Toka Junior Book Pick
Bumoni's Banana Trees
Written by Mita Bordoloi, Illustrated by Tarique Aziz
While many picture books are based on a true story, this book actually came true! Bumoni's Banana Trees is about a girl named Bumoni who lives in a big backyard just outside the Kaziranga National Park. We dive into her world with Mita Bordoloi's engrossing narration. They use long banana stems to make fishing boats, use the stems, eat them as food, and even eat from banana leaves. Bumoni's family then tosses these banana leaves into a pit for the cows to eat. One night, a herd of wild elephants cross over to Bumonis backyard and eat the bananas. This area is bursting with banana trees and Bumoni loves eating bananas.
One night, a herd of elephants cross the river and discover the trees. They come back night after night, eating the bananas and banana leaves. Bumoni's family is very upset. Bumoni comes up with a clever idea to keep the elephants at bay but she is worried. What will they eat and where will they go? Bumoni and her family think of a clever alternative. Mita Bordoloi wrote Bumoni's Banana Trees as a story in 2014 and 5 years later, a cluster of villages in central Assam's Nagaon district found a way of keeping crop raiding elephants off there crops. Wewon't spoil the ending of the book because it is exciting and holds your attention till the very end.
Toka Junior Activity
Build a Maze for the Elephant
We design and build a maze for the elephants to reach the banana grove while putting on our three dimensional thinking hats. Best of all, the maze itself is living! Subscribe to Toka Junior Gift a Box
