Sita in a dilemma.

The story, I feel, is one about hope and faith. Sita’s seemingly simple and happy life is disrupted by the flood, but the girl, who has grown up near the river and hearing of its tale from the grandparents, continues to be hopeful. She tries to survive, rather than get panicked. The story, on its face, is a simple one. There aren’t any unexpected twists and turns, and neither does the storyline call for one. It’s engaging in its brevity too. There are just four or five characters through the story, but the focus is the young girl and her struggle during the flood. Her innocence is well portrayed, as is the fact that the stories she has heard is from her grandmother. This in turn is reflected in her imagination. I remember the stories of Krishna, Sita and others from Indian mythology being shared with me by my grandmother as I was growing up. It’s the same with Sita, and that is something beautiful.

This book is a quick read, and a beautiful one. I would definitely read it again, even if just to take a break from the longer length stories/novels around.

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Reviewed by Vinay Leo R. No payment was taken for this review; these are the unbiased and uninfluenced thoughts of the reviewer about the book.

Matilda- Roald Dahl

1st PUBLISHED: 1988

GENRE: Fiction, Kids' Stuff

ISBN: 978-0-141-32266-7

SYNOPSIS:

Matilda Wormwood's father is a mean crooked crook. And her mother's just plain stupid. They think Matilda is a nuisance who should watch more TV and read fewer books! But her lovely teacher Miss Honey thinks Matilda is a genius. Matilda has few extraordinary tricks up her sleeve so her horrible parents and even more horrible headmistress had better watch out. 

EXCERPT:

"Daddy," she said, "do you think you could buy me a book?"

   "A book?" he said. "What d'you want a flaming book for?"

"To read, Daddy."

   "What's wrong with the telly for heaven's sake? We've got a lovely telly with a twelve inch screen and now you come asking for a book! You're getting spoiled my girl!"

ANINDITA SPEAKS:

I got this amazing book as a gift from one of my dearest cousins, right before I left for my visit to China. I usually take very long to finish a big book, but I read this one late into the night and finished it in less than a week! 

Matilda is a kind, polite, selfless and intelligent girl. She is a genius, but she sadly has no true friends. Just like David Copperfield's father warns his headmaster, Matilda's dad tells Miss Trunchbull to be careful as she is very "wild". Matilda is always bullied by The Trunchbull although the other kids in Crunchem Hall Primary School seem to like her.   

This novel by Roald Dahl encouraged me to read more and more. Little Matilda read books like, Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, Animal Farm by George Orwell, and Kim by Rudyard Kipling among many others at the age of four!

I loved this book and could not find anything that I disliked except a few characters like Miss Trunchbull the headmistress, and Matilda's parents. Miss Honey is my favorite character apart from the heroine. I loved the way Roald Dahl ended this story. Read the book to find out about Matilda's adventures as a brilliant kid who saves the day!

NUMBER OF PAGES: 232

PRICE: Rs. 197/- (Flipkart)

RATING: 5/5

Note from Arpita- Anindita is my ten year old sister. She goes to Modern School and is in the fifth grade. And yes, she wrote the review without my help. I'm entering the Diwali Giveaway on her behalf since she does not have a blogger ID. Here's wishing a very happy Children's Day to everyone on ALOP!

Note from Anindita- Thank you, ALOP, for letting me do my first review here! I'm so excited! 

A Christmas Tale by Geronimo Stilton

A CHRISTMAS TALE

Author: Geronimo Stilton (pseudonym for Elisabetta Dami)
ISBN: 9780439791311
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scholastic India
Number of Pages: 64
Genre: Children's Literature

Language: English

Age Group: 6 + years

Price: Rs. 200 (Available for Rs. 144 on Homeshop18.com )

About the Book: A Christmas Tale from the popular Geronimo Stilton series of books for children is about the prerequisite of family during the occasion Christmas. The story of the book revolves around a talkative little mouse, Geronimo Stilton, who lives in the New Mouse City in Mouse Island. When it is finally Christmas time in the city, he is extremely sad because he finds out that he will be spending Christmas all alone as his family and friends are travelling out of town. Hence, they will not be spending Christmas eve with him. Geronimo, thus, does not feel excited in the Mouse Island as he feels uninvited and left out of everything that is happening. Will this be his loneliest Christmas ? Will he spend Christmas all by himself, with the only company of his fish called Hannibal?

Swarnali Speaks : I bought this cute book to read out to my little niece and I can say that this is a great book for the tiny tots to start their reading habits with. 

The story is simple and is in first person narrative. Geronimo Stilton is the publisher and editor of The Rodents' Gazette , the most popular newspaper in Mouse Land. Geronimo is all set with gifts ,decorations and yummy food spread for his Christmas party . But as sad as it is, he is deserted by his extended family on Christmas eve as they all set out for different trips leaving poor old Geronimo to celebrate Christmas on his own. And what fun is Christmas if you're not with you loved ones? So our dear Geronimo sets out to find company for the evening and boy, does he succeed? You bet, he does. But how? Read the book to know more :D

This book is a delightful and humorous read. I remember how I used to love picture books as a kid. The book is filled with pictures and illustrations which not only entertain the tiny ones but also help them understand the meanings of difficult words. So they learn new word meanings and get entertained. The story is simple and is written in simple and easy words so that the kids do not find it difficult to understand. 

Have you ever tried to teach good manners to a kid? If you've tried , chances are the kid will forget it the very next second you teach them :P What comes as an added bonus in this book is that the story is not just entertaining and funny but also teaches the kids the important lessons of life. It tells how important friends and family are and that festivals are occasions for all to be together and have fun. It also helps them understand the importance of values like mercy, kindness, benevolence and love without being preachy.

