Excuse me, is this India?
by Anushka Ravishankar and illustrated by Anita Leutwiler
“Excuse me, is this India?” by Anushka Ravishankar and illustrated by Anita Leutwiler. Published by Tara Books. An absurd story of fantasy and imagination of a child based on a quilt.
The story is narrated by a child whose Aunt Anna has come back from a trip to India. She has sewed a quilt for the child with pictures of all the things that she saw in India. The quilt has stories of places that aunt Anna visited. The child has never been to India and is quite excited. The child secretly wishes to travel to India some day and see all the places and things personally.
Upon closing his/her eyes under the quilt, the child is in for a pleasant surprise. The child travels into the magical world of the quilt by transforming into a bright blue mouse. The blue mouse doesn’t know where it is headed. Follow the adventures of the mouse and embark on a journey like never before.
What does the mouse see? Who all does it meet in this journey? How does the quilt influence the child? Know all of these by delving into the book. The questions that the mouse asks and the answers that it gets will make one ponder. The word play is brilliant. This visual treat has been put together with fabric collected by the illustrator Anita Leutwiler who is a Swiss textile artist living in Germany. She has collected all the fabrics used during her visit to India. Many old quilting forms which have traditionally been used by Indian women can be seen in her art.
I have enjoyed reading this book with my 7.5 year old from the time he was 6. For a change we saw India through the eyes of a child who has never been here. What is so common for us might be special for others is what we realise when we read the story. We were reminded of Dr. Seuss books by the writing style. Thank you Vidya Mani of Funky Rainbow for recommending this unusual book!
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 5/6+.
Where to buy from?
The publishers Tara Books here.
An independent indie bookstore, Funky Rainbow, from where I buy many of my books.