The Story of Prince Rama

With the help of many reproductions of Indian paintings, this retelling of the epic "Ramayana" captures the adventures of Prince Rama in exile and his battles with the ten-headed demon Ravana

Grade 2-4 This picture book combines concise narrative with strong illustration and design to introduce the great Eastern epic, the Ramayana, to young children. Clearly, and in the best traditions of storytelling, the adventures of the young Prince Rama are described as he wins the hand of the beautiful Princess Sita and struggles to rescue her from Lanka, the island of the demons. Thompson has chosen well in selecting which parts of the complex tale to condense or omit, for the characters are few and easily remembered and the story will capture and hold children's attention. The use of language is, for the most part, appropriate to the story; it is, however, occasionally uneven in style, veering from the ageless beauty of such phrases as ". . .the mighty elephant drew back from the icy coldness of the river water" to incorporating the current vernacular. The illustrations are outstanding, integrating reproductions from ancient manuscripts with the paintings of an Indian artist in a flowing style that captures and enhances the text. Their fine detail can provide hours of pleasure as young children who have heard the story trace the adventures through the pictures. The illustrations are placed in such a way that they add movement to the story rather than serve as a display of artwork. Constance A. Mellon, Department of Library & Information Studies, East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.