Book Review : At Least A Fish

'At Least a Fish is one of the six shortlisted books under Children's section

Title : Atleast a Fish

Author : Anushka Ravishankar

Publisher : Scholastic

ISBN : 9788184774610

'Atleat a Fish' is first of the Ana and Zian series by Anushka Ravishankar. Ana (Ananya Bopanna)desperately wants a pet dog and follows the 'Young Readers' section of the newspaper for the information on homeless pups for adoption. But to her dismay she gets three fish instead of one adorable pup who could have been 'her faithful friend for life'. So she decides to bring a little pizzazz in the proceedings by christening her three fish as - Aristotle, Plato and Socrates. She has her best friend Zian in tow for all sorts of adventures that they undertake together.

After observing the fish very closely, Ana and Zian come to a unanimous decision that just a marble sized food cannot be enough for the fish. So in order to save them from starving to death Ana and Zian decide to take the matters in their own hands and serve the fish a variety of food perhaps spinach or coriander since seaweeds are inaccessible and the fish look pretty dumb to understand the subtlety of variation in their staple diet.

The adventures definitely do not end here, infact this is just the beginning. They land right into many hilarious situations while dealing with nosy twins, annoyed mother, mysterious dragon in the pool and Dr. Nirmala Joshi worrying about finding a suitable owner for her adorable pup Buddhu - 'a dog like no other !'

Each of the characters is amazingly etched and can qualify to be the main protagonist of the story - whether it is Zain who feels pained when Ana uses difficult words like 'ridiculous' etc, the twins Meena and Beena, Ana's mother, Zian's sister, famed tragedy queen of P.K. Medical College Dr. Joshi or even Buddhu - who thinks he is a fish!

Are Ana and Buddhu destined to be together? Can Zian survive his sister's awful perfume and Beena the mysterious dragon of the swimming pool? You are sure to get the answers to these questions and much more in this book.

Anushka Ravishankar is one author who exactly knows the ramblings of childhood minds especially the ones like Ana and Zain and more so when they are left to themselves. In their own world, the fantasy, imagination and reality are not distinctly separate as in the adult world and this free spirited narrative makes this book so special. Anushka Ravishankar has created a hilarious and delightful book which will have many young readers hooked on to it. The wacky illustrations by Shilo Shiv Suleman accentuate the overall impact of the story.

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Award brings together the entire literary community – readers, authors, booksellers & publishers – like no other awards.

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The Vodafone Crossword Book Award is one of the most prestigious and popular literary prizes in India that not only recognizes and rewards the best of Indian writing but also actively promotes the authors and their books.

The Vodafone Crossword Book Awards are given out in the following categories:

1. Vodafone Crossword Fiction Award.

2. Vodafone Crossword Non-Fiction Award.

3. Vodafone Crossword Translation Award.

4. Vodafone Crossword Children’s Award.

5. Vodafone Crossword Popular Award.

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