Gobble You Up!: Based on a Rajasthani Folktale Rendered by Sunita and Prabhat - Hardcover

Wolf, Gita

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 8192317145 ISBN 13: 9788192317144

Publisher: Tara Pubns, 2013

Synopsis

"Readers familiar with a certain old lady who swallowed a fly will revel in this adaptation of a Rajasthani trickster tale. Beautifully illustrated." - Kirkus Reviews

"It&;s a surefire tale made splendid by gorgeous illustrations and bookmaking. . . As creatures accumulate in the jackal&;s belly, the stylized forms are cleverly, and beautifully, re-formed and rearranged, to excellent effect. Meticulously, the art is silkscreened onto sturdy kraft paper by a dozen printers (credited by name), and hand bound (the binders are also named)... a true work of art." - starred review, Horn Book Magazine

"Punchy writing and bold images make this a promising read-aloud prospect." -Publishers Weekly

Meet the most wily jackal in the forest. Too lazy to hunt for food, he decides to trick his friend the crane, and soon gets carried away, gobbling up every animal he encounters. This lighthearted story, told in cumulative rhyme, is an adaptation of an oral trickster tale from Rajasthan, India. It is illustrated in finger paintings by the talented Sunita, a young woman artist from the Meena tribe. Sunita adapts her traditional art form, Mandna, traditionally painted by women on the walls and floors of their village homes.

Each copy is made completely by hand.

About this title

About the Author

Originally from Datasooti village in Rajasthan, India, Meena artist Sunita was taught to paint by her mother and elder sister. She now lives in the city of Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan with her husband and two children. Meena Art is one of the most ancient tribal art forms in India. Passed on from mother to daughter through the generations, it is always the women of the Meena tribe who paint in white onto the brown mud walls and floors of the village.

A highly original and creative voice in contemporary Indian publishing, and the founder of Tara Books, Gita Wolf is known for her interest in exploring and experimenting with the form of the book. She has written over twenty books for children and adults, many of which have been translated into multiple languages and recognized internationally.

Reviews

PreS-Gr 2—In this adaptation of a traditional oral Rajasthani trickster tale, a wily jackal, who is too lazy to go hunting himself, challenges his best friend to catch 12 fish. The friend, an unsuspecting crane, accomplishes the task quite easily, but is shocked and chagrined when the jackal gobbles them all up and then unexpectedly swallows her, too. When a passing tortoise protests, the jackal sings "Ta ta tortoise," making a snack of the poor reptile. The hungry canine travels through the forest and proceeds to eat every animal who crosses his path, even an elephant. At last, feeling stuffed from his unconventional meal, he lumbers down to the river for a drink of water, where his stomach bursts and everyone tumbles out, rejoicing. The narrative unfolds in cumulative rhyme and is accompanied by distinctive geometric finger paintings created in the ancient Mandna style passed down from mother to daughter. The illustrations are silk screen, printed by hand in black and white. On each page, the jackal grows a little plumper as the crowd of intricately designed animals in his stomach increases. An author's note chronicles the history of the Mandna art form and the genesis of this carefully crafted picture book. Pair this title with another cautionary story, Monkey: a Trickster Tale from India by Gerald McDermott (Houghton Harcourt, 2011).—Linda L. Walkins, Saint Joseph Preparatory High School, Boston, MA

Folklore and fairy tales are filled with stories of beasts whose gluttony eventually gets the better of them. The jackal here is no exception, working his way from a few fish all the way to an elephant until his tummy bursts, disgorging the lot, who waste no time taking revenge with a rhyming taunt. What makes this book so exceptional, however, is Sunita’s use of mandna, an ancient painting technique used by women in her native Rajasthan, which the publisher elegantly showcases on handmade screen-printed pages. The weighty, rough-hewn animal shapes in thick black and white ink have a charming folk art look and jaunty energy, and as the hungry jackal swallows each animal, it appears crammed in his stomach. It’s an old story, and the thick, heavy, brown kraft paper pages paired with an age-old art form match it perfectly. The object itself, like an ancient artifact, makes the simple story resonate in a way that will prove ideal for studies of folklore and for read-alouds focused on older cultures and their stories. Grades K-3. --Jesse Karp

Edition details

• Publisher: Tara Pubns
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 8192317145
• ISBN 13: 9788192317144
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Sunita
• Number of pages: 40