The London Jungle Book - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 8192317129 ISBN 13: 9788192317120

Publisher: Tara Books, 2014

Synopsis

This new and fully re-designed edition of the now-classic book marks the tenth anniversary of Bhajju Shyam’s momentous journey to London, U.K. Bhajju Shyam, a celebrated and award-winning artist from the Gond tribe in central India, was commissioned to paint the walls of an Indian restaurant in London. He spent two months in the city, and it was the first time he encountered a western metropolis. The book that emerged from his journey is a visual travelogue that both mimics and subverts the typical colonial encounter. With radical innocence and great sophistication, Bhajju brings the signs of the Gond forest to bear on the city, turning London into an exotic jungle, a clever beastiary. The London Underground becomes a sinuous snake, Big Ben transforms into a rooster crowing the time, and an airplane — the first Bhajju ever encountered — is compared to an elephant miraculously flying through the air. It is rare to encounter a truly original vision that is capable of startling us into reexamining familiar sights. By breathing the ancient spirit of wonder back into the act of travel, The London Jungle Book does just that.

About this title

About the Author

Bhajju Shyam is hailed as the finest living Gond tribal artist in India. His intricate and colorful work is well-known throughout India and abroad, and has been exhibited in the U.K., United States, Germany, Holland, France, Russia, Italy, and Reunion Island. His other works include The Night Life of Trees, Flight of the Mermaid, That’s How I See Things, Signature: Patterns in Gond Art, and Alone in the Forest. From the walls of his tribal village home to international acclaim, the evolution of his work has been an incredible creative journey.

From School Library Journal

Gr 3–6—In 2002, Shyam, a member of the Gond people who are indigenous to the forests of central India, spent two months in London painting the walls of a new Indian restaurant. As told to and translated by his publishers, this deeply personal "travel diary" is replete with the artist's colorful, folkloric paintings representative of his culture. Never having been on a plane before, let alone visited a distant land, Shyam records his impressions and experiences flying to and living and working in the British capital. His accounts are enhanced by paintings typical of Gond art, whose bold colors, though limited in palette, and icons contribute to the book's attractive appearance, as the rich illustrations are strikingly set against stark white pages. The book is visually appealing, but the target audience is unclear. Though children may find browsing interest in the strong colors and quirky animal symbols, the book was not written expressly for children, who won't be particularly drawn to the author/illustrator's experiences or outlook. The publishers' lengthy afterword, discussing Gond art and how the book came to be, is informative. An additional purchase that will be of special interest in Southeast Asian communities and, perhaps, in art units in which elementary-grade students can explore using symbols to represent their own environments.—Carol Goldman, Queens Library, NY

About this edition

• Publisher: Tara Books
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 8192317129
• ISBN 13: 9788192317120
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 48
• Illustrator: Shyam Bhajju