Elephant Prince: The Story of Ganesh

K-Gr 4 -Novesky retells the less-popular but authentic version of how the Hindu god Ganesh came to have the head of an elephant. Basing her text on the "Brahma Vaivarta Purana", she recounts how the lovely goddess Parvati fell in love with the blue-skinned god, Shiva, and longed to have his child. After a year, a baby is born, but when the gods come to celebrate, Parvati insists that the god Shani look upon her son, forgetting that whatever he looks upon is destroyed. When the baby's head turns to ash, the god Vishnu restores him to life by replacing the head with that of an elephant. Parvati tells the story to the Elephant Prince as he sits on her lap, and the constancy of her love and affection is captured beautifully in both text and illustrations. Wedman's watercolor, gouache, and gold-leaf illustrations have a shimmering loveliness and are replete with charming details. Harish Johari and Vatsala Sperling's "How Ganesh Got His Elephant Head" (Bear Cub, 2003) is based on the other version of this tale, in which Parvati creates Ganesh herself to guard her privacy, and its lengthier narrative is more suited to older readers. "Elephant Prince" is a welcome addition to folklore shelves." -Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ" Copyright 2005 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.