Packed with more characters than I could count, reading Kittu’s Terrible Horrible No Good Very Mad Day is a crazy experience. Kittu’s family is the most chaotic one in the world – and the description of the entire family ordering a meal made me chuckle because it is absolutely en pointe. I remember being embarrassed, nearly mortified, when I was with a huge group of friends and we simply could not make up our minds about what to order!
But that’s the lightest part of this review. What I liked most about the book requires a little background.
Over the last couple of years, I have actively been searching for literature that seeks to be inclusive and diverse. In the beginning, I was impressed by the books I was reading. As I went on, though, I felt that children with disabilities were being included not in the spirit of inclusivity, but as what I found myself calling the ‘novelty factor’.
What’s the selling point of a given book?
- The protagonist is dyslexic
- Someone is depressed
- A character is physically handicapped
- A parent is alcoholic
Don’t get me wrong. All this is important, more important than I can even begin to talk about. Yet, I cannot lay my finger on what made these stories seem less inclusive and more ‘novelty’.
Not once did Kittu’s Terrible Horrible No Good Very Mad Day make me feel like that. For one, we begin by seeing Kittu as normal and the rest of the family as crazy, which is a great start to a story. The mad tale just moves on from there, twisting and turning from one page to the next until you finish the book with a smile.
| Title | Kittu’s |
| Author | Harshikaa Udasi |
| Genre | Chapter book |
| Rating (out of 5) | 4 |
| Age-group | 8+ |
Leave a Reply