Tracing Roots
by Mallika Ravikumar and illustrated by Swati Kharbanda
“Tracing Roots - Stories About Trees” by Mallika Ravikumar and illustrated by Swati Kharbanda. Published by Karadi Tales. A delightful retelling of twelve stories spanning myths, legends and folk tales about different trees from different traditions and cultures.
Trees are an integral part of our lives. Indian culture has a lot of practices related to trees. Most species of trees have stories attached to them. The book tries to create awareness about trees around us and thereby inspire us to protect them. The stories are narrated to a group of children (Samar, Maya, Nisha and Shyam) by Samar’s Thatha (grandfather). They are all sitting under the shade of a mango tree planted by Thatha when he was six years old!
The book starts off with a story from Goa about the Mango tree related to Ramayana. The mango is our national fruit and India is the largest producer of mangoes! Thatha then goes on to tell interesting stories about many others that we see around us such as the banyan tree, coconut tree, jackfruit tree, neem tree, tamarind tree, peepal tree, pine tree, laburnum, red ratangunj tree, ber tree, khejri tree and silk cotton tree. After each story, there are interesting facts and trivia about each of the trees.
How did Birbal catch a robber with the help of a jackfruit tree? How did a cobbler prove his wisdom and outwit Narada with a tiny seed? How did two trees bring back Jayamma’s husband safely to their home? Why are Khejri trees so inspirational for Bishnoi people? How did King Trishanku of Ayodhya end up as a tree? Why does the red silk cotton tree shed its foliage and flowers every winter? How did the red Ratangunj seeds end up as an offering in Guruvayoor temple? Read the book to know answers to all of these and much more. The beautiful illustrations lend that magical touch and portray the charm of the trees.
My almost eight year old enjoyed reading the book with me. The book made us talk about whatever facts and trivia that we knew about some of the characters in the stories or the trees themselves. The stories were quite interesting. Most of these trees are familiar ones and therefore relatable for children. When the book ended with Thatha calling it a day, my son wanted to know if there is a part two of this book. He clearly wanted more!
Recommended Age
The book is apt for anyone aged 7/8 and above.
Reasons to Read
To bring about awareness about the trees around us through stories and fun facts.
Where to buy from?
The publishers Karadi Tales here.
An independent indie bookstore, Funky Rainbow, from where I buy many of my books.