Where's The Sun?
Author: 
Sowmya Rajendran
Illustrator: 
Janu Bhiva Ravate
age group: 
3+ yrs
Number of pages: 
20
Publisher: 
Tulika
Themes:
Warli art sun Sahyadri hills folktales folk art
Genre:
fiction, picture book
 

A charming story set in the Sahyadri Hills, inspired by the eminent Warli artist, Janu Bhiva Ravate.

The book tells a simple tale - A little girl asks her mother one evening, “Where’s the Sun?”
“I don’t know,” responds her mother and in the style of a folk tale, the question sets them off on a long-winding trail from a crab, to a fox, to a peacock, to the lady who feeds a hundred birds, to a rat, to a monkey and thence to a fisherman on the top of a hill, who finally casts his fishing rod and pulls out the sun!

Gloriously illustrated in the traditional Warli style, in which each spread is a work of art, with absolutely delightful portrayals of humans, animals, trees and birds.
In fact, the book is accompanied by a poster of the entire artwork, that one could continue to enjoy and appreciate long after the book has been read.

Note: The Warli art form is one of the traditional folk art forms of India. It is important that children are introduced to books such as these, the sooner the better, so that they grow up appreciating and understanding the wonderful art heritage of India.
 

Reviewed by Shamim Padamsee