Fox and the Squirrel

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3-This series presents classics of Indian folklore in read-along form. Fish Friends Three, a story from an early Indian collection of fables called the Panchatantra, presents an industrious fish who saves her two lazy friends from a fisherman. The Talking Cave, also from the Panchatantra, is the standout in the series, with Bhuro (a rather dim lion king) providing some comic relief as a clever jackal tricks him. The Fox and the Squirrel, a South Indian folktale, wants to be a trickster tale but lacks both a trickster and a point. The Foolish Crow is the best-known story in the series. This version is based on the Jataka classic (stories of the Buddha), which precedes Aesop. Each cassette follows the same format: introductory song, directions, story laced with songs, and repetition of all songs at the end. While the tales themselves hold promise, there are problems with the series. The illustrations, though bright, are often garish. The text is uniformly dull and awkward, alternating narrative with an extremely forced rhyming structure. Textual errors creep in, such as the shifting tenses in Fish Friends Three. The music used on the tapes is y catchy, but the characters routinely repeat large chunks of dialogue in song, bogging down the stories. The vocals (all performed by Indian actors and actresses) are expressive, though the accents are at times difficult to decipher. While the series is aimed at beginning readers, the tapes often fail to follow the books. One of the publisher's stated goals is to introduce concepts within the stories; however, whenever concepts such as numbers are brought up, the connections to the tales are forced. The stories take on a moralistic and didactic tone. Libraries with large Indian populations may want to consider this series. Librarians beware-each book contains a "Colouring Sheet" at the end of the story.Kathleen M. Kelly, Carroll County Public Library, MDCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description
RECOMMENDED FOR KIDS 3 and up Discover the world of numbers, colours, shapes, sizes, opposites ..with Karadi and his fascinating stories from South Asian tradition. Karadi Tales Jr. is a unique, new approach to learning. Written in rhyme and prose, filled with songs and pictures, these stories reinforce the understanding of basic concepts in little children. The audiocassette and word for word read-along book helps develop your childs listening skills reading skills language skills attention span. A glossary of key words and pronunciations, special background information and a learning guide accompanies each title. Produced by Sky Music (India), a corporation led by educators and musicians trained in special education and world music. Laloo, the fox, and Gilehri, the squirrel, were good friends. But when Laloo breaks his leg, he is afraid Gilehri will take advantage of him. Gilehri remains a good friend but decides to teach Laloo a lesson for not trusting her. This is a folktale from South India.


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Laloo the fox and Gilehri the squirrel are good friends, but when Laloo breaks his leg he is afraid Gilehri will take advantage of him. Gilehri remains a good friend, but decides to teach Laloo a lesson for not trusting her. This is a folktale from South India.


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