A delightful collection of stories featuring Prince Jeera and his best friend/best advisor Suka teaching everyone from greedy moneylenders to spiteful royal granduncles a lesson in being fair, being honest and being decent human beings. ( )

I am fascinated by Indian culture so I was delighted to see this offered on NetGalley. Nothing is more helpful to learn about other cultures than fables meant to teach children. You get a simple understanding of complex ideas, plus there are beautiful illustrations and fun characters. The themes addressed in this book are great lessons for readers of all ages and would make a great read aloud for any classroom or bedtime. I look forward to adding this book to my personal collection.

I will be ordering this book from our local independent bookstore and I am hoping they’ll allow me to host a reading of the book with some Indian sweets. ( )

Prince Veera and his best friend Suku, the son of farmers who had won a scholarship to study with the prince in the palace, attend to a number of puzzling disputes in this delightful collection of stories from Chitra Soundar. Here we find:

Prince Veera's First Case, in which the prince, filling in when his father is ill, settles a disagreement between a sweet-maker who wants to charge for the smell of his goods and a poor man who enjoyed that smell.

Who Stole the Laddus?, in which Veera finds a clever way to determine the guilty party, using the thief's own consciousness of his transgression against him.

The Case of the Greedy Moneylender, in which Veera outwits and shames a harsh and dishonest miser, by first pretending that his borrowed pots have reproduced, and then claiming that they have died.

In The Unfortunate Case Veera convinces his own father, King Bheema, that misfortune cannot be spread through bad luck, but can be inflicted through harsh punishment.

All's Well With Mango Pickles sees Veera and Suku discovering something about pickles from Suku's mother, and using that knowledge to settle a dispute between neighbors, regarding the valuables one left in the other's care.

Freezing Lakes and Missing Crows, in which Veera's great-uncle, Raja Apoorva, visits the kingdom and thinks to school his nephew and great-nephew on how to hear cases. He is instead taught a lesson, not once but twice, by Veera and Suku.

What's Fair?, in which Veera and Suku discover that one of King Bheema's guards is extorting bribes from the citizens, if they want to access the royal court.

And finally, Gray Elephants and Five Fools, which sees the two boys coming to the aid of Suku's washerwoman aunt, when her neighbor plots against her.

Originally published as two separate volumes in the UK - A Dollop of Ghee and a Pot of Wisdom and A Jar of Pickles and a Pinch of Justice - and then as one combined book in the USA, Mangoes, Mischief, and Tales of Friendship: Stories from India is an immensely engaging work. The stories are engrossing, and the accompanying artwork from Uma Krishnaswamy is appealing. Quite a few of the stories here seem to be based upon folktales - the first one, in which symbolic payment is extracted for the enjoyment of an odor, is quite widespread, worldwide - although Soundar has made them her own, and woven them together into one whole. Recommended to middle-grade reader who enjoy folktales, or to anyone seeking children's books with an Indian cultural background. ( )

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This was such a fun and colorful book. So glad I was given the opportunity to read it ( )

This collection of intertwined folktales has a classic feel and will appeal to folk and fairy tale fans.

Prince Veera and his best friend, Suku, discover it's not so easy to be a ruler when they get the opportunity to preside over Veera's father's court. They solve eight different cases, involving both traditional and original stories, from a man who wants to charge his neighbor for smelling his wares to a man who is prosecuted for spreading bad luck.

Black and white illustrations, some showing people in traditional occupations and others showing traditional motifs of birds, fruit, and other items, are scattered throughout the book.

Originally published in the UK in 2010 as separate books, this collected volume is an engaging read for middle graders who enjoy folktales. Unfortunately, that's really a very small number of kids. As a voracious reader of folk and fairy tales myself, both as a child and adult, I recognized several general plots and the story overall had a classic, traditional feel to it. There are few if any women mentioned, no sources for the original tales, and only a few contextual clues for the culture represented, as well as no time period given.

If the creators were hoping to bring Indian culture and traditions to a new, contemporary generation, more information would have been useful, as well as considering more modern sensibilities; while the gap between impoverished Suku's family and Prince Veera's wealth is mentioned, it's quickly brushed aside. The fairy tale king, wise, just, and all-knowing, is a little updated with Prince Veera sometimes coaxing his father into a different mindset, but there's still no doubting the greatness of a feudal society.

Verdict: Families that enjoy more traditional folktales or those who are already familiar with Indian culture and history may find this enjoyable, but it will have a very limited audience for the average public library.

ISBN: 9781536200676; Published December 2018 by Candlewick; ARC provided by publisher