Revenge of the Puppets

K-Gr 3—Marionettes Jhmuri, Veer, and Kalia delight audiences with their graceful swordplay and enchanting dancing. When their puppeteers decide the time has come for new puppets, however, the three (plus the marionette horse Dagdu) must take control of their own destiny in order to continue doing what they love. To do so, they must come to life and find inventive ways to thwart the would-be usurpers. Though the story combines magical elements with Kathputli, the popular string puppet theater from Rajasthan, India, the narrative feels somewhat thin and hurried in places. Rajvanshi's mixed-media, cartoon-influenced digital illustrations work with the text to showcase the vibrancy of Kathputli; those spreads featuring warm color palettes, especially emphasizing pink, gold, red, yellow, and green, shine most brightly. Depth of field is frequently employed to create visual perspective, but when done using muted tones, especially grays, browns, and purples, the effect comes off as slightly muddy or disorienting. Kindergarten through third grade readers interested in Kathputli, puppets, or Indian culture may enjoy the story nonetheless, though the lack of back matter with information about Kathputli, puppetry in India, or even a character name pronunciation guide makes this a less useful title for public and school library collections.—Ted McCoy, Springfield City Library, MA