Gi Hallmark | The Children’s Book Review | October 3, 2014
Mother’s Love Can Conquer Any Fear!
By Subhash Kommuru, Illustrated By Sujata Kommuru
eBook: 44 pages
Age Range: 4 to 8
Publisher: Kommuru Books (2014)
ISBN: 978-0-9903178-2-1
What to expect: Fable, Animals, Community, Cultural Wisdom, Family, Courage
Picture books provide an engaging medium to teach lessons on values to young readers. In addition, using animals as main characters to craft and develop these lessons creates interesting, interactive, and memorable fables. In Mother’s Love Can Conquer Any Fear!, author Subhash Kommuru and illustrator Sujata Kommuru have combined animals, storytelling, and expressive illustrations to successfully share the core values of family, community, and courage with young readers.
The story begins on Anand Nagar, a chicken farm filled with happy chickens, including Shastriji- a wise chicken respected by all the other chickens. Shastriji’s wisdom serves to help the other chickens, whether to settle a disagreement or give advice on the pecking order. One day, the peace within Anand Nagar is disrupted when Kaalia, a vile crow decides that the chickens are too happy for their own good. Kaalia swoops in and begins to disrupt Anand Nagar by rattling the chickens with mischievous antics. The chickens desperately look to Shastriji to eradicate the problem, but all of Shastriji’s efforts fail. The chickens are preoccupied by Kaalia’s continued terrorization of the farm until one day, Ganga hatches 3 little chicks, who become the center of attention on the farm. Hateful and jealous, Kaalia comes to steal one of the chicks and quickly learns a lesson about a mother’s determination and courage.
Mother’s Love Can Conquer Any Fear! is an entertaining fable about the resolve of a community and the infinite extent of a mother’s love. Though the chickens relied on Shastriji for wisdom and guidance, Kommuru’s story teaches how the success of a community depends on more than just one leader, it takes the participation of all members and sometimes, a hero can emerge from the crowd. Additionally, this fable demonstrates to children that though the village was afraid of Kaalia’s wrath, that fear was conquered by the strength of a mother’s love, which is a powerful and comforting message. These important lessons, accompanied by vivid illustrations of adorable chickens, make Mother’s Love Can Conquer Any Fear! a delightful fable to share with readers of all ages.
Add this book to your collection: Mother’s Love Can Conquer Any Fear!
About the Author and Illustrator
Subhash and Sujata hail from India. They migrated to the United States along with their memories of childhood and youth. Now that they are parents, just like every immigrant they crave to introduce their child to the culture and values of their upbringing. Yet it is challenging to teach something while you are in the midst of adjusting to a different culture yourself. Subhash and Sujata both work in different disciplines and have different styles and backgrounds, but it is the upbringing of their son that brings them on the same page. That exact place where they meet is captured and reflected in their stories, where Subhash can express in words, and Sujata can illustrate them beautifully. Where he puts it in black and white, she adds color to it. You get the idea! These stories are their attempt to share a glimpse of their childhood days with their son. He is their inspiration to write short stories that have meaning to them and provide teaching in some shape or form.
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