Ganesha's Great Race (Ganesha #2)

by Sanjay Patel (Author)

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

The sweets-loving elephant Ganesha and his mouse companion are back! And this time you'll meet Ganesha's family, too, as they race around the world in this adorable companion to the bestselling Ganesha's Sweet Tooth.

From the creator of the Oscar-nominated Pixar short Sanjay's Super Team and the animated series Ghee Happy! In Sanjay Patel's world, the bold, bright colors of India leap off the page and screen. Ganesha's Sweet Tooth introduced a fresh and funny picture book retelling of how Ganesha came to help write the epic poem of Hindu literature, the Mahabharata. Now Ganesha is back in a delightful new adventure! When his brother Kartikeya challenges him to a race around the world, Ganesha knows he cannot win with speed. He may not be as fast as Kartikeya, but clever Ganesha knows that every problem has more than one solution!

A celebration of the dynamic bond between siblings and a loving tribute to family, Ganesha's Great Race is the story of their most famous contest and will delight readers with a tale of muscles, mangoes, and the meaning of the world. 

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Kirkus

A charming interpretation of a Hindu myth.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 3--The Hindu gods Shiva and Parvati live on the tallest mountain in India and have two sons. The eldest is Kartikeya, the god of war, and the youngest is Ganesha, who is known as the god of beginnings and the Remover of Obstacles. As one would expect, the brothers play with one another, but also fight and compete. One day, the two happen upon a huge mango that is magical; their parents explain that it can't be shared but has to be won. Kartikeya challenges Ganesha to a race around the world and immediately jumps on his magical peacock and is off. After much brainstorming, procrastinating, and finally tears, Ganesha confides in his father that he knows he will be unable to beat Kartikeya. Shiva reminds Ganesha that he isn't known as the Remover of Obstacles for nothing, and soon the young god realizes that his "world" is not the Earth, but instead his two parents. He quickly runs around them and is declared the winner. After initially being outraged, Kartikeya's good humor is restored, and he acknowledges that this time "the mind is mightier than muscle." There is humor peppered throughout, and children will relate to the sibling rivalry and the frustration Ganesha feels when he can't figure out how to win the competition. While the text is more verbose than many picture books, the range of vocabulary words and the accessibility of this Hindu legend more than make up for it. VERDICT Another beautifully illustrated book on the Hindu gods by Patel and Haynes (Ganesha's Sweet Tooth) that is gorgeously rendered with warm colors and adorable facial expressions on the young gods. Recommended for purchase. --Amy Nolan

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Sanjay Patel
Sanjay Patel is an illustrator, animator, and director, as well as the creator of Ghee Happy, a collection of books, animation, and paper products that marry his whimsical style and graphic cuteness with the awesome universe of Hindu deities. During his twenty-year career at Pixar Animation Studios, he worked on numerous feature films and directed the short film Sanjay's Super Team, for which he earned an Academy Award nomination. Most recently, he created an animated preschool show for Netflix called Ghee Happy. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife (see below) and their two sons.

Emily Haynes is an author and editor with more than twenty years' experience in book publishing. As an editor she has worked for Penguin and Chronicle Books, and as a writer she has authored numerous titles for both children and adults. Her wordsmith superpowers are now available at her own agency, BluePen. Her clients include Airbnb and Netflix, as well as individual authors and producers. In her fleeting spare time, she also runs a ceramics studio out of her garage. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband (see above) and their two sons.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781797224855
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Chronicle Books
Publication date
October 24, 2023
Series
Ganesha
BISAC categories
JUV002080 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Elephants
JUV012060 - Juvenile Fiction | Legends, Myths, Fables | Asian
JUV033260 - Juvenile Fiction | Religious | Hindu
Library of Congress categories
Voyages around the world
Hindu mythology
Ganesha
Mango
Gaoneasa
Hindu gods

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