The Great Indian Safari by Arefa Tehsin, Illustrated by Mohit Suneja
My take on the book:
Meet Charred The Bard — he is not your average city crow; he is from the jungle, bigger than the city crows and is all-black. Charred is taking us on this adventure across the wildlands of India.
First up is the Land of Stripes — The Tigers of Ranthambore; Next Keoladeo National Park in Rajasthan to meet the Featured Rainbow — Peacocks. Off to Jim Corbett National park in Uttarakhand to meet the Elephants. In Agumbe, in the Western Ghats of Karnataka meet the King Cobra.
In National Chambal Sanctuary, Charred wants us to meet the Dinosaur of the River — Gharial, one of the longest crocodiles of the world. Next up is the Himalayan Brown Bear. In Bandipur National Park in Karnataka, we meet the leaping fellow — the Indian Hare. In Kaziranga, Assam the Indian One-Horned Rhinoceros welcomes us.
Mudumalai in Tamil Nadu we see the Indian White Termites. Lakshadweep, the land of lagoons and beaches houses the Whale Shark. Before Charred bids us goodbye we land in the Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary, in the Little Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, to meet the Indian Wild Asses; the cousins of domestic donkeys.
For each of these wild animals, the author provides details of their habitat, where they are found in India, their speciality, their scientific name and other such not-so-common details. Charred also includes one funny poem for each animal in every chapter. It is also heartening how the author included details on how some of these animals are becoming extinct due to the greed of humans.
While kids are taught about such wild animals as part of their school curriculum, the way the author narrates about them through a bard and in a lighthearted funny way will make the book highly enjoyable for young kids while also being informative. I also liked the selection of animals by the author making sure all varieties are included and not just the commonly known ones or the famous ones.
With breath-taking illustrations, The Great Indian Safari will indeed take your kids on a lovely Safari across India.
My rating:
5/5.