The first thing that one notices about these seven illustrated books, all from Karadi Tales, are their high production value. They are good to hold with large, captivating illustrations and interesting titles. The genres vary from contemporary realistic fiction to fantasy and folklore. Dorje’s Stripes is a moving story about a Royal Bengal tiger who has no stripes—only two dark spots on his forehead. The reader’s curiosity is piqued instantly. Why is Dorje without any stripes? How come he lives in a Tibetan monastery and not in the jungle? Why aren’t the boy monks afraid of him? The story unfolds as the boy monks discover a new black stripe on Dorje’s back and ask Master Wu about it. We learn that every time a tiger dies, Dorje loses a stripe (echoes of Peter Pan magic!). What is the meaning of his new stripe? The desperate state of the endangered tiger is not new to the adult reader, perhaps it will not be new to the child reader either, but as Master Wu narrates Dorje’s story, one feels compelled to shake off one’s apathy and look at the issue again with fresh eyes. Balancing cruel reality with elements of fantasy, Dorje’s Stripes effectively transports the reader to the world of this fiery, regal animal. The bold, beautiful illustrations that fill the pages in fierce orange hues, capturing the tiger in its various moods, are memorable to say the least. And though the story of tiger conservation in India is rather depressing, the book ends on a hopeful note. Suitable for 6 . What do you do when the people you love do something that you believe is wrong? Worse still, what do you do when you discover that it is also illegal? Altaf’s family members train bears to dance. They are descendants of the Qalandars, an ancient gypsy tribe, who were royal entertainers in the Mughal era. Altaf is proud of his ancestry and cannot wait to start training Somu, the bear his father gifts him for his twelfth birthday. But it is only when he enters the profession and understands how to get the bear dancing that his eyes are opened to the truth. He is unable to reconcile himself with the cruelty that is part and parcel of the profession. Dancing Bear is about a boy who questions the wrongs done by ...