Aditi and the One Eyed Monkey (Beacon Press Night Lights) [Hardcover]

Suniti Namjoshi (Author), Hanife Hassan (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1988 | Age Level: 7 and up | Series: Beacon Press Night Lights

Accompanied by an elephant, an ant, and a one-eyed monkey, Princess Aditi goes on a magical journey in search of a wayward dragon who holds the key to her future.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-5-- A one-eyed monkey, an ant, and an elephant are traveling through India when the monkey's dream leads them to Princess Aditi. She has been promised to a dragon if he will stop scorching the countryside. The four overcome the dragon and convince him to make friends instead of fire. In a lackluster ending, the dragon is left to guard lion cubs while vague references are made to further adventures. All of the ingredients for an adventurous folk tale should be here, but excitement is neither built nor sustained. There are too many digressions from the journey's goal, whether encounters with creatures, menus of native foods, or moral arguments. Conflict is often bloody, surprising in a book that leans towards dragon persuasion rather than slaying. The adventurers largely maintain their individual outlooks, while the dragon perhaps too quickly agrees to work at friendship. Style is uneven, sometimes expressive, sometimes bland and slangy. Bold black-and-white illustrations are out of sync with some subjects: Aditi's grandparents look too young, and the fearful dragon sports a cheery smile, even when Aditi slices his toe. Dragon stories abound. E. Nesbit writes on the same non-slaying theme with more wit and economy in "The Last Dragon" in Five of Us and Madeline (Coward-McCann, 1958; o.p.). --Jane Saliers, Atlanta Public Library
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 87 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Pr (November 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807083143
• ISBN-13: 978-0807083147
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,686,573 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, January 16, 2011

By 

K. Huntermoon (Eugene, OR USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Aditi and the One Eyed Monkey (Beacon Press Night Lights) (Paperback)

I bought this book because it is recommended by the Feminist Press, but I was very disappointed. The language is stilting, and the translation is boring. Maybe it was more interesting in the original language. If you are interested in multicultural feminist stories, you are better off buying the amazing collection by Kathleen Ragan, "Fearless Girls, Wise Women, and Beloved Sisters: Heroines in Folktales from Around the World." Ragan's book alone will likely get us through the folk and fairy tale age without having to resort to Grimm's.