Ganesha's Sweet Tooth (Ganesha #1)

by Emily Haynes (Author)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade
Series: Ganesha

The bold, bright colors of India leap right off the page in this fresh and funny picture book retelling (with a twist) of how Ganesha came to help write the epic poem of Hindu literature, the Mahabharata.

Ganesha is just like any other kid, except that he has the head of an elephant and rides around on a magical mouse. And he loves sweets, especially the traditional dessert laddoo. But when Ganesha insists on biting into a super jumbo jawbreaker laddoo, his tusk breaks off! Ganesha is terribly upset, but with the help of the wise poet Vyasa, and his friend Mr. Mouse, he learns that what seems broken can actually be quite useful after all. With vibrant, graphic illustrations, expressive characters, and offbeat humor, this is a wonderfully inventive rendition of a classic tale.

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Kirkus

A sugarcoated but hardly saccharine introduction to one Hindu myth.

ALA/Booklist

Blending computer graphics with traditional images, the intricate, stylized illustrations may be best suited for grade-schoolers, who will enjoy the story’s turnarounds and focus on luscious sweets, and many will be ready for the classic Hindu myth.

Publishers Weekly

"Ganesha is a Hindu god. He's very important and powerful. And a tad chubby," begins this stylish take on a classic tale from Indian mythology. Patel's artwork has a candy-colored palette that befits the subject matter, and he merges traditional Hindu iconography with decidedly contemporary influences: the book's eye-popping jewel tones, dots, and geometric patterns nod to the graphic design work of Saul Bass and Maurice Binder's title sequences for films like Charade and Dr. No. As a young god, Ganesha enjoys dancing, playing cricket, skipping rope, and--most of all--sweets. When Ganesha spies a tempting "super jumbo jawbreaker laddoo," his best friend, Mr. Mouse, warns him that it will surely break his tusk. "But I'm a god," Ganesha replies. "I'm invincible." Sure enough, his tusk breaks, leading to an encounter with the poet Vyasa, who persuades Ganesha to write the 100,000-verse long Mahabharata using his tusk as a pen. Though the story's ending fizzles, Patel and Hynes have created a fresh and comedic introduction to a Hindu legend, with a winning combination of both eye candy and actual candy. Ages 4-8. Agent: Tina Wexler, ICM. (Oct.)

Copyright 2012 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

Gr 1-3--Two traditional events in the life of the Hindu god Ganesha are imaginatively recast as though happening during his childhood: "he was just like every other kid except that he had an elephant's head and cruised around on a magical mouse collecting fruit, rice, sweets, and other gifts from the temples in his neighborhood." Drawn in Adobe Illustrator, comical Ganesha is a pink elephant/boy, his large head dominated by enormous round eyes. His love of sweets becomes his undoing when he ignores Mr. Mouse's advice and bites down on a super jumbo jawbreaker, breaking off one of his small tusks. As in the myth, Ganesha laments the loss of his tusk, but soon puts it to good use as a writing implement when he encounters the poet Vyasa, who is looking for Ganesha to be his scribe. Young Ganesha is soon hard at work writing one hundred thousand verses of the Mahabharata-"the great epic of Hindu literature." There's a pleasant color palette of pink, aquamarine, gold, cream, and black, and busy patterns of swirling graphic elements add energy to the boldly designed pages. The cheerful elephant/boy and his mouse and the sweet tooth episode all suggest a far younger audience than seems likely to follow the whole second half of the story. Libraries owning Amy Novesky's more richly rendered Elephant Prince: The Story of Ganesha (Mandala, 2004) and others may like to add this one. Storytellers wishing to introduce the intriguing figure of Ganesha will be best served by Uma Krishnaswami's The Broken Tusk (Linnet Bks., 1996).--Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"A classic Hindu tale gets an artful interpretation in this piece of eye candy." - Daily Candy Kids
Emily Haynes
Sanjay Patel is an animator and storyboard artist for Pixar Animation Studios, where he has worked on many features including A Bug's Life, Ratatouille, and the Cars series. Sanjay is also the creator of Ramayana: Divine Loophole, The Big Poster Book of Hindu Deities, and The Little Book of Hindu Deities. His modern interpretations of Hindu epics have been exhibited at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum. He lives in Oakland, California.

Emily Haynes is an editor by day, specializing in entertainment and humor titles, and a children's writer by night. In her spare time she can often be found up to her elbows in clay, making functional ceramics. This is her first children's book. She lives in Oakland, California.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781452103624
Lexile Measure
580
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Chronicle Books
Publication date
September 05, 2012
Series
Ganesha
BISAC categories
JUV012020 - Juvenile Fiction | Fairy Tales & Folklore | Country & Ethnic - General
Library of Congress categories
Hindu mythology
Hinduism
Gaoneasa (Hindu deity)
Ganesha
Hindusim
Georgia Children's Book Award
Nominee 2015 - 2015
Ezra Jack Keats Book Award
Honor Book 2013 - 2013

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