Sunshine, Forever and Always by Nina Nani comprises three stories for children, two from the realms of fantasy with one true story sandwiched in between. Nani means maternal grandmother (the writer’s real name being Nina Nariman) and the book, though dedicated to her late older brother, is obviously meant for her "three cutie patooties” — Enayah, Alexander and Ryan, to whom she has expressed gratitude, along with several others, in the section titled "Thank you.”
Nina Nariman: facts and fantasy
The story "Zurika, the Gypsy Princess” is replete with convoluted plots and fantastic adventures spanning many years. "Chocolate Chocolate Everywhere… And Every Bite to Eat!” about a child’s dream visit to Paris will make young mouths water. "Sunshine survives” is the true tale of Khanyisa, a baby albino elephant in Africa which was rescued from a snare and nurtured by Adine Roode at a camp run by the Herd Trust, Hoedspruit Elephant Rehabilitation and Development in Pretoria, South Africa.
Khanyisa, which means sunshine in an African language, was found as a tiny four-month-old calf with injuries that required careful treatment until she eventually reached the weight of 700 kilos and was ready for rehabilitation into a herd. The dedicated staff at the camp worked hard to save her. The author has interspersed Sunshine’s story with interactive questions to her grandchildren, to elicit their responses. For instance, "Enayah, 8 years old, living in Mumbai, India, says…; Alexander, 7 years old, living in Apple Valley, California, says…; Ryan, 6 years old, living in Mumbai, India, says…” This stylistic device would have been a good vehicle to disseminate information and garner the opinions of the youngsters — had it not been repeated verbatim no less than 10 times in the story!
The 104-page book, with its cheerful, colorful cover with smiley icons is priced at Rs 250 and has been brought out by Bluerose Publishers New Delhi and London (www.BlueRoseOne.com, info@bluerosepublishers.com). Though profusely illustrated, the teeny images are all in black and white. Also, the random mixture of type used in the text on every page — bold, light, italics, uppercase — is jarring to the eye. SHERENE VAKIL