Oh wow. I really loved this collection of tall tales. Much too quick of a read. And learning a bit about northern India was a treat. I'm putting the sequel on my priority wishlist.

Re-read for the Children's Books Sept 2012 and still loving it. Love the baby, determined to eat up an entire shirt of Younguncle's. Love the chance to learn about the traditional culture (packed buses, heavy parental involvement in marriages, ghosts) and some more modern issues (nature reserves, attempts to clean up corruption). Really wish the sequel would be released in the US. ( )

Younguncle is India's "Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle." Younguncle has come to town to visit his brother, sister-in-law and their kids. He is a well-traveled free spirit with few responsibilities but many interesting stories. He is able to cleverly solve problems in the village such as recovering a stolen cow and saving his sister from an arranged marriage she doesn't want. Charming and perfect for a readaloud.

From the shirt-eating baby to the paneer-eating tiger - not to mention the eponymous hero - the characters in Vandana Singh's debut children's book are endearingly idiosyncratic, humorously entertaining, and altogether charming. This all-too-brief chapter-book chronicles some of the adventures of Younguncle - a sweet-tempered, open-minded young man, with a horror of being tied down, either to career or wife - who comes to live with his elder brother's family, and quickly becomes the favorite companion of his nephew and two nieces. Whether he's rescuing the local dairyman's cow or recovering his great-uncle's stolen horse, Younguncle always seems to know just what to do, resolving crisis after crisis in clever and amusing ways. He even finds a way to extricate his little sister from her engagement to an unexpectedly boorish young man! As Sarita, Ravi and the baby discover, once Youngucle comes to town, nothing is ever the same again...

Chosen as our September selection in The International Children's Book Club to which I belong, where we try to read a children's book from a different country each month, Younguncle Comes to Town was originally published in India, by New Delhi-based Zubaan Books. How fortunate that Viking picked it up for publication in the states, as now American children will also have the opportunity to read it! Not only is it a lighthearted introduction to life in northern India - the monsoon rains, the periodic invasion of the local monkey population, the crowded bus-rides - it is just a fun-filled, warmhearted, entertaining romp of a book, in its own right. I found myself laughing out loud on more than one occasion while reading it. Younguncle's admonition to his sister that they are not living in a silly Bollywood film, his reflection that a particularly ostentatious pink mansion must be the product of a "disturbed mind," his sister-in-law's habit of Speaking in Capitals - they all had me chuckling! The depiction of the baby's ongoing crusade to find a shirt of Younguncle's to eat was the best of all, though, and had me in stitches:

"Although the heat had adversely affected the enterprise and energy levels of the two older children, the baby was just as usual. She spent her spare time crawling about the house, pulling herself up along a sofa or chair, waiting for Younguncle to relax his guard. The baby's chief ambition in life was to find and consume an entire shirt of Younguncle's, and Younguncle knew this. Although they loved each other very much, Younguncle and the baby had completely different ideas on the meaning and purpose of shirts.And one day the baby got her chance."

Hilarious! I closed this book with a strong desire to read the sequel, Younguncle In The Himalayas. Here's hoping Viking published that as well! If not, it will have to be yet another book order from abroad... ( )

When their eccentric uncle come to visit Sarita and Ravi in their small village in India, the long, hot days are enlivened with many adventures. This book has wonderful stories full of humor and with the flavor of Indian culture. It can easily be enjoyed in brief sittings, since the book is broken into distinct stories or episodes during the uncle's visit. Suggested by Helen. ( )

In a small town in northern India, three siblings await their father's youngest brother, Younguncle, who is said to be somewhat eccentric. Hilarious stories.