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Chatur the Laundry Man: A Funny Children's Picture Book
What can a business man, a lazy donkey, and an elephant teach kids about success and friendship? Read along to find out in this playful romp by the award-winning author of The Magic of Friendship!
Chatur the Laundry Man is a funny, lighthearted story with a subtle lesson. Chatur thinks of nothing but growing his business, but his friend Gadhu the donkey keeps telling him to take it easy. When Chatur has a bright idea to get more business, things seem to be going his way but take an unexpected turn. Will Chatur learn that sometimes success takes a little time and patience?
Chatur the Laundry Man is a funny, lighthearted story with a subtle lesson. Chatur thinks of nothing but growing his business, but his friend Gadhu the donkey keeps telling him to take it easy. When Chatur has a bright idea to get more business, things seem to be going his way but take an unexpected turn. Will Chatur learn that sometimes success takes a little time and patience?
26 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2014
About the author
Subhash Kommuru
13 books237 followersSubhash and Sujata hail from India. They migrated to the United States along with their memories of childhood and youth. Now that they are parents, just like every immigrant they crave to introduce their child to the culture and values of their upbringing. Yet it is challenging to teach something while you are in the midst of adjusting to a different culture yourself.
Subhash and Sujata both work in different disciplines and have different styles and backgrounds, but it is the upbringing of their son that brings them on the same page. That exact place where they meet is captured and reflected in their stories, where Subhash can express in words, and Sujata can illustrate them beautifully. Where he puts it in black and white, she adds color to it. You get the idea!
These stories are their attempt to share a glimpse of their childhood days with their son. He is their inspiration to write short stories that have meaning to them and provide teaching in some shape or form.
Visit us on www.KommuruBooks.com
Like us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KommuruBooks
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kommurubooks
Subhash and Sujata both work in different disciplines and have different styles and backgrounds, but it is the upbringing of their son that brings them on the same page. That exact place where they meet is captured and reflected in their stories, where Subhash can express in words, and Sujata can illustrate them beautifully. Where he puts it in black and white, she adds color to it. You get the idea!
These stories are their attempt to share a glimpse of their childhood days with their son. He is their inspiration to write short stories that have meaning to them and provide teaching in some shape or form.
Visit us on www.KommuruBooks.com
Like us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KommuruBooks
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kommurubooks
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 8, 2017
Chatur the Laundry Man is a simple story that teaches a lesson about taking things one step at a time and not being greedy.
Cute and colorful illustrations take the reader on Chatur's journey of building his laundry business.
The seemingly lazy donkey, Gadhu, and the hard-working elephant, Atal, are complete opposites, but Chatur learns they are both helpful to his business in their own way.
Chatur gets upset at Gadhu for wanting to take it easy and not work all the time. He is thrilled when he comes across Atal, who loves to work and is willing to do anything Chatur asks. Since he wants to quickly grow his business, Chatur hires Atal.
But when an important job goes very wrong, Chatur finds out that biting off more than you can chew can end up in disaster!
Opinion:
This was a cute story, and Gadhu's advice to Chatur about enjoying life helped to teach a subtle lesson.
In the front of the book there is a glossary of Hindi terms, which is inviting to the reader. It gives you a glimpse of the cultural differences in this story over a traditional storybook. I thought the cultural references along with the colorful illustrations are what really made this story unique and charming. The phonetic key in the glossary is a little confusing, but I found it interesting. I love the introduction to the Hindi terms.
The story uses an uncommon font that is a little distracting. I wonder if this font is somehow linked to Hindi writing, but there was nothing in the book that indicated why this font was chosen. If there is a connection, I think mentioning that would be a nice addition to the book.
Reviewed by a LitPick student book reviewer Age:12
Cute and colorful illustrations take the reader on Chatur's journey of building his laundry business.
The seemingly lazy donkey, Gadhu, and the hard-working elephant, Atal, are complete opposites, but Chatur learns they are both helpful to his business in their own way.
