Akela

MY THOUGHTS

I love books that have so many things going on at once. Of course, there is the story of the main protagonist, but in a picture book, there is so much scope for all these other tiny things happening around the main story, too! Akela, written by Richa Jha, illustrated by Ruchi Shah, and published by Pickle Yolk Books is exactly that!

In this book, Akela Lekhan Coot, a struggling writer, is frustrated by the lack of words flowing onto paper. He thinks it is because of all the noise around him. The pictures show children playing, birds chirping, cows mooing, music blaring, traffic honking, bees buzzing, and loudspeakers blaring! How is a writer to produce a masterpiece amidst this din! He decides to set up a space high and far away from the noise. He soon realises, though his words are now flowing, there is no soul in his story. What does he need to do for his characters to be warm and for his story to come alive?

My kids and I enjoyed reading Akela ki kahani but we also loved the little details. There is a continuing story of a bird’s nest with eggs, a cow and a dog using the road as their private bathroom, a curious monkey, and the story of many people in the neighbourhood. The brilliance of this book is its appeal to different age groups. Show an early reader pictures that they can name, read aloud to an early reader, talk about the flow of the story to a middle grade reader, and let a young adult chance upon the nuances. 

As with all books from the house of Pickle Yolk Books, this one is gorgeous. The colours, the idea, and the words all come together to create a book you will want to display on your coffee table.