Child of Spring

by Farhana Zia

Overview

A 1960s Indian village populated by endearing characters springs to life in Farhana's Zia's novel about privilege, perspective, and opportunity.

Impulsive and passionate, Basanta may not always understand the consequences of her actions, but that doesn't stop her from involving herself in the lives of friends and neighbors in her village—even if things don't necessarily go the way she intends. Basanta longs for the beautiful ring worn by her young mistress, but when it is finally hers, she realizes that it's not the wonderful possession she expected.

Increasingly aware of the struggles of her less privileged friends, Lali and Bala, she finds a way to improve their lives and entertain their community— and the beautiful ring takes on new meaning. Over time, Basanta gains maturity, self-awareness, and compassion—all while hosting doll weddings, attending kite fights, and planning an exciting performance of Bala the Wonder Dog.

Farhana Zia's engaging novel—filled with a cast of distinct, endearing characters and humorous, thought-provoking events—provides an insightful look at relative privilege and opportunity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781561459728
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	03/01/2016
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Farhana Zia spent her early years in Hyderabad, India, and her stories blend humor and tradition, memories and contemporary moments. A retired elementary school teacher, she is the author of picture books and middle grade novels. She lives in Massachusetts and enjoys reading, writing, and making French macarons.

Editorial Reviews

02/22/2016
Basanta, an Indian girl balanced on the edge of childhood and young adulthood, narrates Zia’s second novel (after The Garden of My Imaan) with a vivacious voice. She lives in a hut in a small village with her parents and younger sister, begrudgingly working alongside her mother at the “Big House” as a servant. A keen observer, Basanta views the world as rich with imagery; her employer’s privileged daughter, Little Bibi, can be “fiery as a mango pickle,” while a jamun tree “rained down fat berries that splattered the ground with purple.” After finding a lost ring belonging to Little Bibi, Basanta decides to keep it for herself. Guilt gives her a “worried heart,” and she slowly matures, using her good fortune to help less fortunate friends who often go hungry. While the plot moves a bit too rapidly and feels overstuffed with characters, Zia delicately explores themes of developing a sense of morality, learning the value of hard work, recognizing inequality, and empathizing with others. The author smoothly incorporates Hindi words and phrases into Basanta’s narrative and also includes a glossary. Ages 8–12. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"A sweet, authentic Indian slice of middle-grade life."—Kirkus Reviews

"A solid, diverse purchase for middle grade collections."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

04/01/2016
Gr 3–5—Basanta is a young girl who lives in a typical Indian busti, a community of huts, in modern-day India. Alongside her amma, her mother, she works at the Big House for the memsaab's daughter, Little Bibi. Often, Basanta wonders why it is that Little Bibi is lucky enough to live in a fine house surrounded by fine things while Basanta can only yearn for them. Then, one day, Little Bibi's ring goes missing and Basanta is sure she is suspected of theft! After building up the situation in her head, Basanta is let off the hook when Little Bibi receives a new, even finer ring for her birthday. Although the plot eventually circles back around to the original (found) ring, the novel as a whole focuses on Basanta's capers with the young inhabitants of her busti and how she might be more like Little Bibi than she imagined. Through her interactions with the children who live in the huts beside hers, Basanta comes to find that her family is in a position of satisfaction, never having to go without rice in the pot, and that being able to help others is a reward in and of itself. Although the exact setting is not made explicit through the text and the language peppered into the narrative and dialogue is not immediately identified, context clues and a glossary make clarifying easy. VERDICT A solid, diverse purchase for middle grade collections.—Brittany Staszak, Eisenhower Public Library District, IL

School Library Journal

2016-01-09
Basanta, who splits her time between serving a rich family in her rural Indian town and playing with children less advantaged than she, gives an episodic account of several weeks of her life. The prologue introduces Basanta's lack of enthusiasm for her deceased grandmother's idea that "A song from the heart is more golden than a nicely wrapped gift." Throughout the story, Basanta grapples with feelings of envy for people in better circumstances, as well as annoyance at her mother's generous nature. Yet, more than once, she herself shows compassion and even altruism. Basanta is a believable character whose emotions and actions reflect early adolescence in any culture. She is also clearly different from most of her Western counterparts: illiterate, with no formal education, and prone to obsessively arranging doll weddings. Her language is sprinkled with colorful, insightful similes. Unsurprisingly, Basanta's narration is dotted with Hindi words (often distractingly printed in italic type) and full of character names unfamiliar to readers not of the culture (with the doubtlessly unintentional exception of naughty Paki). It can be difficult to keep track of the many characters, and the plots and subplots are dizzying. However, Basanta's honest and often humorous account of her own foibles and near heroics will keep readers entertained while they think about wealth distinctions and absorb new information from an Indian-American author. A sweet, authentic Indian slice of middle-grade life. (glossary) (Fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews