Stunningly illustrated in Bhajju Shyam’s trademark Gond Art style, this book narrates the story of Musa, a young tribal boy, who leaves home for the forest one morning, little knowing that this will be the day when he’s pushed to face his fears.

When his mother falls sick, Musa offers to collect the firewood for the day. He sets off humming a tune, with a spring in his step. As he goes about his work of trying to find the right twigs, Musa hears a series of loud sounds and is terrified. Does he run away or stay put?

As is mentioned in the book, Gond Art originates from central India from “a community of highly visual people, who were traditionally forest dwellers. Their art derives from the decorative patterns painted on the mud floors and walls of their houses—it has now developed into a highly evolved aesthetic, capable of telling complex tales.”

The shift from the light outside the forest, to the dark within is subtly indicated by a changing colour palette in Alone in the Forest. The illustrations also do a masterful job of capturing Musa’s mindscape: frantic, vivid, and anxious, before turning contemplative. The element of circularity in the illustrations, the framing of the text boxes, serve to underscore the plot, and echo the idea of Musa’s journey coming full circle. The typography adds to the atmospherics, culminating in a work that will stand out on any book shelf.

Alone in the Forest
Written by Gita Wolf, Andrea Anastasio
Illustrated by Bhajju Shyam
ISBN: 9788192317151
Published by Tara Books

Find a copy at a library here

Karthika Gopalakrishnan is the Head of Reading at Neev Academy, Bangalore, and the Director of the Neev Literature Festival. In the past, she has worked as a children’s book writer, editor, and content curator at Multistory Learning which ran a reading program for schools across south India. Prior to this, Karthika was a full-time print journalist with two national dailies. Her Twitter handle is g_karthika.