Garuda and the Serpents by Arshia Sattar
My 10 years old son loves to read short stories from Hindu mythology, be it from the Ramayana or Mahabharata. So I am constantly in search for hindu mythology books for children which could satiate his desire to read more about our mythical tales. This was the reason why I was quick to grab Garuda and The Serpents by Arshia Sattar. He enjoyed The Serpent’s Revenge Unusual Tales from Mahabharata by Sudha Murthy so I was sure he would like this one as well.
More About The Book
Garuda and the Serpents is the collection of short tales from our epics like Purana, Ramayana and Mahabharata. There are total 18 short stories which include gods, demigods, rakshas, humans etc. exploring
varied facets of our mythology. The stories are not moral based but more an adventure.
My Thoughts
All the stories are short, just a few pages for each story written in a concise manner. My son likes it that way. He gets bored when stories are too long. Also the language is simple and easy to understand. Every story is accompanied by a vivid and colorful illustration. There is just one illustration of two pages for each story. Considering kids will be the main audience of this book there should be some more pictures.
Children will enjoy reading all the stories. I just wished if there was a takeaway message with each tale.
For elders who know their epics will be aware of most the stories. The author retells some of the stories in a slightly different manner and tone from the usual one, adding her own version to the story. You might like those changes or not that is completely the personal preference. These changes might have been done keeping children in mind.
The Verdict
Garuda and The Serpents could be a nice addition to your children’s mythical book collection.
About The Author
Arshia Sattar has a Ph.D. in classical Indian literatures from the University of Chicago. Her translations from Sanskrit, Tales from the Kathasaritsagara and The Ramayana of Valmiki, have been published as Penguin Classics. She has also written books for children, including The Adventures of Hanuman.
More Hindu Mythology Books for Kids
As I wrote earlier about The Serpent’s Revenge Unusual Tales from Mahabharata by Sudha Murthy. It’s a good read. The book is the collection of some interesting stories picked from the epic. But it without any pictures.
The couple of books written by the author Devdutt Pattanik like The Boys Who Fought and The Girl Who Choose were retelling of Mahabharata and Ramayana respectively for children. Pattnaik told the tale beautifully with illustration.
Amar Chitra Katha and Panchatantra is always there from ages enthralling the young readers. These are parents first choice when it comes to short moral stories for kids .
This much for now. Will add more books in the list soon.
