Excuses Excuses

White Ravens 2013 Award Winner.

"Youngsters will delight in Neel’s fantastic excuses... The illustrations, a collage of tinted photographs and art, provide an appropriately surreal backdrop" -Kirkus Reviews

"Art and text – intertwined with balanced whimsy – imbue Neel’s tall tales with colorful energy and unlimited creativity." - BookDragon, Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program

Who doesn’t know a child who is always ready with an implausible excuse when caught out by an indignant adult? Excuses Excuses builds on this universal experience using an Indian setting. Young Neel is the boy next door who can’t help getting into trouble, and yet he is endearing in his explanations. He has one for every day of the week and for every kind of adult — it seems that he may never run out of them! Wildly funny and imaginative, this narrative in nonsense verse is fast-paced and keeps young readers guessing. Unusual and dramatic art that captures the improbable colors of India adds zest to a story that all children would want to be a part of.

US Grade Level Equivalent: 2
US Guided Reading Level: M

Anushka Ravishankar, a mathematics graduate, has made a name for herself internationally as an Indian children’s nonsense verse writer, with more than 12 books including Elephants Never Forget, Tiger on a Tree, and To Market! To Market! Born on Réunion Island in 1971, Gabrielle Manglou is a young artist who graduated from Beaux-Arts de Montpellier and Marseille in France. Poetical and playful, heavy and light, Gabrielle’s work invites you into a fantastical world colored with eventful images. She describes her work as 'taking a drawing back to its original form.' Her aim is to create a magical world where humans, animals and plants can communicate and co-exist in harmony.