RAMA AND SITA: A Tale from Ancient Java

Acclaimed for his meticulous paeans to 20th-century technology, Weitzman (Superpower: The Making of a Steam Locomotive) here reveals an equal passion for a wholly different field: Javanese shadow puppets. Faithful in their complex details, lavish in their combinations of gold ink and rich colors, Weitzman's ornately rendered shadow puppets are the sole inhabitants of his large-scale illustrations. He frames the text as a puppet show in a Javanese village: "Tell us again the old story, the children ask. Sing for us the Ramayana." With little other explanation ("Each little figure comes alive in fluttering shadows on a white cloth lit by an oil lamp sun"), the epic of Prince Rama unfolds, in tightly condensed form, as nonstop adventure. There's no mention of Divaali, the Hindu festival commemorating the triumphal events of the Ramayana; readers will have to do their own work to create the context for the religious and cultural traditions Weitzman celebrates. The lack of concessions to the audience may be seen as a stumbling block or as a raison d'être. The artistry in the illustrations and in the elegant, airy book design comes close to replicating a primary experience; no intermediary comes between readers and the dalang (storyteller) who brings Hindu literature to life. Children will need some help to enter the story; fortunately, the quality of the presentation should motivate them to ask for it. Ages 9–12. (Feb.)