Sheetal Sheth

This books shines with inspiration and joyful illustrations.

Anjali is very good at playing the tabla and enjoys it, too, but when a boy at school begins to bug her about being able to play better than he can, she decides it might make things easier for her to act as if she can't really play that well. That seems to work okay until the teacher announces an upcoming contest. Anjali would really like to give her best and win, but the harder she tries, the more the other kids bug her. Finally, she decides there's only one thing left for her to do.

First off, I really enjoyed the illustrations. Not only do they bring Anjali, the other kids and her family across nicely, but there are scenes, which allow fantasy to also flow in. It gives the entire thing a fun atmosphere and keeps the important message still light.

The author addresses a situation which kids can relate to, while also adding a bit of cultural information and flair. The two slide together seamlessly together, and that while also creating a tale and a character young readers can enjoy. The text is simple enough from the vocabulary end of things but is a little longer, making it not for the youngest reader. It's just right for the intended age group, however, and also works well as a read-aloud.

The message is inspiring and encourages kids not to bend to those, who don't try to support them. It's definitely a tale which leaves the reader rooting for Anjali and smiling when she succeeds.
I received an ARC and enjoyed Anjali's bravery.… (más)

Excited at the gift of a bicycle for her seventh birthday, Anjali joins her best friends Mary and Courtney in cycling around the school carnival. But when the other two girls find specialized name-plates for their bikes and she cannot, leading to public ridicule of her name by the school bully, Anjali decides she'd like to become Angie instead. Her mother steps in and explains the meaning of the name Anjali - "divine gift" - and its importance as a marker of her family's Indian heritage, leading the young girl to embrace her name, make her own name-plate, and eventually stand up to the bully...

Always Anjali is the second title, after Super Satya Saves the Day, that I have read from Bharat Babies, a new publisher aiming to promote children's books featuring Indian-American characters and stories. As is evident from the many, many testimonials on both the front and rear end-papers from various public figures of South Asian descent who have struggled in social situations where their names are unusual, this is a story with significance for many people. I appreciated the positive message presented here by debut author Sheetal Sheth, about having pride in one's name and its cultural meaning, and think that message has significance for people of many communities and backgrounds. The artwork from Jessica Blank is colorful and cute, if also sometimes a little too cartoon-like for my taste. Recommended to anyone looking for picture-books about the importance of names. It can be paired with such titles as Yangsook Choi's The Name Jar, or Juana Martinez-Neal's Alma and How She Got Her Name.… (más)