Prabir’s New Flute

MY THOUGHTS

What makes good music? Prabir’s new flute is about a young boy, Prabir, who plays the most melodious music on his flute. But one day, his flute breaks in an accident, and he makes another one from bamboo he finds in a dirty, dusty junkyard. The music from that flute is not happy or melodious but sad and melancholic. He then makes a flute out of bamboo he finds in a noisy village. This flute produces tuneless, screechy music! Will Prabir ever find the right bamboo to make a flute that plays beautiful, happy music? 

I am a huge fan of Asha Nehemiah’s characters. I love how endearing Prabir is and how he arrives at the conclusion that he needs the best bamboo to make melodious music. His mop of unruly hair and eager-to-please eyes make for an unforgettable character. The story is set in the tiny villages of  West Bengal, where the villagers Prabir plays for are rustic and full of life, and the story is funny and entertaining. Rajiv Eipe’s illustrations warrant a separate reading of the book. Gorgeous village scenes and the expressions of the villagers made the story come alive for me. Look out for tiny details like where Prabir’s slippers end up after the accident or the mass of unruly plants in the junkyard scene. 

This book will intrigue a young reader, and they will want to explore how a flute works. It also takes them along on a walk through simple village life and their customs. This is a fantastic book for children 5+. Use it to encourage independent reading or for a bed time read aloud.