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"Grandfather Goes on Strike" is a good book that takes on an environmental issue and makes it accessible to young readers. Sathya's grandfather decides to climb a tree and stay there in order to prevent it from being cut down to construct houses. Sathya is staying alone with his grandfather so on his young shoulders falls the predicament of handling this situation. A stream of visitors, policemen, environmentalists, artists and councillors have to be managed, along with grandfather's well-being, but finally all ends well for both grandfather and the tree.
A very nice feature of this book is the understated humor.
Grandfather grinned: "I cannot hear anything you say, because of the breeze". There was no breeze. There was not even a breath of air.
I hope the child readers get the deadpan humor of jokes such as these.
The book does a good job of being realistic and true-to-life without being boring. The policemens' personalities are done well in text and illustration. The artists are intriguing, they seem to tread a fine line between being superficial do-gooders and being more substantive changemakers. I am not sure what the author had in mind! A few elements are glossed over: How does grandfather manage sleep, poop and pee up in the tree? If the land belongs to someone else, what about his right to use the land as he feels fit?
The book is a welcome addition to Read India's line. Congrats to the author, illustrator and Read India. But one also feels a small disappointment, that still more could have been done to make the book engaging and fun.
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and some specific niggles:
1.) The text transition from page 2 to page 3 is not so good
2.) "There was a flash news in a box" - grammatically incorrect ?
3.) "Just then Ramya and Priya, my cousins brought us a flask of steaming, hot coffee". If there were cousins around, where were their parents, and why did the cousins not help out more ?
4.) "Meanwhile breakfast arrived". From where ?!
5.) In one illustration, the councillors are shown wearing suits and carrying briefcases, which is unlikely in India.
