Kabir Sehgal started his class newspaper in second grade and has
been writing ever since. A bestselling author of several
books, he is also a jazz bassist and Grammy Award–winning producer.
Kabir and his mother, Surishtha Sehgal, are a mother-son writing
team whose books include Festival of Colors, illustrated by
Vashti Harrison, and Seven Samosas and the New York
Times bestselling A Bucket of Blessings, both illustrated
by Jing Jing Tsong. He lives in Atlanta. To learn more about
the Sehgals’ books, visit Bucket.art.
Surishtha Sehgal was a university professor for many years and now
enjoys reading to children during story time. She is the founder of
a nonprofit organization that promotes social responsibility among
students, and she serves on the boards of two universities and a
national arts center. Surishtha and her son, Kabir Sehgal, are a
mother-son writing team whose books include Festival of
Colors, illustrated by Vashti Harrison, and Seven
Samosas and the New York Times bestselling A
Bucket of Blessings, both illustrated by Jing Jing Tsong. She lives
in Atlanta. To learn more about the Sehgals’ books, visit
Bucket.art.
Jess Golden was born and raised in the lovely little town of
Hopkinton, Massachusetts. A childhood filled with coloring books,
art lessons, and Play-Doh eventually led her one state over to the
Rhode Island School of Design, where she graduated with a BFA in
Illustration. Jess now lives in a little village just outside of
Boston with her husband Jordan. Many doodles and dreams of the
ultimate-canine-companion float from her little studio window.
Motorized rickshaws are used around the world, and in India and
other parts of Southeast Asia they are called tuk tuks. “Tuk tuk
wala says ‘Squish in together!’ All through the town,” write the
Sehgals (A Bucket of Blessings), a mother-and-son team, in this
lovely take on “The Wheels on the Bus,” set in an Indian city. As
an overstuffed tuk tuk makes its “bobble-bobble-bobble” way through
town, “People in the street jump on and off,” paying their fare
with rupees that go “ching ching ching.” Readers get a taste of
Indian life as the book nods to Hindi beliefs and customs (the tuk
tuk stops for a cow, and readers are taught the greeting
“namaste-ji”), poppadoms, and the joyous festival of Diwali. Golden
(Snow Dog, Sand Dog)—working in bright watercolors, pastels, and
pencils with the texture and hues of Diwali color powder—portrays a
busy, friendly metropolis where getting sprayed by an elephant can
be par for the course. It’s a wonderfully accessible introduction
to daily life in another place. Ages 4–8.
*August 24, 2015*
....Based on the whizzing shenanigans of the phenomenon that is the
three-wheeled auto-rickshaw, the lively illustrations and
rollicking rhymes ("Tuk tuk riders eat / poppa-doppa-doms
/poppa-doppa-doms / poppa-doppa-doms") are sure to be crowd
pleasers, especially for read-alouds and storytimes. Golden's
humorously quirky watercolors warmly portray the whirl of activity
on busy Indian city streets aswell as the beautiful diversity of
the people who populate those streets. From grannies with glasses
to ladies with top knots, from a serene yogi pronouncing"Om" from
the top of a rickshaw to little girls with golden hoops in their
ears, from bemused Western tourists to lively families of many
shades, the characters invite readers to absorb and embrace the
fun....On the whole, the sheer liveliness of spiritbehind the
book's playful words and color-drenched illustrations carries the
day.
*September 15, 2015*
This joins a legion of wheels-on-the-bus books but with a
distinctly urban Indian flavor. Readers from
within the culture will be delighted to recognize language,
customs, and familiar scenes. Newcomers will
learn that a tuk tuk is a three-wheeled minibus, money is called
rupees, namaste is a respectful greeting,
and sometimes cows doze in the middle of the street, so the driver
has no choice but to stop the tuk tuk and
let the passengers drink chai and eat “poppa-doppa-dums.” It’s a
bumpy, jam-packed ride and lots of fun,
especially with a Diwali party at the end....Charming illustrations
in watercolor and crayon render the urban Indian setting in
simple,
authentic detail. The expressive faces of the tuk tuk riders show
just how thrilling and precarious the ride
can be. Hop on!
*November 1, 2015*
PreS-Gr 2–Thisadaptation of “The Wheels on the Bus” is set in a
city in India aboard a tuktuk, an auto rickshaw used by many for
public transportation. The tuk tuk wala,or driver, travels
throughout the city picking up more and more passengers asthey
travel to a Diwali celebration. Along the way, they encounter a
cowblocking the street, a chanting yogi, an elephant decorated in
paint, and somelocal fare, including papadoms and chai. The
illustrations are vibrant withpastels and bright watercolors and
the amalgam of people, animals, foods, andbuildings blend together
effectively to transport readers to a location withwhich many
children will not be familiar. Every detail in the
illustrationsfeels deliberate and organic to the locale. An
author’s note is included thatshares a brief narrative from the
events that inspired this adaptation, as wellas a definition of
some of the terms used in the story. VERDICT An enjoyable and
original picture book thatwill allow readers to experience a
different culture while maintaining thefamiliarity to a classic
childhood song.
*November 2015*
Anyonewho's ever been within earshot of preschool story time knows
the classicnursery-rhyme song "The Wheels on the Bus," where the
wheels go"round and round, round and round, round and round."
This joyful take on that rhythmic read-aloud ride takes children to
the streetsof India, where it's thetuk tuk wheels that go round and
round. (A tuk tuk--pronounced"took took"--is a small, three-wheeled
motorized shared taxi that, inillustrator Jess Golden's skillful
hands, looks a bit like a friendly green andyellow insect.) People
in the street jump on and off, the rupees paid to themoustachioed
driver, or wala,go "ching ching ching" into his hand, and the tuk
tuk riders say"Namaste-ji" and go
"bobble-bobble-bobble"--that'sright--"all through the town."
Mischievous monkeys, traffic-blocking"moo-moo-cows," spraying
elephants, and even some Diwali fireworksadd to the fun of the tuk
tuk's bobbling, jumbling journey, from morning'sbustle until night
when the cows are sleeping and it's time for the tuk tuk,now empty
of passengers, to go home.
In The Wheels on the TukTuk, India-born Surishtha Seghal and her
son, Kabir Sehgal (theteam behind A Bucket ofBlessings) revel in
fun-to-say words like squish and swish, andplayful wordplay like
"poppa-doppa-doms" (the crisp flat snack knownas papadoms,as
explained in the book's handy glossary). Golden's (Snow Dog, Sand
Dog)cartoonish watercolor, pastel and colored pencil illustrations
are expressiveand artful, and, with a positively edible color
palette, paint a warm,welcoming picture of a festive day on the
streets of India.
Discover: Thepopular nursery song "The Wheels on the Bus" travels
to India wherethe wheels are not on a bus but on a tuk tuk that
goes "all through thetown.".
*1/29/16*
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