Ganesha's Sweet Tooth

I really enjoyed, “Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth” for many reasons. First, I really like how the authors of this book elaborated on the real life Hindu legend of the elephant god Ganesha. They made a very sacred story in the Hindu culture tangible to people like me, who don’t know anything about it. Even though, “Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth” is only loosely based on the classic legend, it is still a very entertaining book that made me more curious about Hindu mythology. Secondly, I really like how the illustrations in the book depict India. With all the many colors and vivid details depicting the god Ganesha and the poet Vyasa, both real characters in Hindi mythology, I felt as though India was leaping off of the pages. Lastly, I really show more enjoyed the story itself. Ganesha is a god who loves laddoo’s (candy) and comes across, “the super jumbo jawbreaker laddoo.” Right as he is about to bite into it his friend, Mr. Mouse, warns him not to eat it because it will break his tusk. Ganesha replies to him by saying, “But I’m a god, I’m invincible” and proceeds to bite into the jawbreaker and break his tusk. Ganesha tries every way possible to put his tusk back on, but nothing works, so he throws his tusk at the moon. However, his tusk doesn’t hit the moon but the head of an old man walking by. The old man introduces himself to Ganesha as the poet Vyasa and tells the elephant he has been searching for him. Vyasa also tells Ganesha that he needs a special scribe for a very long poem he is writing because all other pens in the world would break before it was done. Ganesha and Vyasa strike up a deal for Ganesha to be his scribe. Vyasa has to tell the story in one sitting and Ganesha cannot stop writing. However, this can only be possible if Ganesha understands the meaning of everything Vyasa says, so he has to pay very close attention. Ganesha agrees to be the special scribe for Vyasa and uses his broken tusk as his pen. They work together and eventually produce the great epic of Hindu literature, the Mahabharata. The central meaning of, “Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth” is collaboration and humility. In the beginning of the story Ganesha does not listen to Mr. Mouse and as a result breaks his tusk. Ganesha is a very prideful elephant who believes that just because he is a god, nothing bad can happen to him. This of course is not true and conveys the message to readers that no matter how great you think you are, you are always capable of making mistakes. Secondly, “Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth” teaches the importance of people working together, because collaboration produces great things. The Mahabharata could not have been written if Ganesha did not have his tusk and Vyasa did not have his story. Their collaboration made the Hindu classic possible. This is the same in life. Sometimes, it takes more than one set of hands to make something great happen, and that is okay. show less

Co-authors Sanjay Patel and Emily Haynes tell the story of the Hindu god Ganesha and how he came to be the scribe who recorded the ancient epic, The Mahabharata, in this charming picture-book. A great lover of all things sweet, the elephant-headed god eventually breaks one of his tusks on a super-jumbo jawbreaker laddoo. Distressed at this occurrence, Ganesha is not to be consoled, even by his friend and steed, Mr. Mouse. But when he attempts to throw his tusk at the moon and strikes the poet Vyasa instead, he finds himself using his broken appendage to record one of the great works of ancient Hindu literature...

Pairing an entertaining and humorous text from Patel and Haynes with gorgeous, eye-popping illustrations from Patel, Ganesha's show more Sweet Tooth was a distinct pleasure to read and peruse. Although interested in folklore and mythology from all parts of the world, somehow I haven't seemed to have read many works with a Hindu background. This one was all the more engaging for me, being unknown, and made me want to read more about the subject, and perhaps track down a children's version The Mahabharata. I appreciated the fact that the authors describe in their afterword how they changed the story, in this retelling. Recommended to all young folklore and mythology lovers, and to anyone looking for children's stories with an Indian cultural and Hindu religious background. show less

Ganesha's Sweet Tooth is a traditional literature picture book about the mythical God, Ganesha. This book shows students to embrace their differences and learn to love them. We see Ganesha find a special purpose in his tooth even after he has broken it. The illustrations, by Emily Haynes, enhance and extend the text, but they also do much more than just enhance the text. The illustrations allow students to take different interpretations from the illustrations. The combination of the text and illustrations together make this book meaningful, fun, and full of life. It is a great book to read to students in the classroom.

I love all the little details in this book. It was so fun to read and learn a little about a classic tale.

An interesting twist on the story of how Ganesha broke his tusk to write the Mahabharata. It's sweet and funny and the colors are spectacular. Sanjay Patel is a pixar artist and you can definitely see it. The colors are vibrant and the illustrations add to the humor and sweetness of the story.

An interesting twist on the story of how Ganesha broke his tusk to write the Mahabharata. It's sweet and funny and the colors are spectacular. Sanjay Patel is a pixar artist and you can definitely see it. The colors are vibrant and the illustrations add to the humor and sweetness of the story.

An interesting twist on the story of how Ganesha broke his tusk to write the Mahabharata. It's sweet and funny and the colors are spectacular. Sanjay Patel is a pixar artist and you can definitely see it. The colors are vibrant and the illustrations add to the humor and sweetness of the story.