A girl from a Bengali fishing community saves two dolphins from certain death when they swim into her flooded house. To prevent them from being killed by her father she swims out into the river, mimicking their call. The playful creatures follow her, and in their turn save her from drowning.
The story vividly portrays the poverty of the fishing village, and the monsoon’s fury in that part of the world. The moral that we should not harm wild creatures especially endangered ones as these gentle animals is presented as part of the fable.
The wash pictures by Proiti Roy are graphic and decorative, and children will love the details, such as the toys made from reeds, and the scared chicken! The end-papers with their design of different kinds of river fish are charming.
A well-presented book, which all children and their parents will enjoy.
This book is also available in: Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada.
Comments
Review submitted for LRSI '14
The book I am going to talk about is Putul and the Dolphins. It is authored by Mariam Karim-Ahlwat and illustrated by Proiti Roy. It is about a girl named Putul who lives in a village located in Bengal.
She was 9 years old. The village used to flood in the rainy season. Once there came a day when there was flood. With the water there came dolphins floating! The villagers thought this was a great opportunity for them to catch the dolphins, sell them and earn money. But Putul risks her own life for the dolphins. In return the dolphins save her too. Putul is a very brave girl. Even the dolphins are very kind. Inspite of being such a small girl she thinks maturely. She understands even fishes and animals have emotions and feelings, while the other villagers think about themselves.
This is a proof to show that animals are the best friends of humans and if you do good deeds to others, god will always help you.
Ishika Bajekal
Std 4 A
Arya Vidya Mandir
Bandra West
Mumbai
Review submitted for LRSI '14
This is a story about a girl named Putul who lives in a small village called Dhobri. This village is on the edge of river Ganga in Bengal. The people in this village earn by fishing. Putul’s family is very poor. The river began to rise one monsoon and entered the villager’s homes and they could not cook nor eat. One afternoon when Putul was playing she heard a sudden squeaking sound. When she looked outside her window, she saw two beautiful dolphins.
When Putul’s mother finds out, she hopes the dolphins will stay till Putul’s father returns so he can kill them and sell them. Putul is horrified and tries to shoo away the dolphins. She goes into the river and the dolphins follow her. Putul gets caught in a strong current and there is no one to help her. The dolphins come back to help her to reach the shore. When the villagers see that the dolphins saved Putul’s life, from then on no one in the village ever harmed these beautiful animals.
I like this story because a little girl tries to save the dolphins. This story teaches us that we must never harm animals. It also teaches us to be kind. Putul is a brave girl who not only saves these two dolphins but also all the dolphins around her village.
This story shows us that one small act of kindness goes a long way. We should learn from Putul’s story that animals also have feelings
Aryaveer Kumar
2D,
Podar International School
Mumbai
Review submitted for LRSI - '14
Putul and the dolphins is a fabulous story which revolves around kind and courageous girl Putul. She belongs to a fishing community who dwells near river Ganga. Calamity strikes because of heavy rains and river floods the village. Two dolphins swim into Putul’s flooded house. To protect them from being killed, Putul swims out into the river imitating their voices. The intelligent dolphins sense the danger and follow Putul. But while saving the dolphins she herself gets into trouble.
The story portrays the poverty of the village as well as the role of Ganga as a friend and a foe. Putul’s close bond with the dolphins is endearing. It enhances love for animals.
The bright, colourful illustrations make the story more enriching. It is a well presented book with a reasonable price.
Riana Malhotra
3E
Podar International School
Mumbai
The book I am going to talk
The book I am going to talk about is Putul and the Dolphins. It is authored by Mariam Karim-Ahlwat and illustrated by Proiti Roy. It is about a girl named Putul who lives in a village located in Bengal. She was 9 years old. The village used to flood in the rainy season. Once there came a day when there was flood. With the water there came dolphins floating! The villagers thought this was a great opportunity for them to catch the dolphins, sell them and earn money. But Putul risks her own life for the dolphins. In return the dolphins save her too. Putul is a very brave girl. Even the dolphins are very kind. Inspite of being such a small girl she thinks maturely. She understands even fishes and animals have emotions and feelings, while the other villagers think about themselves. This is a proof to show that animals are the best friends of humans and if you do good deeds to others, god will always help you
Ishika Bajekal
Arya Vidya Mandir – Bandra West
Std 4 A