Synopsis
Along the road to Mumbai, Shoba and her monkey, Fuzzy Patel, make many new friends—mysterious monks, a curious camel, and a snake with a sensitive stomach, just to name a few. Shoba and Fuzzy are on their way to a top-secret monkey wedding. But you shouldn’t expect an invitation. According to Fuzzy, it will be the most boring wedding in the history of the universe. But magical things can happen on the road to Mumbai—and when trouble threatens to ruin the big event, unexpected friends come to the rescue.
In vivid paintings filled with color and light (and more than one uninvited guest!), Ruth Jeyaveeran brings the beauty and excitement of India alive for children everywhere to enjoy.
Uma Krishnaswami - Children's Literature
Young Shoba, resplendent in pink pajamas, is the star of this charming picture book. She's ably supported by her pet monkey that goes by the improbable name of "Fuzzy Patel." Intrepid travelers, they take the bed rather than an airplane. They're headed for Mumbai, where Fuzzy's cousin Poori is to be married shortly. Fuzzy's "a bit of a snob," though, and he's concerned that the "common riffraff" they meet along the way will gate-crash this "top-secret" wedding. The dialogue, replete with lovingly woven Indianisms, carries the story through the wedding to the feast we know the weary travelers deserve. Those who know India will recognize its overstuffed buses and the ubiquitous mixture of spiritual and temporal, old and new, that characterizes its street life. If the text seems a pinch overdone in places, the illustrations compensate for it. The elephants, camel, and snake charmer are of course completely stereotypical, yet they seem to fit here simply because they are rendered in a child-centered manner, and shown to be capturing the attention of the busy young protagonist. A map and a simple glossary target teachers and librarians while at the same time both are carefully crafted to be child-friendly. (e.g., the scale legend is labeled, "300 miles is this long.") The peppermint-bright gauche images and the fanciful, humorous text offer an unusual and lively introduction to India for the younger set. 2004, Houghton Mifflin, Ages 4 to 6.