BOOK: ELEPHANT DANCE: A JOURNEY TO INDIA
AUTHOR: THERESA HEINE
ILLUSTRATOR: SHEILA MOXLEY
PUBLISHER: BAREFOOT BOOKS
PAGES: 40
AGE RECOMMENDED: 5+
A grandfather talks about incredible India to his grandkids, Ravi, and Anjali. He visits them who are living abroad, and they ask Grandpa to tell them about India. His stories are so interesting that they draw so much attention to them. He compared the hot, scorching sun to a fierce tiger. He also says he eats chillies at night; that’s why he growls all day and the night is pleasant as he soothes himself with coconut milk. In a similar fashion, he talks about the wind of India, the monsoon, the rainbow, the snow, the Himalayas, and festivals.
Grandpa’s stories about India are so captivating and his comparison of India with different things are pleasant to hear. The illustrations are so good, vibrant, and I have never read a book about India this good. The descriptive language does a wonderful job of helping readers visualize the land of India: each line in this book is so good and I was blown away by the author’s comparison to nature. If you are someone who wants to know about India and its culture, pick this gorgeous book.
The back of the book has an index about the history, geography, animals, food, weather, religion, and lifestyle of India. There’s also an elephant dance tune at the endpaper and one can tune with Ravi and sing the elephant dance.
My favourite lines from the book,
‘A rainbow in India, is seven silk saris hung across the sky to dry;
Red as the watermelon,
Orange as Lentils,
Yellow as saffron,
Green as the Parakeet,
Blue as the Kingfisher,
Indigo as the deep ocean,
Violet as the Storm-sky before the thunder growls.’
A book to add to your home library and explore royal India, right from your home.
Also, today is national elephant day and India is home to the largest number of Asiatic Elephants.
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