A little over a year ago, I read the picture book Clumsy! by Ken Spillman and I enjoyed it. It is a sweet, heart-warming story about a girl who is often called ‘clumsy’, ‘careless’, ‘butterfingers’. That becomes her identity until her grandmother gives her a box of paints. I loved the simplicity of the story; that’s what made me pick up Radhika Takes the Plunge.
Radhika has an over-protective mother, who refuses to let her go swimming. For as long as Radhika lived in Delhi, she did not mind very much. When she moves to Australia, she is mortified by the fact that she has never been to a swimming-pool when everyone else has, or as she puts it, everyone else seems to be 49% fish.
When her mother finally lets Radhika go to the pool, the girl takes the plunge – in more ways than one.
Once more, I liked the story because of the simplicity of the style. To say that the book is about discovering courage and overcoming challenges would be true. Yet, as always, the joy of the story lies not in the moral, but in the light humour and the sparkling characters.
| Title | Radhika Takes the Plunge |
| Author | Ken Spillman |
| Genre | Chapter Book |
| Rating (out of 5) | 4 |
| Age-group | 8+ |
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