Alone in the Forest
Published By: Tara Books
Written and conceptualised by: Gita Wolf and Andrea Anastasio
Illustrations: Bhajju Shyam
Design: Nia Murphy
Rs 375
When Musa’s mother fell sick one day, she couldn’t go, as usual, to fetch firewood from the nearby forest.
Don’t worry, said Musa, I’m grown up now, I’ll get the wood!
In a Sentence: Fear is a state of mind; overcome it, and it feels like the biggest achievement at the end of the day.
What is it About: Alone in the Forest is the story of one such achievement / triumph – that of a young village boy Musa over the fears that engulf him when he finds himself alone in a forest amidst strange noises and fearsome beasts. It’s about the small but significant milestones in a child’s life that stoke his belief that he’s growing up; or that he has grown up. It’s about the subtle hints of familiar sights and sounds that our minds associate with what’s comforting and what’s not. And it’s about Bhajju Shyam’s irrepressible and gorgeous Gond art 
What makes it snuggly: For every art lover out there, this will be an irresistible book to snuggle with. Just look at the rich intricacies of Bhajju Shyam’s Gond styled illustrations. He has a remarkable way of using dense dots and lines to add a sense of depth or lightness to the pages; a depth and lightness that echoes the state of Musa’s mind too. Children will love the different birds and animals drawn in Gond style.
What Stands Out: The page designs by Nia Murphy, to begin with. Juxtaposed against the contrasting vibrant backdrops and an interesting interplay of colours, the scenes get transformed from the normalcy of the bright morning, to the inching eeriness of the thick forest, to the creepiness of the dark hollow of the tree, back to the reassurance of a still bright evening. And of home.
Some of the pages have outstanding visual perspectives – especially the ones where we get to see through Musa’s eyes. In fact, his eyes have been used with masterful cleverness to create some truly exceptional spreads. My favourite is the one where Musa spots a wild boar (pasted above) – eyes, forehead and hair set against a shocking red! Such sparingly used visual elements used to create such intense fear!
I also like the metaphorical representation of the entire village inside the cow’s body. When Musa spots a cow near his hiding, his immediate inference is that the village won’t be far – that’s one of the best symbolizations of hope and safety I’ve come across in any children’s book!
Will be best enjoyed by: 4+, and art lovers regardless of their age.
From snuggly to snugglier: Apart from engaging kids with folk art led activities, this is a great book also to discuss the different manifestations of fear with them, and how they think they can / they have overcome one or more.
Love Ratings? (I find it difficult to rate art-led books against my usual parameters because it’s impossible to confine – and define – them within these. A book such as this one is more a collector’s item in my eyes than a picture book; yet the book is a picture book to the core in the way the words get used and the story moves forward and the page turns happen and in the way it makes us want to go over the intense and delicious pages again and again! At a personal level, I find folk art in picture books as limiting the scope and vivacity of this medium, but each time I come across yet another of Tara’s books, I have to eat humble pie I confess to being in absolute awe of these, and I get terribly nervous while rating them!)
Ha Ha! Quotient: 0
Touches the heart: 4
Cuts through the clutter: 5
Visual appeal: 5
Encore Quotient: 4
Thank God it’s not moral science: 5
Show, don’t tell: 3
Hey, this is a really important book!: 4
