TITLE: Cinnamon
AUTHOR: Neil Gaiman (Illustrated by Divya Srinivasan)
GENRES: Picture book, children’s fiction
PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury
PAGES: 40
MY RATING: 4/5
SYNOPSIS (taken from Bloomsbury website)
“In a hot, hot country, ringed with mountains on one side and jungle on the other, lives a princess called Cinnamon. Her eyes are made of pearls, which means that she is blind. And, for reasons her parents the Rajah and Rani cannot fathom, she will not talk. So they offer a reward to anyone who can teach Cinnamon to speak. People travel from far and wide to attempt it, but nothing works. Until a mighty tiger, huge and fierce, prowls into their palace and announces that he is here to teach the girl-cub to talk …”
MY THOUGHTS
My first review of a children’s book and what better to start with than one of Neil Gaiman’s? Accompanied by beautiful illustrations by Divya Srinivasan, Cinnamon tells the story of a blind princess by the same name who does not talk, so her parents offer great rewards to anyone who can coax her into talking. Many try but none succeed until one day a tiger turns up and demands to be given a chance at the task.
Told in a quirky whimsical style with artwork that will make you linger at each page, the story is simple and entertaining. I think it would be ideal for reading aloud during storytime, especially with the multitude of dialogues from a variety characters allowing for the adult reading it to try out different voices. The story conveys some good underlying messages, such as how love still prevails where hurt and fear fail, and should spark some interesting discussion with the older children. And of course, being written by Neil Gaiman, it is not short on witticism which makes it an enjoyable read even for adults.
I’d like to thank Pansing Books for sending me a review copy of Cinnamon.
This book is available at all major bookstores.
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