KAMAL, Aleph - The Bird Who Was an Elephant - (Hardcover)

Book cover rather faded but still very readable with stunning illustrations - A most unusual story - Previous owner's name deleted with black koki-pen.  >>>  I love this book.  It is a lovely and simple story that achieves the author's goal, as stated on the jacket: "Mr. Kamal has written many short stories and poems, but it was always his desire to write a story about India for the children of the West." It may not seem like a complex tale, but the concept of reincarnation is heavy enough and I think the simplicity of the story allows for contemplation about this and the other cultural traditions. I think the artwork is perfect as well, again simple and lovely. The decorative frames around each spread pull you in and make the reader feel surrounded by the story. We have read it since my daughter was 3 and we still love it now that she is almost 8.   (Goodreads)  >>>   This cheerful picture book presents a day in the life of a bird who was an elephant long ago and has just returned to its small Hindu village in India. As it visits acquaintances and announces, "I'm back," readers are provided with a travelogue of colorful sights: women bathing in their saris, little shops like rows of closets, a cow with a painted forehead and horns wearing necklaces, and peacocks and monkeys wandering about freely. A visit to a palmist to ask about the bird's past and future lives provides an opportunity to explicate the concept of reincarnation. The full-page watercolors are entertaining, descriptive, and effective. They capture a sense of place and climate with an appropriately decorative, naive, yet sophisticated style. The borders around the pictures and accompanying text use faces, moons, statues, trains, snakes, and other details related to the main illustrations. Witty touches are included: the palmist's press clippings from recent travels, fish swimming among the bathers, lizards on the walls, portable radios blasting away in the street, posters of teeth in a dentist's office, and numerous religious images on calendars. This is a pleasant introduction to India for primary grades, and one that will stir memories for those who have traveled to this far-off land.   (School Library Journal)  * Reincarnation *