#373 - When The Jungles Whisper!
by Preethi Menon and illustrated by Parvathy Subramanian, Tanisha Tiwari, Mukund Ravishankar, Saswati Patra, Krithika Ramesh, Vibha Jayaram, Tayyibah Kazim and Divya Menon
“When The Jungles Whisper!” by Preethi Menon and illustrated by Parvathy Subramanian, Tanisha Tiwari, Mukund Ravishankar, Saswati Patra, Krithika Ramesh, Vibha Jayaram, Tayyibah Kazim and Divya Menon. Published by Harper Collins. A charming collection of twenty six delightful short stories, one for each letter of the English alphabet, featuring a host of animal and bird species from across the many jungles and reserves of India.
Two children called Kanna and Molu are visiting their Ammuma during the summer vacation. She would read wonderful tales of endangered species of the birds and animals that brought the jungles of India alive. These stories made them discover a treasure trove of information about the endangered species and their habitats. It made them curious and enthusiastic to contribute in their own way towards the conservation of these species when they grow up. Their favourite pastime before falling asleep would be to imagine themselves on a jumbo trail exploring these jungles and forest reserves.
Each of the stories feature an endangered species as the protagonist. The species have been chosen in the order of the letters of the alphabet. The name of each story as well as the animal/bird also starts with the same alphabet making it a delightful experience. For instance, there is a story called “Bansi’s Bubbly Buddies” for the letter “B”. Bansi here is a Bengal Florican! Through him we get to know a host of other birds like the Blyth’s Kingfisher, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Manipur Bush Quail, Dark-rumped Swift and a Soft-billed Pelican. Each of these birds have a name starting with the same alphabet as their species names. Read this delightful one of a kind book to acquaint yourselves with the diverse fauna of India and their habitats.
My 8.5 year old son and I had a whale of a time going on an armchair “jumbo trail” ourselves while reading this book. It was an utterly delightful experience to introduce so many species to him through these short and sweet stories. There is a right balance of facts woven with the plot of the stories making it quite appealing and managing to retain the attention of readers. And the illustrations bring the stories to life. My son was stunned by some of the illustrations. He was fascinated to know about so many species of birds and animals which he hadn’t heard of earlier. We made it a point to check out the images of these species on the internet. There is a map at the end which gave us an opportunity to recap the species about which we had read. The fun facts listed were quite interesting. For instance we didn’t know that the Asian Elephant uses its feet to hear sounds. The index at the end is quite useful to browse through the book.
The birdwatcher in me was thrilled to find so many not so well known birds listed throughout the book. The presence of a rare Green Cochoa (which I had looked up online sometime back) in not one but two stories made me feel very happy!! The author’s love and passion for wildlife is clearly reflected in the amount of research that has gone into creating this book. This is definitely a “MUST-READ” and deserves to be on everyone’s shelves. There is very little awareness about the species that we find in India as compared to what most of our children know about the western species. This was something I experienced at a literature festival that I attended recently. In one of the sessions, children had to guess an animal which might have been at a scene in an Indian forest using the visual clues and they kept telling names such as reindeer, polar bear and what not! These aren’t even found in India :) I hope books like these bridge this kind of gap and the children get an opportunity to learn and appreciate the diversity of wildlife that we find across the length and breadth of India. Thank you Vidya Mani of Funky Rainbow for having Preethi Menon as a guest at one of the Buzzaars and recommending this wonderful book!
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 7 and above.
Reasons to Read
Simply put in the words of Dr.K.Ullas Karanth who has written a lovely foreword for the book - “When the Jungles Whisper, You Better Listen!”.
For the children to be made aware of the rich diversity of Indian fauna so that they can appreciate it and maybe contribute their own bit in the conservation efforts of some of the endangered species.
Where to buy from?
An independent bookstore, Funky Rainbow, from where I buy many of my books.