Animal Tales from India

The Panchatantra is an ancient collection of Sanskrit stories within stories. They are a collection of animal tales that were written to educate princes in the art of being a prince! The stories entertain and provide practical life lessons that encompass not only ethics and morals but also judicious decision-making.

This book contains only a small selection (actually ten) of stories. These tales have been rewritten to exclude some of the more violent aspects of the tales. The female characters have a heightened role: a lapwing bird points out to her husband the folly of building a nest too close to the sea; a jackal stands up for her brother when the animals want to drive him out of the jungle. The stories have been written to directly speak to the reader. While the morals are not explicitly stated at the end of the stories, they are apparent by the end of the story. The stories are written such that they are easy to read, but can also be read aloud.

The illustrations are bright and bold, gracefully spilling over around and into the text. The high-quality pages, foil-inlaid cloth binding, textured cover, and ribbon bookmark make it a perfect gift. Recommended for folklore lovers both young and old.