Book Review: Mr. Bliss by J.R.R. Tolkien

Title: Mr. Bliss
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Publisher: Harper Collins UK
ISBN: 978-0-00-743619-4
Genre: Children, Fantasy
Pages: 83
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5

J.R.R. Tolkien could have written a twenty-page story and we will still love that, no matter what. He could have scribbled anything after LOTR and we would have lapped it up, against our better sensibilities. Because, but after all, he is J.R.R. Tolkien.

While we have all read and loved LOTR, do try reading his eighty-three page story, “Mr. Bliss”. It is simply written and beautifully illustrated by the man himself. It is a very simple story of a man named Mr. Bliss and his unseemingly weird adventures as he heads out one fine sunny morning to buy a car. He is the owner of an exotic pet named Girabbit (of course the combination of a Rabbit and a Giraffe which is quite funny when seen illustrated) and is well-known for his collection of tall hats. He lives in a house built specifically to accommodate his hats. The book is about his first drive to visit his friends, The Dorkinses and how disastrous it gets. How he meets three bears on the way, is car breaks down, and how he has to also give lifts to Mr. Day and Mrs. Knight. The ending is quite sweet and all Tolkien fans will for sure relish this book.

The book also includes the originally written story in Tolkien’s handwriting, which is a treat. The illustrations are also included – the ones he began with for the book. Mr. Bliss came about as a story that Tolkien told his kids and for the longest time wasn’t in print. I am only too happy that it is now and people can read this short and fantastical story.

What I loved about the book is its simplicity. It is one of the understated, subtle and sweet books which are a rarity in today’s time. I would highly recommend this one to most Tolkien fans and also the ones who haven’t heard of him before (which is rather rare). Mr. Bliss will charm and warm your heart. A must read for both kids and adults.

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Book Review: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever by Jeff Kinney

Title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever
Author: Jeff Kinney
Publisher: Puffin Books, Penguin Books
ISBN: 978-0141341880
Genre: Children’s Fiction, YA Fiction
Pages: 224
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4/5

Jeff Kinney does it again! One doesn’t tire of reading the journal/diary of Greg Heffley and this time he is back with twice the fun and antics of Rowley and him. I remember when I first started reading this series, only three of them had been published and I finished them in all under two hours. I also remember not only recommending them to friends and family, but also gifting them the first book. Needless to say that I love this series.

The book is set between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Greg needs to be good so Santa can be good to him in return. He and Rowley decide to be good boys till Christmas Eve. However, all does not go well as planned. They are accused of vandalizing school property and before any action can be taken, there is a blizzard in the season and the ground is covered in three feet of snow. This only means that Greg is locked with his family in his house and cannot step out.

My favourite part in the book was the flashback when Greg’s younger brother Manny is just a newborn and Greg’s mother buys him a doll to get used to the idea of being a big brother. The book is hilarious. It has so many moments of Greg and his brothers (Rodrick and Manny) stuck at home, that there were times I actually laughed out loud.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is one of those books I wished was published when I was growing up. I have enjoyed the drawings and the prose with every single issue, but this time it was very-well written. Though the book is definitely American and Indian kids might have a bit of a problem relating to the content in some parts, I would still highly recommend Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series to every kid.

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever

Book Review: The Library by Sarah Stewart

Title: The Library
Author: Sarah Stewart
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
ISBN: 9780374343880
Genre: Children’s Fiction
Pages: 40
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 5/5

The Library by Sarah Stewart is a paean to readers everywhere in the world. It will be cherished by all readers and understood most by them. I picked it up on a whim; however, I am so glad I did. The Library is one of those books that you will finish in less than five minutes, and yet you will go back to it again and again.

The book tells the story of shy, bookish, Elizabeth Brown and her life-long affair with books, where nothing else or no one else is needed. She only buys books and reads and reads and reads some more. As time passes she accumulates so many books that she decides to turn her house to a public library, where people can read for free and the written word can be cherished.

