Anni's India Diary [Hardcover]

Anni Axworthy (Author), Ann Axworthy (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

A ten-year-old's diary entries chronicle the magical sights and sounds she and her family encounter as they explore India.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5-- As she and her parents travel counterclockwise around India for three-and-one half months, ten-year-old Anni records her experiences and impressions, thereby giving readers a smattering of information on food, wedding customs, schooling, religion, animals, and scenery. The busy, relentlessly cheerful, line-and-watercolor illustrations are turned into collages with the addition of such items as postage stamps, photographs, advertisements, railway tickets, and trademarks. The whole is similar to Pat Brisson's Your Best Friend, Kate (Bradbury, 1989), but not so effectively done. Why have Anni and her family come here--simply for a long vacation? No clear picture of the country and its regional differences emerges. Youngsters unfamiliar with India may feel overwhelmed with the hodgepodge of information, which is occasionally misleading and even inaccurate. Puja means worship and is not the blessing and ``blob of red powder'' put on an Indian woman's forehead. Use this fictionalized picture book only to supplement nonfiction titles. --Diane S. Marton, Arlington County Lib . , VA
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 1 pages
• Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing (February 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1879085593
• ISBN-13: 978-1879085596
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,128,968 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The variety and color of India, March 25, 2005

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Anni's India Diary (Hardcover)

India is a large and diverse country, the home of many ancient and interesting cultures. This book is the travel dialog of a young girl named Anni as she travels through India with her mom and dad. They travel by train, bus, camel and elephant. There are many illustrations and they illustrate the daily street life of India. You see people bathing in the Ganges River, carts being pulled by oxen, people cooking their food in the streets, street vendors hawking their wares, children at school under a tree, and the clothes that the Indians wear. What was most interesting were the pictures of products they encountered in India. Postage stamps, matches, cameras, railway tickets, lottery tickets, honey, fireworks, fabrics, hotel receipts and other products that I did not recognize.
An excellent introduction to India written for young people, this book demonstrates some of the variety and vitality of a country whose culture was old when the first white people landed in North America.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a wonderful book!, September 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Anni's India Diary (Paperback)

This is a great book! My son is 9 years old and went to India a couple of years ago. This book vividly brought back all his memories. What I liked best was that even though it is not written by an Indian, it is so authentic. The illustrations are just great! I highly recommend it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Captures the feel of India, November 6, 2011

By 

Amber (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anni's India Diary (Hardcover)

This book really captures the feel of traveling through India and is very different than other travel and picture books. It brings me back to my many trips there because it shows the stuff you see on the streets as you travel from one place to another. The ads and labels from packages were particularly nostalgic for me, they are everywhere when you are in India but of course you wouldn't see them in a more conventional travel book (it's been twelve years since I visited last).

This book has great descriptive text, is very respectful yet easy to relate to for my kids, and really gives a more "on the streets" flavor of the Indian travel experience. I think my four year old really enjoyed this book, and my six year old was definitely into it, so I think it's appropriate for much younger than third graders (although that might be the correct reading level for reading on their own). I give it five stars because it communicates an experience that I haven't seen in other books on India.