Review: Friends and other encounters: A Journey to the Palace
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 14, 2013
Anbu Rayappan has an infectious manner of writing.  Each of the characters in this story about the interrelationship between people and animals is given a name - an alliterative name that is just the kind of fun children love when reading a story. Though the story is an adventure, it is fun and entertaining and holds many lessons valuable to children as they learn from reading and observing the superb illustrations.At the dark hour of three o'clock in the morning young Noi creeps out of his house and fetches his favorite pet, a white elephant youngster named little Chiang, to escape the elephant camp: Little Chiang, being a white elephant, is destined to go to the king's palace as are all white elephants. Noi doesn't want to lose his pet so the two set out on an adventure to escape Little Chiang's destiny.On their way through the countryside of Thailand they encounter all manner of friends and foes of the animal kingdom - Bua the wise Water Buffalo, Em the Egret, Tui the Turtle who creates a raft for their ride down the river, Rit the Rhino doing yoga while giving directions, Lamon the Lion and his riddles at the mouth of the cave, Tien the Tiger who eyes Noi as dinner, Lek the Leopard, Som and Sam Squirrel, Penya and Petch Parrot Cong the Cobra, Gingan the Gecko, Burut the Bear, Mani the Monkey and ultimately Karn, a little girl lost in the jungle.  The three finally make their way to a cave, solve the lion's riddles, meet a thief in side the cave, befriend a cub Leopard and resolve to find the palace where the group has decided (with a little sage advice from wise animal friends) to honor the king's wishes to gather all the white elephants for special honors. The story ends happily, lessons learned despite the perils.The flow of the story is smooth, well illustrated, has just the right amount of tension and relief that should make this book a favorite among youngsters.  Grady Harp, March 13