Gandhi

Author-illustrator Demi has created a simple, straightforward, and reverent biography of India's "great soul." So simple and factual, indeed, that it might be a rather ordinary book, except for Demi's memorable, color-saturated, very Indian illustrations. We follow Gandhi from his hard, lonely education and apprenticeship in England and South Africa through the nationwide strike he led after the Amritsar massacre, to Independence and his eventual assassination. No major milestone in his life is left out, and each is dealt with in a short paragraph (typically 50 words), on its own page with accompanying illustration; 8 or 9 of these may want more substance. In between, however, this is an excellent introduction to the subcontinent's most famous son. (Ages 5 to 10) --Richard Farr