The niece loved reading aloud portions where Mrs.Ratillis (who has a cold) speaks, "Dear Gerodibo, I dan't find Doonflower" ( "Dear Geronimo, I can't find Moonflower" :D :P ). The names of places like Mouseland, Cheddarton, Mouseport, San Mouscisco, Slipper Slopes Glacier ; the names of the characters like Rattina, Mousart (our very own Mozart of mouse world :P) , Shortpaws, Spicytail, Gingermouse and Christmas carols like "Rudolph the red -nosed rodent" (reminiscent of Rudolph the red nosed reindeer) are very intelligent and entertaining  You can get the kid to draw and color pictures from the book after you finish reading the book and sing along the Christmas carols.

Rating :5/5

Grimm's Fairy Tales for Children

There are some things so inevitably related to childhood that the first thing that most of us would remember would be the magical and whimsical stories we come to call and love as fairy tales. Glorious collections such as the Arabian Nights or Tales from the Panchatantra are always there in our minds. One of the bigger collections of such fairy tales is the collection of two hundred and eleven tales collected by the Brothers Grimm. December of this year, 2012, would be the bicentennial anniversary of this collection.

Anyone remembers Snow White and the Seven Dwarves? How about Rapunzel or maybe the sibling tale of Hansel and Gretel? We all would. These are all part of the Grimm’s Fairy Tales collection. We’d be acquainted with them very well, as with the more told stories of Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella. I don’t think a gist of these stories would be needed, but I’ll tell a couple of the lesser known (comparatively to these tales) tales.

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Golden Goose is the tale of a young man, named Simpleton, who is the youngest of three brothers. The eldest brother goes to chop wood. Proud, and vain, he refuses to help a man by giving him a morsel of rich cake or a sip of wine, and on his way back, meets with an accident. A similar fate meets the second brother. However, Simpleton does help the man, though he has only an overcooked biscuit and soured beer. For his generosity, he is rewarded by the man who points to a tree, and Simpleton, chopping it down finds a golden goose. He takes it and heads to the palace. On the way, each person who tries to pluck a feather of the goose gets stuck, the first person to the goose’s tail feather, the second to the first and so on. The princess at the palace has never laughed in her life. Seeing this procession, she does, and the king, as a reward for making his daughter laugh, gives her hand in marriage to Simpleton.

The Elves and the Shoemaker is a story of a poor cobbler and his wife, who need the money to pay rent. The kind cobbler gives his last pair of shoes to a needy lady, and has enough leather to make only one pair of shoes. Seeing his kindness, few elves come silently in the night to help the cobbler, and make a pair that the cobbler sells for a big profit. With the extra money, he buys food and also more leather to make shoes. The elves return and make two pairs of shoes, one the cobbler gives to another needy person and another to a rich customer that the previous day’s customer had recommended. Curious as to who was making the shoes, the cobbler and his wife stay up on the third night, and find the shoddily clothed elves. To repay them, the couple knit them clothes, but in doing so, lift the elves from their obligation. The cobbler and his wife never see them again.

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These are but two of many such priceless tales.

In this book of selected tales from the collection, other tales like Tom Thumb, Rumpelstiltskin and the Frog Prince are also there. Want to hear a bedtime story, kids? If you do, this book has some tales you’d love and remember for a long time to come.

Book title: Grimm’s Fairy Tales

Book authors: The Brothers Grimm

Book genre: Children’s fiction

Book price: Rs. 133 (HomeShop18)

Book publishers: Puffin Books

Book ISBN: 9780141331201

Aesop's Fables for Children

I was nine or ten years old when I first read Aesop’s Fables. It was from an exchange library that my 5th grade English teacher made compulsory. Each of my classmates gave a book to it which we loved to read, and every two weeks, we would take a new book from it. Aesop’s Fables was the first book I took out from the many that were in the “lucky draw” box. It was this book, and the library that made me realize I loved to read, and I have not forgotten these evergreen, moral showing tales even after these many years.

Aesop’s Fables gave me fun stories to read… evergreen tales of wit, wisdom and enjoyment. I think stories like The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, The Fox and the Grapes, The Milkmaid and her Pail, The Wind and the Sun, The Goose with the Golden Eggs… these are unforgettable to those who have read it, and we’d recollect them to our children too. At that age, I wasn’t very much after the moral part, but I think it helped my parents that these stories taught that too, and they used to quote from them, teach me what they meant, and I’d smile as I understood.

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I share a gist of few stories.

The Goose with the Golden Eggs is the story of a farmer, who finds a golden egg in his goose’s nest. It happens each day, and he’s happy with all the riches that come his way. However he gets greedy, and wanting all the riches at one go, he cuts open the goose, and loses the riches he would have got with patience.

The Fox and the Grapes is the story of a fox who sees a bunch of grapes dangling high above him in the orchard, and jumps at it, trying a lot till he realizes that the grapes is too far for him to jump. He calls the grapes sour, and moves on.

The Crow and the Pitcher (who wouldn’t have read this one?!) is the story of a thirsty crow, who sees a little water at the bottom of a pitcher, that he can’t reach. Rather than give up and go away, he sees a few pebbles on the ground and puts them into the pitcher, one by one till the water rises to the top, and he can quench his thirst.

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The number of fables credited to Aesop are many, over five hundred. Many publishers have over the years selected from them at random and published them. These books are available from as little as Rs. 50. These stories would be a part of childhood reading that would be unforgettable.

Book name: Aesop’s Fables
Book author: Assorted stories of Aesop
Book genre: Children’s fables
Book cost: Rs. 50 onward
Publishers: Various publishers