Asha And The Toymaker

“𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝘆𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿” is a tender book set in Jodhpur, the Blue City of India. Asha’s father is a traditional wood toymaker. However, he finds it difficult to make ends meet because of dwindling demand. Asha wants to help her father who insists that she should instead better utilize the time in her studies. Asha comes up with a plan and without her father’s knowledge, she paints the wooden toys. No wonder the toys look gorgeous and demand sky-rockets the next day, once again highlighting that art does make a difference!

I love that Sakshi never mentions that the story is set in Jodhpur, instead she lets her illustration communicate with the reader. The architecture, the toys, the attire speak for themselves. I love the way the Devnagri “श” is written on the school building (‘sh’ for ‘shala’ or school!). Equally heartwarming is the natural code-switching into words like “lakdi ki kathi” (wooden saddle) and “damaru” (handheld two-headed drum).

A must-add for your diverse book collection – book drops October 2023. Thank you @kidscanpress for the e-ARC!