#507 - How the Bamboo Got its Bounty

by Sudha Murty and illustrated by Pari Satarkar

“How the Bamboo Got its Bounty” by Sudha Murty and illustrated by Pari Satarkar. Published by Puffin, the children’s imprint of Penguin. A charming story of the humble bamboo which abounds our surroundings and helps us in so many ways.

This story is from a time long ago. There was a thick forest which had several varieties of plants, shrubs and trees which bore plenty of fruits and flowers. The place was blessed abundantly with the gifts of nature and felt like a paradise. It was governed by the beautiful forest queen. Looking after the forest and its denizens was her responsibility. One day the queen sent the wind who was her messenger with an important message to the forest. She would be visiting the forest after a long time and wanted to meet everyone living there. The messenger advised all the plants, shrubs, bushes and trees to welcome her with great honour and affection.

Everyone was excited and awaited the day with great anticipation. They first had a meeting to decide who amongst them deserved to be honoured with the chance of welcoming the queen. Each one came ahead and presented their case with a lot of pride and gusto. As time passed, there was a lot of noise and ruckus in the gathering. No consensus was reached. While the mighty neem, mango, coconut, banyan and teak trees tried to convince the rest why they deserved the chance, a small bamboo tree dared to try and speak. The rest of the trees ensured that the bamboo kept quiet and adjourned the meeting. What happened next? Who would welcome the forest queen? Who would she honour? Read the delightful book replete with gorgeous illustrations to know the unsung and forgotten story from the forests.

The book is a lovely means of paying a heartfelt tribute to the flora of our forests. The trees are so resilient and bestowing countless gifts on all of us. To read a story deftly woven around the trees and the forest was a treat for me and my nine year old. He was spellbound by the plot and was happy to savour a beautiful ode to bamboo from one of his favourite writers. His curiosity to know what would happen next increased as the plot progressed. The fabulous and bright illustrations were a visual feast for us and we couldn’t stop admiring them. Having studied about bamboo and its abundant usage in several forms in school, my son knew how indispensable this humble looking tree is. To see this fact being reiterated through an endearing story was a pleasant experience for him. The book is part of the Puffin Chapter Books which are good for children who have moved on to chapter books and begun reading independently. Another book by the same author in this series that we enjoyed reading earlier is “How the Onion got its Layers”.

P.S - Another favourite picture book on bamboo that we have read earlier is “Bulbuli’s Bamboo” by Mita Bordoloi.

Recommended Age

The book is apt for children aged 5/6 and above.

Disclaimer - We received this book from the publisher, Penguin India, for review. Thank you to Mansi, from Penguin, for sending across the book!