Chatur gets upset at Gadhu for wanting to take it easy and not work all the time. He is thrilled when he comes across Atal, who loves to work and is willing to do anything Chatur asks. Since he wants to quickly grow his business, Chatur hires Atal.
But when an important job goes very wrong, Chatur finds out that biting off more than you can chew can end up in disaster!
Opinion:
This was a cute story, and Gadhu's advice to Chatur about enjoying life helped to teach a subtle lesson.
In the front of the book there is a glossary of Hindi terms, which is inviting to the reader. It gives you a glimpse of the cultural differences in this story over a traditional storybook. I thought the cultural references along with the colorful illustrations are what really made this story unique and charming. The phonetic key in the glossary is a little confusing, but I found it interesting. I love the introduction to the Hindi terms.
The story uses an uncommon font that is a little distracting. I wonder if this font is somehow linked to Hindi writing, but there was nothing in the book that indicated why this font was chosen. If there is a connection, I think mentioning that would be a nice addition to the book.
Reviewed by a LitPick student book reviewer Age:12
October 10, 2014
Bright colors and funny illustrations make this such an eye catching book. While the book is written in Hindi the illustrations bring the story to life allowing you to understand and enjoy the story whether you read Hindi or not. Mand doesn't like to work but Atal the elephant doesn't mind at all. so Chatur gets the bright idea to replace Mand with Atal but things don't work out the way Chatur thinks they will! Overall very well done illustrations that captures the eye and imagination and will certainly put a smile on your face as you learn the story of Chatur and his donkey Mand.
Read
June 12, 2017This is a light-hearted story with a subtle moral behind it. Don't forget your friends in the process trying to bring in more business for yourself because chances are, you'll learn a very harsh lesson sooner or later.
September 8, 2014
A lovely book that is beautifully illustrated! I had to have someone read to me but that just made it more fun! Happy story with great pictures and a sweet lesson.
July 31, 2017
I am not a fan of this book. The illustrations look like something you would find on adult swim, and I think the story belongs there as well. Chatur wasn't to keep his business afloat and he wants his donkey to haul more and more. But the donkey doesn't want to do it. So he trades the donkey in on an elephant, and the elephant does everything mater wishes for, even if it ends up bad for the master. I did not like this story. It made me think of a slave, no longer wanting to be a slave. No thank you.
June 9, 2017
I gave this book 3 stars. It is a fairly light-hearted story with a good moral to it that is easy to read. I really liked the images that were used.
December 30, 2016
Story:
This book starts out with a little Hindi pronunciation guide, which I love. Not only does the story introduce a new culture, but it does so accurately and informatively.
The font choices inside aren't exactly complimentary. A different (handwritten?) font would have been a better choice for speech/dialogue snippets. Also, it would be best if all dialogue (or none) was in a different font. As is, it's a little confusing.
Illustrations:
Really cute and fun. The simple artwork perfectly captures the tone of the story, and every character is wonderfully expressive.
Cover:
Good overall, though I feel the title should be quite a bit larger. The text treatment is a bit lackluster, which detracts from an otherwise appealing cover. The designer used the same fonts for the title as for the main text. In theory, this might lend to continuity; however, I think a stronger title font would have been a better choice.
This book starts out with a little Hindi pronunciation guide, which I love. Not only does the story introduce a new culture, but it does so accurately and informatively.
The font choices inside aren't exactly complimentary. A different (handwritten?) font would have been a better choice for speech/dialogue snippets. Also, it would be best if all dialogue (or none) was in a different font. As is, it's a little confusing.
Illustrations:
Really cute and fun. The simple artwork perfectly captures the tone of the story, and every character is wonderfully expressive.
Cover:
Good overall, though I feel the title should be quite a bit larger. The text treatment is a bit lackluster, which detracts from an otherwise appealing cover. The designer used the same fonts for the title as for the main text. In theory, this might lend to continuity; however, I think a stronger title font would have been a better choice.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews