The Homework
by Ashwin Guha and illustrated by Vaibhav Kumaresh
“The Homework” by Ashwin Guha and illustrated by Vaibhav Kumaresh. Published by Karadi Tales. A hilarious story of two friends who forget to do their homework and take a last minute shortcut to complete it with an overdose of imagination!
Bhattu and Kittu had completely forgotten about their homework. They were supposed to write an illustrated essay on a big mammal. They remembered at the last minute and decided to take the easy way out. Why bother checking out books or doing research when they had their studious sister Meena at home! They pestered her with questions.
Meena asked them to write about a Rhinoceros. This was good enough except that they had never even heard that name forget seeing it! So they prodded her with more questions. Things like how it looked, it’s colour, what it ate and so on. Meena went on answering in a matter of fact manner. Kittu noted down all her answers and Bhattu began drawing listening to her responses.
It was time to show their homework in class. How had their essay turned out? And the drawing of a Rhinoceros? Had they understood Meena’s answers to their questions? Did the picture look like a Rhino? Would the teacher be able to give it a grade at all? Read the funny story to know and see all of these. The illustrations are very cheeky and complement the story well.
I had a whale of a time reading this book with my 7.5 year old. He couldn’t stop chuckling throughout the story. He wished that the story could have been a bit longer. That apart, he loved it! He could very well resonate with the boys forgetting about their homework and doing it at the last possible minute. And then ending up taking a shortcut as well. The ending was way too funny! We loved the illustrations set against the backdrop of the pages of a notebook.
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 5/6+.
Reasons to Read
Simply because it is a funny story which has been built around a common situation that occurs with almost every child, last minute homework :)
Where to buy from?
The publishers Karadi Tales here.
An independent indie bookstore, Funky Rainbow, from where I buy many of my books.