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What I’m Doing at Kirkus This Week,
Plus What I Did Last Week, Featuring Amrita Das

h1 July 11th, 2014 by jules


“A child’s life is hard, especially if you’re cursed to be poor. It’s gone even before you start on it. … If you dream for a moment,
you’re asked why you’re twiddling your thumbs.”
(Click to enlarge and read full text)


 

This morning over at Kirkus, because I’m preparing for a presentation about the best picture books of the year thus far, I thought I’d weigh in my with tippy-top favorites.

Thank link is here.

* * *

Last week, since I wrote (here) about Amrita Das’ Hope is a Girl Selling Fruit, an April release from India’s Tara Books, I’m following up with some art today.

Enjoy.

 


“At the workshop, I was asked to think of a story to draw. I didn’t know where to start. I wanted to draw women, but what story would these women be part of?
I thought of my own childhood. … and started to paint two girls under a tree.
Here they are: they’re dancing, happy to be jumping on the leaves. Everything’s green, the leaves rustle pleasantly, the birds chirp. It’s an idyllic scene.
But was my childhood really like that? Was this the truth?”
(Click to enlarge)


 


“It all started when I met that girl’s eyes: poor, inncocent eyes that said so much, even while she was so silent. …”
(Click to enlarge and read full text)


 


“The first night on the train, well past midnight, I woke up and looked for her.
She was not there! I panicked. …”
(Click to enlarge and read full text)


 


“This other girl was poor too, and her clothes were torn. She had lost a leg, but she managed to push her cart around confidently. … She’s her own creature, I thought, she’s walking around, she’s earning and supporting her family.”
(Click to enlarge and read full text)


 


“… We’re all in this together, I remember thinking, lost, but not quite. We have to take what we have, go our own ways, and try to make the most of it. …”
(Click to enlarge and read full text)


 



 

* * * * * * *


 

HOPE IS A GIRL SELLING FRUIT. Copyright © 2013 by Tara Books. Illustrations reproduced by permission of the publisher.





One comment to “What I’m Doing at Kirkus This Week,
Plus What I Did Last Week, Featuring Amrita Das”

  1. My gosh, that’s beautiful.

         by tanita July 11th, 2014 at 10:22 am

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