#483 - The Big Bad Fight
by Yamini Vijayan and illustrated by Kruttika Susarla
“The Big Bad Fight” by Yamini Vijayan and illustrated by Kruttika Susarla. Published by Duckbill. A delightful story of a nasty fight between best friends.
Anna and Kichu are two adorable children who are best friends. They love collecting different incredible things. Kichu collected stamps, feathers, dolls and bottles. Anna collected dead insects, coins, matchboxes and rocks. An innocent looking game of snakes and ladders led to a fight that spun out of control within a few minutes. Anna was almost about to win the game when she stepped on a snake and fell down. Kichu seemed poised to win and had a hearty laugh at her.
Both Anna and Kichu couldn’t control their temper quick enough. Anna threw all of Kichu’s treasured stamps into a bucket of water. Kichu snipped Anna’s hair with a pair of scissors in protest. The damage was done. They no longer spoke to each other. They were angry and hurt. Anna missed her friend terribly but she couldn’t forget how mean he had been to her. Will the two friends get back together? Will things ever be the same again? Can they resolve their fight in some manner? Read the charming book to know what Anna and Kichu end up doing.
The characters and the plot are full of charm. An important topic of anger control has been shown in a beautiful manner. The fabulous illustrations are a visual treat and stole the limelight for us. My nine year old son and I enjoyed going through the details in each of the spreads while savouring the lovely and relatable narrative. We have experienced the thrill of playing snakes and ladders umpteen times and always hope that we don’t trod on the snake towards the end. Thankfully we haven’t had a big bad fight like this one but small squabbles do occur from time to time over the snake and who wins ;) We were happy with the way the plot progressed and ended. I loved the stamps part of the story. Given my fascination for stamps ever since I saw them first at the age of six, this was something I looked forward to while reading the book. My son is eager to check out my stamp collection now which has been sitting in a cupboard for too long. The book is part of the “hook book” series by Duckbill and well suited for children who are beginning to read on their own. The fairly large sized text along with pictures are very helpful in making the gradual transition to chapter books with lesser pictures.
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 5 and above.
Disclaimer - We received this book from the publisher, Penguin India (Duckbill), for review. Thank you to Mansi, from Penguin, for sending across the book!