Farmer Falgu Goes on a Trip

An Indian man seeks respite from the noisiness of his farm in this series opener from newcomers Soundar and Nair. Fed up with the quacking, clucking, and mooing of his animals, Farmer Falgu hitches his bulls to a cart and “set off on a trip to find silence.” As he travels, he picks up various hitchhikers, including an old man with a drum and a dance troupe, who make for a crowded and not-exactly-quiet cart (“Tap-tap-tap the dancers tapped their feet. Phee-phee played the snake charmer on his pungi. Dum-dum went the drums”). Nair captures the growing cacophony in exuberant digital illustrations colored in bold jewel tones and outlined in rough strokes of brown. Farmer Falgu winds up singing along with his temporary guests, and after he finally gets the silence he’s after, he comes to a striking revelation: “My farm is not noisy. It is happy!” Enlarged, color-coded type helps emphasizes the onomatopoeia that fills a buoyant cumulative story that, in addition to being just plain fun, may leave readers curious to learn more about the rural Indian setting. Ages 3–8. (Sept.)