Strangus Derangus (Book #1), In the Bear’s Den (Book #2) & Adventures of Little Shambu by Reena Ittyerah Puri, Savio Mascarenhas (Illustrator)

Strangus Derangus and In the Bear’s Den & Other Adventures of Little Shambu are fun, cute, and lovely illustrated children’s story of the adventures of an Indian boy and his love for animals.

Disclaimer- I received review copies from the publisher.
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Synopsis

What would you say of a boy who loves rushing headlong into trouble?

That’s what Little Shambu does with his dog, the loyal Dum Dum, in tow. But as his best friend, Shanti, would tell you, it always leads him into exciting adventures involving lost cats, mysterious carrot thieves, a strange and exotic creature and stolen pandas.

Escape into the fantastic world of Little Shambu with these brand-new adventures of the beloved character from TINKLE.

Review

Strangus Derangus & Other Adventures of Little Shambu is fun and cute children’s book. I didn’t know when I received the book that this was turned into  6-in-1 chapter book format from a comic book. I loved this format and so did my four years old daughter.

It was fun to meet Little Shambu and his dog Dum Dum. How he met Shanti and became best friends with her was covered in first story. It isn’t a continuous story, there is a different adventure in each chapter that makes it a collection of Shambu’s adventures but they are written in order so the first chapter/story sets a base for the rest of the book and also the next books in series.

I loved all the characters. Shambu and his family are South Indians, so there sure is more mention of South Indian food that made me and my kid hungry as we love Dosa and Idli. Shambu is my most favorite. He is kind and lovely who loves all animals. He is a normal boy who isn’t very mischievous but definitely finds himself in some kind of adventure every time. Each adventure includes different animals and we see Shambu helping and rescuing them.

As mentioned in the synopsis, the adventure includes finding a lost cat, finding the carrot thief, rescuing a rat from Rat Exterminator (my kid had fun trying to pronounce Exterminator.), setting up an exhibition of exotic animals to earn money for ice creams (this one is the title of the book, Strangus Derangus that my kid loves this the most and it’s also a reason this book is her favorite and she wants to read this one every day now. It’s also a good change for me as she made me read Cinderella every single day), rescuing a garden snake that helped in keeping the class bully away, and rescuing a stolen panda (that tackles the issue of animal rights).

What I loved most is each animal has a name that kids would love and we also have thoughts of the animals in the stories which sure will make it fun for kids. Other characters in the book are fun as well. Illustrations are another best part, they give the stories life and my kid loved pointing out who was who in the pictures and what they were doing.

Did I mention writing is easy for kids? My kid could read many sentences on her own, it’s all different matter she couldn’t understand everything but if my four-year-old can read and enjoy the stories I’m sure kids of age 6 or more will adore this book.

Book Links

Goodreads | Amazon.in | Amazon.com

Synopsis

What would you say of a boy who continues to find himself in sticky situations?

That’s what Little Shambu does with his dog, the loyal Dum Dum, in tow. But as his best friend, Shanti, would tell you, it always leads him into exciting adventures involving grouchy bears, rattling cattle, slouchy snakes and runaway elephants.

Escape into the fantastic world of Little Shambu with these brand-new adventures of the beloved character from TINKLE.

Review

In the Bear’s Den & More Adventures of Little Shambu is as fun and cute as the first book. Writing is easy for kids. Illustrations perfectly give life to each story. Shambu and Shanti are just amazing.

This time Shambu find himself rescuing his dog Dum Dum and finding a lost tiger cub, helping the bear cub and his mama to be free from their master (that tackles the issue of animal rights), saving his baby cousin from a rattlesnake (this too shows how taking animals away from their natural habitat could disturb them), saving Shanti’s cat’s friend from JJ-the class bully, finding a lost baby elephant of the temple (this shows how animal dislikes being kept in one place and fed same food), and rescuing a snake and also a frog.

We see more of the Class bully, JJ in this book. Shambu’s fear and uneasiness around him is realistic and relatable and I loved how without even being bad or complaining he could save himself from JJ and also could teach him a lesson. Mama and Papa Shambu are amazing in this book and I also enjoyed meeting relatives of the Shambu family.

It was great to see an Indian farm in one of the stories and one story takes place in Kerala that includes small facts about the place like how the people of Kerala dress, and how kids go to school in a canoe.

Once again it was fun and interesting to read animals’ thoughts and reading Shambu’s love and kindness towards animals. My kid enjoyed all the stories. She hasn’t found any favorite yet as she is still stuck on the first book that she is making me read again and again but I’m sure she will find a favorite from this one too, eventually.

Overall, both Strangus Derangus and In the Bear’s Den are fun, cute, and lovely illustrated children’s stories of the adventures of an Indian boy and his love for animals.

Book Links

Goodreads | Amazon.in | Amazon.com

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Just in case you missed,,,,

The Daydreams by Laura Hankin –  Book Review
The Grabber by Nirmal Pulickal and Jehan Zachary – Book Review

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#StrangusDerangus and #IntheBearsDen & Other #AdventuresofLittleShambu are fun, cute, and lovely illustrated Indian children’s books ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Many thanks @PenguinIndia for review copy. @PuffinIndia

Read Full #bookreview ⬇️https://t.co/YwgQrM5fQP

— Books Teacup and Reviews (@BooksTnReview) May 23, 2023

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