Insightful.... Review on Little Tern, The - Brooke Newman

“What I had known was no longer there and what was before me seemed entirely unknown.”

This, in short is the dilemma faced by the protagonist of this delightful little fable called,''The Little Tern.''It is the tale of a little bird who suddenly, loses his ability to fly. His first instinct is to check for any outward signs of damage. On finding none, he decides that what was broken must be on the inside and this thought leaves him with no hope.

Forced to watch the antics of his feathered friends from the shore, the little tern begins to collect ''tastes, smells, textures, words, dreams & thoughts'' to while away his time. He makes acquaintance with a falling star and visits a little purple flower on the beach, all the while searching for answers to his strange predicament. But not until, he makes friends with a sideways crawling, wisdom spouting ghost crab, does his forcibly grounded existence finally begin to make sense to him. The little tern realizes that everything in life has a purpose and begins to pay attention to the world around him. With a little help from the crab, he ponders on life's seemingly simple uncertainties like:

How you can see distances at one moment and see nothing at the next.

Beauty without light shining on it is....?

Till one fine day an amazing revelation literally gives him wings!

Written by award winning author and playwright Brooke Newman, with subtle yet striking,water-color illustrations by ex-Vogue illustrator and artist Lisa Mann Dirkes, ''The Little Tern''is more than just a story tale for little children. It is, as the cover simply states ''A Story Of Insight.''

This charming fable of a miniscule bird's not-so-miniscule, life-changing attitude doesn't fail to win over the hearts of children and oldies (like me!) alike.

At this point I guess I'll just digress a little and make a confession. I bought this book as a gift for a friend of mine, who had earlier hinted that she would like to own a copy of this book, but couldn't afford it just yet. I shamelessly used my contacts in the book trade, (one of the perks of having worked for a reputed bookstore once upon a time) and managed to acquire a copy for her.

Now, anyone who's seen this book must know how eye-catching the illustrations are! That and the fact that I'm a hopeless book-lover myself, had me going through the book in no time! And trust me I was so impressed with the entire package, right from the lyrical narration to the illustrations and the touching dedication at the end of the book, that I ended up keeping the book for myself or, as I'd like to (sheepishly) think of it,I gifted it to myself!

The point I'm trying to drive home, by narrating my own little story with a moral(which is 'thou shalt not keep gifts for thyself')here is....Go get your copies of this book RIGHT NOW.Even if you're not the kind who reads, (though I doubt you would have reached this point in my review if you weren't!) and the next time you're in search of a meaningful gift for a niece, nephew, wife, lover....anyone, do give this inspirational piece a thought.