Books For Beginners
Tultul Biswas
Sandy To The Rescue by Rupa Gulab Duckbill Books, 2018, 66 pp., 175
November 2018, volume 42, No 11

This is a cute little book that deals with quite a few pertinent childhood issues. The impending arrival of a younger sibling and all the confusion this could cause in the mind of a young child, the pains and plaints of having both parents working, the agonies of having to stay long hours in a crèche that is run by a brute… to name a few.

The story is layered and the unfolding of the state of misery in which Sandy finds his new friend Aftab is both comical and natural. After having shared dark notes about the crèche lady and her awful practices, the two children firmly decide that Aftab needs to be rescued from the crèche where his parents have arranged for him to stay till late that evening. So, the rescue begins, and so does the thrill in the story.

The parts describing the sharing of food with an under-the-table hungry friend, the scooting to the room while Sandy’s mother’s back is towards them, the tucking away of Aftab amidst cushions in the bath-tub—there are many moments in the book that children will love and we adults will feel nostalgic about. Rupa Gulab’s writing seems to have the right mix of humour, intrigue, fantasy, intelligence and compassion. Chetan Sharma’s illustrations convey the mood of the story with some stunningly expressive caricaturized faces and body language.

In a nutshell, the three books together make up what could be called as pre-detective logical reading. Enjoyably promoting the reading pleasures of anticipation, plotting, suspense, thrill and then the cool happiness of resolution. Weeding out the few proofing errors would definitely enhance the reading experience.

Tultul Biswas is a lover of books and has worked for over 2 decades in the field of children’s publishing with Eklavya. Currently she is engaged with Eklavya’s Teacher Education, Outreach and Advocacy work area.

Review Details

Book Name: Sandy To The Rescue
Reviewer name: Tultul Biswas
Author name: Rupa Gulab
Book Year: 2018
Publisher Name: Duckbill Books
Book Price: 175
Book Pages: 66

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