Thara’s Nanijee has lived in and travelled around India most of her life and she has a trunk full of objects that she has collected on her travels. Every Friday night, when Thara sleeps over at Nanijee’s house, Nanajee takes one object out and explains what makes it so special. Thara is delighted to share these stories with the reader.
A stunning non-fiction book that invites readers to learn about and celebrate the landscape, history, lives and traditions of India. Many of the double page spreads begin with an item and introduce the reader to the place that the item is from, touching on different aspects of the place in several short paragraphs. Other double page spreads look at wildlife, religious traditions, craft, sport and food among other topics. These introduce the reader more generally to India and allow them to build up a picture of life in India.
The book is beautifully illustrated. Each double page spread looks almost like a journal in that the illustrations can be looked at separately or as a whole – by this I mean that when we keep a journal each page gives a feel for a place or a topic even if different pictures and stuck-in objects can be looked at and understood separately. I love how this isn’t made out to be a travel journal – it is very firmly one girl’s celebration of her heritage and home.
I can imagine some of the illustrations being used to inspire artwork – the landscapes and animals especially would be wonderful to study and the use of colour, shape, and pattern might be especially interesting to young artists.
Jasbinder Bilan is a well known author of middle grade fiction and it is wonderful that readers can explore her stories after reading this book … or vice-versa. Her first venture into illustrated non-fiction demonstrates again her understanding of young readers and their needs.
India Incredible India is a treat from start to finish. It is almost impossible to see this book without picking it up and getting lost in its pages. I hope this gets into the hands of many young readers and on to the bookshelves of many schools and libraries.
- India Incredible India by Jasbinder Bilan and Nina Chakrabarti is available now from Walker Books. RRP. £14.99 (Provided for review)
