The Rumour: A Review

Uma Krishnaswami, a children’s author who has recently written 6 titles for the Karadi Tales Mythology series (these 6 titles will be out soon!) reviews The Rumour (written by Anushka Ravishankar and illustrated by Kanyika Kini). The following review appears on the Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD) website.

While the review on the website is only accessible to subscribers, we’re reproducing it below for you.

Uma writes:

“Deep in the Sahyadri Mountains…” begins this charming fable from Anushka Ravishankar. In a prosperous village, people pass the time telling tall tales. Hyperbole and extended metaphor characterize the humorous text, about an ill-tempered man named Pandurang who “scowled at stories and snorted at jokes”. That is, until the day he coughs and spits out a feather. He makes his wife promise she won’t tell anyone. Naturally, this tale grows and grows, until it’s every bit as tall as the book’s opening promised us it would be. 

Illustrator Kani employs ink and color pencils. Her vivid palette, interesting slants of perspective, and whimsical decorative elements join together to complement the text perfectly. The rural setting is engagingly quirky, and the expressions on the characters’ faces are hilarious. An enormous centered illustration cleverly helps to bring the tall tale to a climax in a spread that sends all the villagers off to look for Pandurang himself. 

What happens next is a clever turn of story that brings the book to a conclusion both surprising and inevitable. Between the well-voiced text, the arresting illustrations, and the many layers of narrative, readers are sure to feel invited to return for repeated readings.

Thanks a lot for this review, Uma!

Do visit Uma’s blog, Writing with a broken tusk.

You can pick up this picture book and many more from Karadi Tales here.