Customer Reviews

The Story of Divaali

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It is an excellent story book indeed but it should have been titled something like "The Ramayan". I bought it to introduce my child to the festival . Most of the book depicts the Ramayan and there is very little about Diwali as such. I guess it is a challanging task to write a book about Diwali without mentioning Ramayan. The illustrations are very pleasing to the eye and are proportionate to the text contained on each page. This should make it easier for early readers to keep the interest as they read. There is a page on how it is celebrated currently, it would have been more interesting to have some more illustrations to support that. I certainly recommend it to anyone interested.

Accurate ancient Hindu story, very nicely done for children and many adults.

This book is decently written, but isn't what I expected. I purchased it in preparation for a Diwali party with friends (to educate our kids about the holiday) and for a Diwali celebration at my daughter's school.

This book mostly focuses on the tale from the Ramayana about the kidnapping of Sita by the the demon Ravana, and her subsequent rescue by Rama. The celebration that follows is said to be the origin of the holiday of Diwali.

I'm a big fan of the Ramayana, but I would have liked a little more on Diwali to complement the storyline. As it was, there wasn't much about the traditions of celebrating Diwali. For that, I prefer Lighting a Lamp: A Diwali Story (Festival Time), by Zucker. For lots of details about the holiday and some nice photographs, I recommend Holidays Around the World: Celebrate Diwali, by Deborah Heiligman.

I wonder why the publisher chose to spell the well-known festival as Divaali in the title - a spelling I have never seen before, even if it may be phonetically correct. The festival is commonly spelled as Diwali or Deepavali, and I suspect it would have sold far more copies online with one of those spellings in the title. As it is, I ran across this book only in 2009, while I have been looking and shopping for Diwali books since 2002, when this book was published!

The text is well constructed, and the illustrations are sweeping and gorgeous, full of eye-pleasing and authentic details. The choice of a digital, Disneyfied style for these illustrations is unfortunate, because the book could have been a timeless treasure otherwise. On the other hand, perhaps this will help its appeal to American kids.

Title: The Story of Divaali
Author: Retold by Jatinder Verma
Illustrations: Nilesh Mistry
Format: Hard Cover Print
ISBN: 1-84148-936-0
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review By: Diana Rohini LaVigne, Indian Life & Style Magazine

This timeless tale, The Story of Divaali is honored by extraordinary illustrations by Nilesh Mistry and beautifully crafted text by Jatinder Verma. Readers will enjoy the simplicity in the story and layout beginning with a trouble-free guide to the characters in the story. The complexities of this age old Hindu legend are presented in a way that is easy for young readers to understand. The use of visuals in this book in order to support the story line is superbly executed.

Pages jump with color and images that beg readers to turn the page and discover why this story has lasted the test of time and the modern world. The pages come alive with the character's acts of bravery, the forces of evil trying to ruin the day and the stunning love story that shines throughout the book.

Barefoot Books has created a book gem with the `The Story of Divaali'. The epic retelling is compelling, riveting and a visual superstar. `The Story of Divaali' honors the epic and continues the long standing history of its text.

I purchased this book with the hope of sharing bedtime stories of indian tales and mythology to my young daughter just as my parents had with me. The book does a great job of explaining the story in a format that can be easily understood and appreciated by young minds and the colorful illustrations are wonderful. However, I was VERY disappointed to see a large number of grammatical errors in the book. It appears that the book has not been edited at all and a number of basic errors such as fragmented sentences, run on sentences etc were missed. I am hardly an english major and normally do not pay close attention to such details, but it was very difficult to ignore the basic errors in this book. I am reluctant to have my child (who is learning to read and write herself) read this book as I fear it sets a poor example of of good grammar.

I purchased this for my daughter. She is only 3 and has heard different versions. I have grown up listening to this story, reading, watching the TV program, attending various plays and I am in the process of reading a version by Manon. Unfortunately, I can no longer read the original in Sanskrit. Ram was born, he was mortal and didn't leap out the sacrificial fire. This is a very important part of the story without which the rest of the story doesn't work. I must say that the illustrations are beautiful but I was turned off by the fact the story doesn't quite follow the original. I have not gone much further than Ram appearing from the sacrificial fire. Having read various versions of Ramayan, which Diwali is part off, this version lacks much of the details that are essential to the story. A much more suitable versions for younger audiances are available.
I will this book mostly to show the illustrations to my daughter.

I have found "Rama and the Demon King: An Ancient Tale from India" is more suitable for younger audiences.

I have found "The Ramayana: A Modern Retelling of the Great Indian Epic" has been very satisfying to read for myself.

The pages of this book are beautified with the carefully planed placement of illustrations, similar to efforts put forth in the preparation of the Divaali family festival. This book offers those who don't practice Divaali a detailed understanding to the importance of this celebration and it similarities to the Christian celebration of Christmas.

Diwali is the 4th July, and Christmas rolled in one for Hindu kids. This book is a wonderful description of the most universal of Hindu festivals. Great artwork and lucid story are definite plus. A must buy for anyone interested in teaching kids about India and Hinduism.