I read The Library at such a time when the concept of libraries is dying. I don’t see one in my city or that many in my country for that matter and that is sad. The Library is a beautifully illustrated book as well and by none other than David Small, who is her partner and understands the essence of the story completely.

I have thought many times to open a library; however I cannot bear the thought of my books not being handled well by some readers. May be that perception will change someday. The Library touched by heart because of its simplicity and the fact that I could relate to it so well. All I can say is that The Library should be read by every book lover as it makes you see books for what they are – priceless.

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Book Review: Indra Finds Happiness by Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik

Title: Indra Finds Happiness
Author: Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik
Series: Fun in Devlok
Publisher: Puffin
Genre: Mythology, Children’s Fiction
ISBN: 9780143331681
PP: 52 Pages
Source: Personal Copy
Price: Rs. 99
Rating: 5/5

So I set out to read these fantastical mythological tales churned for children by Devdutt and let me tell you a secret: Though the back cover of the book mentions that the book is for ages 6+ I immensely enjoyed them. There are 3 titles in this series, “Indra Finds Happiness”, “Gauri and the Talking Cow” and “An Identity Card for Krishna”. I picked up all of them knowing I would not be disappointed and trust me I wasn’t.

What is “Indra finds Happiness” all about anyway?

Little Harsha is sad as his parents are fighting, his sister is not speaking with him as she is too busy on her cell  phone, and he doesn’t get to eat ice-cream when he wants to. A cloud then takes him to the abode of Indra, and there he finds out that Indra – the god of gods is the unhappiest one around. Harsha on the course of his journey sees magnificent things – the six-tusked white elephant Airavata, the tree that fulfils every wish, the pot of never-ending gold and the potion that keeps Indra young and healthy and despite all this, he finds the god unhappy and miserable. He feels that all that he has achieved is under threat from everyone else.

Amidst all this, Indra decides to steal the sage Vasishta’s cow and gets caught in the act. It is the sage who teaches Indra how to be happy, however like they say, it is for the learner to decide whether or not he would like to apply what he has learnt and the question is: Does Indra realize and learn the lesson after all?

Now what I liked about the book: The story was told but of course quite simply as it is meant for children. It is the way it was told – the clarity of writing for children, with the precision and insight to be able to blend the traditional and mythological with the modern twist to the stories. I only wish the illustrations were done by Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik themselves, considering he is brilliant with stick illustrations.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid : The Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney

After all the heavy and so-called intellectual reads, it was now time that I jumped into some light reading and no better book to do that with than the new installment of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid – The Ugly Truth. I had chanced upon this book on a book-lending website and since then I have read each and every installment and also passed it on to my nieces and nephews and I am one happy uncle for doing so as they have immensely enjoyed the series.

Greg is just starting to deal with the onset of puberty (although it hasn’t hit him yet), and between his eternal search to be cool and trying talk to girls, he has lots of misadventures along the way. There’s the attempts at fooling the new “maid”, who turns out to be a lot harder to fool then he thought. There’s the upcoming family wedding, full of family “fun”. His immediate family is surprisingly absent from most of his big problems, but the rest of his family has no problems filling in for him. “Health” class and its new birds and bees lessons are just as awkward for Greg as they are in real life. And of course, there’s the big school sleep-over that eventually all goes down the toilet (I loved the flushing the cheesies down the toilet bit).

Compared to the other books in this series, I think this is the best one since the original. From a kid’s perspective, I was told that I should warn that there is a picture of a boy’s butt in this book. It’s not pretty, but it is funny. Beyond that, the humor here is a *little* bit more mature in general, but still accessible to the average child reader.

I suppose the strongest recommendation is that the kids I know who read it were sorry it ended so quickly (i.e., the roughly 200 pages went by too fast!). Kids wanting to read more is as good a recommendation as you can get, so maybe I’ll leave it at that. If you’re a fan of the series, this is a good read.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth; Kinney, Jeff; Puffin; Rs. 250