Reviewer
Lavanya Karthik: Lavanya is from Mumbai, India and is a licensed
architect and consultant in environmental management. She lives in
Mumbai with her husband and six-year old daughter. She loves reading
and enjoys a diverse range of authors across genres.
Author .
Manjula Naraynan
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 978- 1 - 4389 - 6957-
2
Click Here To Purchase The green Green Pear
This charming little story by Manjula Naraynan follows a
little green pear on his quest for identity and self worth. For our
little hero is disappointed with himself, as he is merely green. He
sets out across the world hoping to become different, yet finds
himself just as green and unremarkable as ever. Then a series of
shooting stars help him transform into other, seemingly more
attractive things. But none of these transformations make him feel
any better about himself. At length, he realizes that he is at heart
a green pear and must learn to love himself rather than try to be
something else.
I liked the rough, almost childlike
quality of Naraynan's drawings, and the way they were integrated with
photographs. The little pear is an especially endearing fellow, and
the quirky details in each image make this book very enjoyable.
I
liked the choice of topic too. Self esteem in children is a critical
issue that parents may often overlook, and this book
could be a great way to help a child communicate her feelings about
herself; it certainly generated a lot of discussion between my six
year daughter and me.
I was, however, a little
confused with the end. The pear learns self esteem not by
understanding what he is, but rather by realizing what he is NOT. Yet
what is his essence, or indeed that of the other objects he tries to
be? I would also have liked to see the pear find love for
himself within his own heart, and not acquire it from a wish.