Customer Reviews

In The Heart of the Village: The World of the Indian Banyan Tree

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This is an excellent book for both young and older children. Young children will enjoy the beautiful illustrations and the story itself. And although it's an illustrated book rather than a chapter book, it is suitable for older children (even 9 and up). The gift for these older children is seeing how the banyan tree is integrated within the community and how the identity and purpose of the tree is larger than the tree itself. For kids between 8-11, who may be feeling awkward in their bodies and unsure of their role in the world, this is an inspiring and special book. And as a parent I enjoy reading about the unique daily life of the villages whose very structure is centered around the tree, a tree that can span 5 acres (one tree and yet more than one tree at the same time), and about all the creatures who depend on the tree for survival.

My 11 year old daughter read this aloud to a second grader in our school. It was part of a Social Studies project including literature about/from the countries they were studying. The non-fiction information is told in a lyrical way, with amazing and beautiful illustrations that hold the readers' attention. It was a wonderful way to study the culture and way of life in parts of India, in a fashion that children of many ages can appreciate.