The Road to Mumbai

A little girl named Shoba and her stuffed monkey, Fuzzy Patel, ride her flying bed to India to attend Fuzzy's cousin's monkey wedding in Mumbai (Bombay). They land far from their destination, and ask directions from Ismael the camel, a slithering snake with an artistic temperment and a sensitive stomach, a bunch of monks with shaved heads, a snake charmer, a line of elephants, and a purveyor of coconut juice. Although everyone accompanies them on their journey as guides, Fuzzy Patel invites no one to the wedding. According to loftily snobbish Fuzzy, it would be most improper if common riffraff showed up, expecting to be invited. He tells an elephant, In case you were wondering, this wedding will be quite dull--no singing, no dancing, and the portions of food will be far too small for an elephant to enjoy. Jeyaveeran includes a simple map tracing their adventure through India and an illustrated glossary. Colorful gouache folk-art paintings accompany the text. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.