The Sweetest Mango
Author: 
Malavika Shetty
Illustrator: 
Ajanta Guhathakurta
age group: 
5+ yrs
Number of pages: 
24
Publisher: 
Tulika
Themes:
seasons value education mangoes
Genre:
picture book
 

It’s summer time again. In India, summer brings with it the flavour of mangoes - both ripe and raw, sweet and sour. Together they cast a gastronimical spell all over the land. Every part of the country has its own special variety with its own unique taste, flavour and shape and its own special cuisine inspired by the fruit.

Suma lives in Udupi, in the southern part of India, in the state of Karnataka. She loves mangoes and so does her friend Jyothi. They spend their carefree summer days, perched in the boughs of the mango trees, sucking the juice from the fruit.
One day, Suma spots an extraordinarily large fruit and selfishly wanting to eat the fruit all by herself, decides to keep the discovery a secret from her best friend.
Soon, the fruit is ready to be picked, but when Suma goes to the tree, it is missing!

Who could have taken it?

The illustrations are vibrant and its double-page spreads perfectly capture the heady flavours of the mango season.

Children will also benefit from the little snippets of information that brings a better understanding of Tulu, the language, and of its people.

Bite into this delectably sweet story, woven around the fruit - a story that talks of friendship, caring, sharing, greed and selfishness.
 

Reviewed by Shamim Padamsee

Comments

I like the story very much. The end of the story is more sweet than Mandappa.

It teaches us that sharing things with your neurons gives you more happiness than enjoying it alone.

The best thing of the book is the ripped mango and its juicy story.

I enjoyed the story very much.

Namrata Makhijani
Arya Vidya Mandir

Bandra (E)

Mumbai