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Ramayana
Rama is the embodiment of righteousness, honor and valor the perfect man and the ideal king of Kosala. Rama s stepmother Kaikeyi longs to see her son Bharata crowned king, and persuades King Dasaratha that Rama, the rightful heir, should be sent into exile for fourteen years. Rama s beautiful and devoted wife Sita, and Lakshmana his inseparable half-brother, both choose to accompany him.Rama, Sita and Lakshmana live happily in the forest until the demon king Ravana is told by his sister that Sita is the most beautiful princess in the world. He decides to kidnap her, and lures her away to his kingdom in the south. Rama and Lakshmana must rescue Sita, and call on the great monkey army, led by the warrior Hanuman, to help them find her.Rama uses his time in exile to learn the true meaning of devotion and loyalty, but will the lessons earn him the reward he deserves?"Real Reads" are accessible texts designed to support the literacy development of primary and lower secondary age children while introducing them to the riches of our international literary heritage. Each book is a retelling of a work of great literature from one of the world s greatest cultures, fitted into a 64-page book, making classic stories, dramas and histories available to intelligent young readers as a bridge to the full texts, to language students wanting access to other cultures, and to adult readers who are unlikely ever to read the original versions."
64 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 5, 2019
Good book. I love this story.
September 14, 2014
I confess – I was not familiar with Ramaya before receiving this book. “Back in the day” in my Eurocentric curriculum, very little time was spent during elementary and secondary school on Asian literature.
So, a basic, illustrated adaptation of Valmiki's “Ramaya” was a blessing. I could expose myself to this work during a plane flight – a SHORT plane flight, at that. Of course, that strength is also the book's biggest weakness; so much material, depth, hidden meanings, subplots, etc. must be omitted in order to squeeze hundreds of pages into 64, including illustrations and follow-up! The adaptor, Prema Jayakumar, recognizes this, and added a section documenting the major elements that were left out or tremendously shortened for this adaptation.
Given that the target age for this book is listed as 9 to 13, I wonder if some of the vocabulary might be a bit overwhelming for our younger readers. On the other hand, perhaps I underestimate their abilities, and the word selection is spot-on for them. (NOTE: Given that this book is at least in part about a newly-married couple, I would imagine that some of the trimming done by our adapter may have been in keeping with age restrictions for the targeted reader. Not having read the original, I cannot say.)
I certainly would recommend this book as an introduction to Indian literature, as long as the potential reader acknowledges that this is NOT meant to be a strict translation of the original work.
RATING: 5 stars
DISCLOSURE: I won this book in a random draw from the publisher. There was an expressed hope for a review (and implied hope for a good one), but neither was a condition set or agreed to as a condition of receipt.
So, a basic, illustrated adaptation of Valmiki's “Ramaya” was a blessing. I could expose myself to this work during a plane flight – a SHORT plane flight, at that. Of course, that strength is also the book's biggest weakness; so much material, depth, hidden meanings, subplots, etc. must be omitted in order to squeeze hundreds of pages into 64, including illustrations and follow-up! The adaptor, Prema Jayakumar, recognizes this, and added a section documenting the major elements that were left out or tremendously shortened for this adaptation.
Given that the target age for this book is listed as 9 to 13, I wonder if some of the vocabulary might be a bit overwhelming for our younger readers. On the other hand, perhaps I underestimate their abilities, and the word selection is spot-on for them. (NOTE: Given that this book is at least in part about a newly-married couple, I would imagine that some of the trimming done by our adapter may have been in keeping with age restrictions for the targeted reader. Not having read the original, I cannot say.)
I certainly would recommend this book as an introduction to Indian literature, as long as the potential reader acknowledges that this is NOT meant to be a strict translation of the original work.
RATING: 5 stars
DISCLOSURE: I won this book in a random draw from the publisher. There was an expressed hope for a review (and implied hope for a good one), but neither was a condition set or agreed to as a condition of receipt.
December 30, 2025
It is meant as a book for children... and as that, it is excellent.
Colorful, well laid out, suitable language.
But! People who are going to travel to India, should read it too!
Don't be proud! I suggest that you read this book to help prepare you with some grasp of the myths, legends, etc, that are important to many Indians.
What is the Ramayana? Why a children's version?
Together with the Mahabharata, the Ramanya is one of the great epics of Indian literature, and MUCH better known in India than, say, the Iliad and Odyssey are know to English or USA readers. They are not quite "the bible" of Hinduism... but they have religious significance in addition to being important in other ways.
Wikipedia will tell you about both of them.
Why the children's version? Why not the Mahabharata? Here's a shortened version of what Wikipedia has to say...
At about 1.8 million words in total, the Mahabharata is roughly ten times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined, or about four times the length of the Ramayana.
---
Real Reads also offers a children's version of the Mahabharata, divided into three short volumes. They should be read in order...
Mahabharata: How It All Began,
Mahabharata: The Roll of the Dice,
and Mahabharata: The Final Battle,
(available in both print and audiobook formats.)
Colorful, well laid out, suitable language.
But! People who are going to travel to India, should read it too!
Don't be proud! I suggest that you read this book to help prepare you with some grasp of the myths, legends, etc, that are important to many Indians.
What is the Ramayana? Why a children's version?
Together with the Mahabharata, the Ramanya is one of the great epics of Indian literature, and MUCH better known in India than, say, the Iliad and Odyssey are know to English or USA readers. They are not quite "the bible" of Hinduism... but they have religious significance in addition to being important in other ways.
Wikipedia will tell you about both of them.
Why the children's version? Why not the Mahabharata? Here's a shortened version of what Wikipedia has to say...
At about 1.8 million words in total, the Mahabharata is roughly ten times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined, or about four times the length of the Ramayana.
---
Real Reads also offers a children's version of the Mahabharata, divided into three short volumes. They should be read in order...
Mahabharata: How It All Began,
Mahabharata: The Roll of the Dice,
and Mahabharata: The Final Battle,
(available in both print and audiobook formats.)
Currently reading
November 13, 2016I know about all things which are given in the historical context of Ramayana and I am very excited to read this book and to write this review as I like reading many historical book like Ramayana from my sixth grade when I first read about Asoka and and Chandragupta Maurya and in seventh I read about akbar
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews