Rama and the Demon King: An Ancient Tale from India
Kindergarten-Grade 3.  The tale of Prince Rama is both complex (filling 24,000 couplets in the Ramayana) and simple (good triumphs over evil). Souhami preserves the central ingredients: the characters and the plot outline. At the request of his jealous stepmother, Rama is exiled by his father, the king, for 14 years. His wife, Sita, and his brother, Lakshman, accompany him on his demon-killing adventures in the forest. They live happily until Ravana, the 10-headed demon king, employs a ruse to steal Sita. Hanuman, the monkey leader, and his monkey army help rescue her and the prince kills Ravana. Rama becomes king, forgiving his stepmother, and all ends well. The illustrations, clear, flat blocks of color against a white background, look like tissue-paper cutouts. Indian artistic conventions (profile heads and lower bodies, straight-on torsos) and decorative motifs add an exotic flavor. Sherbet-bright tints and a lively, uncluttered layout increase the appeal of this ancient but engaging tale.?Patricia Lothrop-Green, St. George's School, Newport, RICopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.