Are your children noisy? Loud? Just love to make a racket all day long? Well, technically that’s all children isn’t it. But BOY do I have the books for you dear reader. Grab a cuppa and make yourself comfortable as I share with you a pair of exciting children’s books. (Recently named in the TES top 50 books on diversity to use in a school classroom!) That were made for your little noise makers.
Aimed at 3+ let me introduce, Farmer Falgu Goes On a Trip and Farmer Falgu Goes To The Market written by Chitra Soundar and illustrated by Kanika Nair. Sent to me by the lovely people at Boolino and published by Red Robin Books, these books make the start of a series in introducing a flavour of rural India to children. How awesome is that? Children always need more exposure to different Countries and cultures to help them realise how gorgeously diverse the world is. So they can see that the world is a big place just waiting for them to go off on an adventure and explore it’s breathtaking and exotic lands.
Farmer Falgu Goes On A Trip
Every mother can relate to wanting just five minute’s peace and a hot cup of tea. It becomes gold dust once you have children, there is no peace, no quiet, just loud clanging noises all day everyday. It.Never.Stops.Never! So it was a joy to find a friend in Farmer Falgu who felt the same with his farm.
Farmer Falgu longs for the peaceful sound of silence and sets off from his farm to find it. Along the way he meets some lively musical characters and his quest for silence seems lost.Will he ever find it?
I love how the story flows while incorporating sounds and rhythm. My son is such a happy but LOUD toddler and so he really enjoyed making noises with each new character we met. He especially loved doing the Dum-Dum bit every time the old man played the drum. I can still hear him now in the other room playing his toy drum going “DUM-DUM! DUM-DUM!”
The repetition used is perfect for children as it helps them remember what is happening in the story. If your child is anything like mine, they tend to get distracted and lose focus easily. But this use of repetition helps bring them back to what is happening and get them involved again in the story.
Nair’s illustrations are like nothing my son and I have seen before in a children’s picture book. You often get bright garish colours that make your eyes pop and give you a bit of a migraine. But Nair’s natural and warm tones bring rural India right to your doorstep. It’s pleasing to the eye and draws in inquisitive young readers to that part of the world. I’m not surprised that it was shortlisted for the 2016 Hindu Young World-Goodbooks award.
I asked my son what he made of the story and he yelled “Again! Again!” He loves the cows and asked why they had red dots on their forehead. When I told him what they were he was fascinated and wanted to learn more about a different culture. 
His curiosity and willingness to learn about the world will always enthrall me and make me beam with pride. It’s books like this that are a keeper and show our children that there’s so much to learn and discover in the world.
“In addition to being just plain fun, it may leave readers curious to learn more about the rural Indian setting.”
Publishers Weekly
Farmer Falgu Goes On A Trip made me realise that sometimes what we are searching for is right under our noses. Farmer Falgu finally finds the peace and quiet he needs but the moment he does, he starts thinking about his farm. How it’s noisy because it’s happy and that makes him happy. It made me see that maybe the loud booming sounds my children make aren’t such a bad thing. Because when I think about it, I hate it when everything goes silent. The soundtrack to my life is my children’s laughter, their chatter and their extremely high-pitched animal noises. It’s bliss and reminds me that life is noisy, so enjoy it and dance to it’s rhythm with your little monsters.
Farmer Falgu Goes To The Market
The second in the series does not disappoint. We have all had bad days where everything goes wrong the second we wake up. Late to work, miss the bus, forget your lunch, things spiral and go from bad to a complete nightmare in a matter of mere seconds. However Farmer Falgu has a nifty little trick that I wish I had thought of sooner to help in such a situation.
Farmer Falgu is on his way to market when suddenly disaster strikes at every turn. Will his stock survive and arrive at market intact? Will Farmer Falgu be able to save anything?
Farmer Falgu makes a positive out of a negative situation which is a great lesson for children to learn. If something doesn’t go to plan, then flip it and make it happen. Don’t give up and keep trying. Teaching and encouraging our children to keep going and achieve their dreams is so important. It helps them assert themselves and to never accept anything less. We know as their parents they are worth so much more and we want THEM to see it. To know it without arrogance, just assertive confidence.
Similar to the first book, the story flows together and has a little rhythm to it with the repetition. I like this style in children’s books as it’s consistent and really helps with children’s learning. You feel yourself getting into a little groove as you read along together and feel involved in the action that is taking place on the page.
Towards the end I found myself dribbling like a bulldog wanting a taste of omelette. My senses were heightened with the description of the smells and flavours happening on the page. So me and my son decided to make one for lunch and repeat the story as we went. Slicing the onions, dicing the tomatoes and cracking the eggs. Saying each action as we did them like the story. It’s a simple but effective way for children to get involved and remind them that learning can be fun and exciting, not to mention tasty. Oh-so-tasty…..
Again, no wonder this second in the series has been named in the TES top 50 books on diversity to have in the school classroom. It shows young readers a taste of what life is like in rural India. A real sense of community and helping each other out was very much present in both books, which is always a good message (in my book, bad pun I know!) to tell children.
“This story is a triumph of an accident. It’s catastrophic, clever and really quite heart-warming.”
Good Books
Soundar and Nair dance perfectly together without a single step out of time. They compliment and enhance each other’s contributions to these books. Soundars words bring Nair’s work to life and vice-versa. They are truly a perfect match and I look forward to seeing/reading more of their work in the future.
Both stories are ideal for an afternoon read. It allows your little one to make noise and burn off some energy while you get to put your feet up (for a few seconds) and finally enjoy that hot cuppa you have much deserved.
I give both Farmer Falgu books a five out of five paw rating.
They are educational, fun and packed with rhythms that will get you and little ones fully involved. I look forward to reading more in the series! Check them out on the links below!
Grab a copy here for only £5.99! and introduce your little ones to a whole new exciting world. http://www.boolino.co.uk/kids-childrens-books/farmer-falgu-goes-trip/
And of course don’t forget,
for also only £5.99! http://www.boolino.co.uk/kids-childrens-books/farmer-falgu-goes-market/
Big thank you to Boolino who gave me this opportunity. Always much appreciated. If you want to discover something new and wonderful to add to your bookshelf, then check these guys out here. I promise you, you won’t be disappointed.
And of course a huge thank-you to the wonderful people at Red Robin Books. Check them out on the link below. You and child’s next adventure is awaiting you!
For more information about Chitra Soundar: http://www.chitrasoundar.com
And also check out Kanika Nair here : http://nairkanika.blogspot.co.uk
Hop hop wiggle wiggle.
Bunny’s Pause 
Wonderful review Bunny. Thank you so much! Rocky Robin at Red Robin Books
No problem, they were a joy to read. 😊