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Publisher: Tilbury House, Publishers, Maine, USA Author: Katia Novet Saint-Lot Illustrator: Dimitrea Tokunbo What is a snowman doing on the front cover of a book bearing what I think looks like an African boy in a village setting? Little did I know that it was curiosity of this nature that was the basis for the transformation in young Amadi's life, the central character in the book Amadi's Snowman . Amadi is a native of the Igbo tribe of Nigeria in Africa. The story is set in a hamlet in Nigeria, boasting marketplaces and friendly faces amidst which Amadi is raised by his hardworking mother. What we come to understand after the introductory pages is Amadi's impregnable resistance to learn to read. He strongly believes that the ability to read is unneeded for an Igbo boy whose stereotyped ambition is to grow up to be a business man. Wandering at the marketplace, Amadi chances upon his friend Chima furtively buried in a book. It is now that Amadi's eyes fall upon an ima...

MARCHING TO FREEDOM Author: Subhadra Sen Gupta Illustrator: Tapas Guha Publisher: Pratham Books, India Age Group: 11-14 years For today's children Gandhi is just a face on our currency note or a picture in a dull history book. But what he stood for is something that I feel all children should value —tolerance and non-violence. - Subhadra Sen Gupta Ample reason to write a book on Mahatma Gandhi for children. And today seems adequate enough to review this book from Pratham Books. The setting is the Sabarmati Ashram in the western state of Gujarat in India, which Gandhi and his followers called home during the Freedom Struggle in India. Dhani is a 9 year old boy being raised in the ashram by his Gandhian parents. Dhani also seems to be responsible for taking care of Binni, the goat, who is his incessant companion and whose milk seems to be a part of Gandhi's morning diet. Dhani is portrayed as a cheery little boy skipping around the ashram premises, inquisitive, eager to ...