Review by Booklist Review
This attractive picture book tastefully blends Indian folklore and silk-screen printing traditions with crisp, contemporary stylization. The text is sparse, never more than a sentence or fragment per page, delineating the symbiotic opposition of the sun and the moon, gentle sibling rivals born from the same mother. Young readers are unlikely to be drawn to this prosaic prose, but adults who appreciate the allegories and metaphors embedded in the relationship of opposition and duality will. Children, however, will be attracted to the stunning artwork, which will also appeal to collectors of beautiful picture books. Thick black and cream paper serves as backdrops for the moon and sun, respectively. Each juxtaposed spread is created by an artist from a different region in India in the style of that region (this is explained at the end). The silk-screened designs range from delicate filigree to bold, expressive blocks of color, all paying artistic and spiritual tribute to the sun and the moon, the great stars that keep us alive.--Chaudhri, Amina Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Horn Book Review
Concept by Gita Wolf. This beautiful handmade book of folklore about the sun and moon highlights India's different Indigenous traditions. The silkscreen-printed illustrations by ten artists are striking, but without context, the accompanying text is obscure. Back matter includes two additional stories and a page explaining which tribe and region each spread represents. Despite the disjointed approach, the art helps this book stand out. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Ten artists representing six of India's indigenous folk traditions offer a collective meditation on the sun and the moon.This one-of-a-kind book, with the art applied by silkscreen onto handmade cotton paper, defies description or even analysis. It is, in one word, gorgeous. The book inspires reverence from the cover, with its sumptuous background of majestic purple complementing art that depicts the union of the sun and the moon seen through a cutout on the cover. Readers will want to dive in and absorb the intricate, vivid art on each page as well as to bask in the words that tell the simple tales of the sun and the moon as they have been handed down in six different tribal and folk traditions, including Gond, Mata-Ni-Pachedi, Madhubani, Meena, Patachitra, and Pithora. Each spread depicts the celestial orbs in a different folk or tribal style. The words are spare but evoke the tales told in the traditions from which the artworkand artistsderives. But readers will hardly be aware of these details and differences. The saturated colors, the intricate drawings, and the simple yin and yang of the interwoven stories make this a harmonious whole. Children (and adults) of all ages will be awed and inspired by the power and force of the artwork and majesty of this book, giving due tribute to humanity's greatest celestial inspirations. (Picture book. All ages) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
