I bought the book solely because I was lured by the title and the cover art! 🙂
Book Details
Genre: Children’s Literature & Fiction
Reading Level: 7-9 years
Pages: 72
Publisher: Duckbill Books and Publications Pvt Ltd.
Publication date: April 15, 2019
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Synopsis
Everyone says Chumki is unlucky and makes things go wrong with her ‘magic’.
No wonder she has no friends.
Can her brother Aki’s plan help Chumki make friends?
My Thoughts
I think this book should be read by both adults and children because it deals with superstitious beliefs and the cruel treatment of girls and women because of blind faith.
Keeping in mind that this is a children’s book, the author’s treatment of the subject is light-hearted yet she manages to get her message across clearly.
Chumki, a young girl, is deemed “unlucky” by her paternal grandmother. She is mistreated and shunned due to this belief. Her brother is allowed to play on holidays, whereas she is expected to help her mother with the household chores. Eventually, she is banned from attending school because of a “mistake,’ even though she is smart and loves to read.
The story revolves around how her brother hatches a plan to stop people from branding her “unlucky,” and helps her make friends.
Descriptions of nature abound in the story and help you immerse yourself in village life. The naivete of children, their innocent fears, and silly fights is aptly captured.
The print is big and bold, meant to help young readers enjoy the story better. The illustrations are simple and sharp, and my 4-year-old was fascinated by them. He wanted me to read the story to him!
I thank the author for writing such a story and I hope she has many more stories coming!
About the Author
Lesley D. Biswas grew up in McCluskiegunj, and dreamed of playing cricket. But instead of a bat, she ended up with a pen in her hand. Currently based in Kolkata, she’s a freelance writer who enjoys writing children’s stories the most. She’s also passionate about nature, gardening and bird photography.
Read how Lesley got the idea for this book: https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/38190017/posts/6127
About the Illustrator
After a fifteen-year stint as a software engineer, Anupama Ajinkya Apte decided to pursue her childhood passion for art. She loves drawing quirky characters. An avid Urban sketcher, she deeply enjoys working in watercolours.
Here’s an interview of Lesley and Anupama where they talk about the book: https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/38190017/posts/6136
Other Perspectives
A search on Google displayed many reviews of the book. I’m sharing some of the links here:
Booked for Life: https://www.bookedforlife.in/children/unlucky-chumki-by-lesley-d-biswas-another-addition-to-the-wonderful-duckbill-collection-of-hole-books/
Eclectic Moods: http://ministryofmagik.blogspot.com/2019/05/book-review-unlucky-chumki-by-lesley-d.html
Ganeshv.com: http://www.ganeshv.com/a-little-girl-gets-even/
Book Reviews by Satabdi 
What do you think?