Summer vacations are a big part of childhood memories. Ask any Indian parent/grandparent about how they spent their summers and chances are you will hear at least a few stories featuring the hero fruit of India – the Mango!
Natasha Sharma’s book, ” The Good Indian Child’s Guide To Eating Mangoes” published by HarperCollins India begins a curious trail of mango-ness with a thought-provoking title. First, you wonder – why would a child require a guide to eating a fruit?
Then, you get it! Of course, it’s the mango- the mango!
What’s great about The Good Indian Child’s Guide To Eating Mangoes
Natasha Sharma: Author of ‘The Good Indian Child’s Guide To Eating Mangoes’
Natasha’s book does full justice to the cult status that mangoes enjoy in India. Full of humour and peppered with bright illustrations, the book delves into the heart of the true-blood Indian mango-lover. To begin with, for a child to be qualified as “A Good Indian child, ” they have to love mangoes. They will have none of the “table manners” nonsense. I mean, what true mango-lover can see the denigration of the mango-eating culture by sticking to dainty little cuts and bites of the fruit?
The Good Indian Child’s Guide To Eating Mangoes cheekily entertains us on the various aspects of mango-immersion. From guidance on how to identify the just-right-to-eat mango to giving us a sweep on the wide varieties of mangoes, from putting down the numerous ways to slurp up a mango, to reminding us of the unending ways to savour a mango apart from enjoying the fruit directly. It even includes a hilarious personality quiz on the kind of mangoes that are likely to match your style!
The illustrations by Shreya Sen are totally guffaw-worthy making the book an easy read. The book came out a tad late this summer, but can totally make up for it by being a must-read summer teaser for many summers to come. The book has the unique quality of being both nostalgia-inducing for all the mangoes we have savoured and fully preparing us for our next mango!
Also Read: Book Review: The 7 Habits of Happy Kids
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