Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

Guided by Ganesha

I Dream of Ganesha
by Sonali Zohra

Toronto: Bala Kids, 2024
$18.95 / 9781645472957

Reviewed by Brett Josef Grubisic

*

Young Maya looks a bit downtrodden on the opening page of I Dream of Ganesha. Clutching an elephant stuffie, she drags a blanket with downcast eyes. 

Turns out, she’s had a bad day and is “ready for bed at the end of it.” Happily, in Maya’s dreams she floats and tumbles and flies, surrounded by bright flowers, fern-like trees, and friendly, curious animals.

In Salt Spring Island author and illustrator Sonali Zohra’s soft-spoken but buoyant picture book, sleep is a magical occurrence. There, sights both wondrous and fearsome can be freely visited.  

At the start, Zohra’s accompanying illustrations are warm and whimsical in pastel pinks, blues, and greens. Soon, however, darker tones fill the pages: as a result, formerly exhilarated Maya has begun to feel apprehension. As darkness ascends, she realizes she’s lost and needs a guide.

Maya’s dream (image: courtesy of the author)

With the beguiling, surreal logic of a dream, she’s soon face to face with a radiant “boy with an elephant’s head,” Mushaka-the-mouse close by on a lily pad.

The guardian of the jungly dreamworld, Ganesha answers Maya’s request for guidance. 

Maya meets a boy with an elephant’s head (image: courtesy of the author)

Along they way, the twosome encounter places where Maya’s fears suddenly return—a band of monkeys high in the branches that screech out conflicting advice; Maya slips and falls in a muddy marsh where water gushes; she and Ganesha meet a group of strangers—a tiger among them—in a bamboo grove, and they run into a giant black snake at the entrance of an ominous cave.

(Adults reading this lovely book to kids may sense connections to a quest tradition that ranges from The Odyssey to “Hansel and Gretel” and Alice in Wonderland. I thought of Judy Garland and company on the yellow brick road, Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken,” Borges’ “The Garden of Forking Paths,” and, once or twice, Naked Lunch. Kids, though, may relate the book to tales by Roald Dahl and Daniel Handler, SpongeBob and friends, or else video games like Kirby and the Forgotten Land and Cuphead.)

Less a warrior poised for battle than just really chill, Ganesha—“gentle and wise”—leads the way. Better still, he’s song-prone. “We may face some trials as we go on our way,” he sings, “but we can choose to still have great fun, come what may!” And: “When you are confused and don’t know what’s true, listen to your heart—it will see you through.” He lets Maya know that everyone trips and falls, but that “great things can still happen starting with a roll.” Also: “All beings want to be happy, so treat them with care.”

With songs of peace, calm, and love he helps Maya vanquish her fears and worries, and to understand that fear doesn’t not need to dictate her responses to her environment. 

Author and illustrator Sonali Zohra (photo: courtesy of the author)

Whatever the details of Maya’s “bad day” had been, she awakes with a song in her heart and makes an avowal to have a fun, good day.

Zohra concludes her book with a two-page history of Ganesha, and her Author’s Note describes growing up in South India, where Ganesha, son of Parvati and Shiva, was part of the fabric of everyday life. Considered “the guide to discovering the meaning of life and living it well,” he’s representative of an kind of energy that we can awaken in ourselves. 

Parents themselves may take away useful wisdom from I Dream of Ganesha; for the book’s pre-teen audience, there’s adventure and wonder, and also perspectives that are applicable to any kid’s day—that can include experiences and sights that are challenging or difficult. On those occasions, Ganesha’s messages to Maya about positivity and balance could prove immensely valuable. 




*
Brett Josef Grubisic

My Two-Faced Luck, the fifth novel by Salt Spring Islander Brett Josef Grubisic, published in 2021 with Now or Never Publishing, is reviewed here by Geoffrey Morrison. A previous novel, Oldness; or, the Last-Ditch Efforts of Marcus O (2018), was reviewed by Dustin Cole. [Editorial note: A BCR editor, Brett has recently reviewed books by Carrie Anne Vanderhoop, Trevor Atkins, Lee et al., Kung Jaadee and Kristen Pendreigh, Sam Wiebe, Maureen Young, Daniel Anctil, and Adam Welch for BCR.]

*

The British Columbia Review

Interim Editors, 2023-26: Trevor Marc Hughes (non-fiction), Brett Josef Grubisic (fiction and poetry)
Publisher: Richard Mackie

Formerly The Ormsby Review, The British Columbia Review is an online book review and journal service for BC writers and readers. The Advisory Board now consists of Jean Barman, Wade Davis, Robin Fisher, Barry Gough, Hugh Johnston, Kathy Mezei, Patricia Roy, and Graeme Wynn. Provincial Government Patron (since September 2018): Creative BC. Honorary Patron: Yosef Wosk. Scholarly Patron: SFU Graduate Liberal Studies. The British Columbia Review was founded in 2016 by Richard Mackie and Alan Twigg.

“Only connect.” –E.M. Forster

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Pin It on Pinterest

Share This