Book: Munni Monster
Author: Madhurima Vidyarthi
Genre: Children’s Fiction
Publisher: Duckbill
Pages: 104
Age- 9-12
I got the opportunity to not only meet and see the session but take the short interview of Madhurima Vidyarthi at Bookaroo Children’s LitFest in November last year, all thanks to the Purple Pencil Project for it. And it was such a lovely conversation that I knew that I will read her work as soon as I get the chance. And the chance came up with Munni Monster.
Munni Monster is a children’s fiction by Madhurima Vidyarthi which shows the story of Mishti. She lives in a small 2 BHK flat with her parents and grandmother, Thamma. She shares a close relationship with them and has so many things which she enjoys, her secret cave and especially her “own bed” that she earned. But everything changed with the arrival of Munni. Munni, Thamma’s cousin and a patient with cerebral palsy. But can a 10-year-old child understand what it is and the sudden change around her with the arrival of Munni? Read the book to know more.
Before reading this book, I have only heard about cerebral palsy in my studies because of its comorbidity with other disorders or because of its shared symptoms. But never knew much about it and this book gave me a chance to look at it more closely and aware me enough to let me explore more of it.
According to the American Psychological Association (APA), cerebral palsy is a set of nonprogressive movement and posture disorders that results from trauma to the brain occurring prenatally, during the birth process, or before the age of 5. Symptoms include spasticity, uncontrolled movements (see athetosis), paralysis, unsteady gait, and speech abnormalities (see dysarthria) but may be accompanied by disorders of any other brain function, resulting in cognitive changes, seizures, visual defects, tactile impairment, hearing loss, and intellectual disability.
American Psychological Association
This book shows how a child feels when their surroundings change overnight, when they feel deprived of love, care affection, and warmth, and when they have to share what belongs to them completely in the past. The dilemma, the anger, the frustration, the confusion, and in between all of them, the emotions and love.
This book shows how critical things become when one has to live with a person who is disabled and how things look different from a distance. And at the same time, what a person going through feels. And that is why this story is as much of Munni as it is of Mishti.
This story also tells about how adults handle situations in instances like this. From parenting to job, finances, and emotional vulnerability, it shows everything! From Joyeeta, Mishti’s mother’s conversation and commands with her eyes, Thamma’s smell, and Mishti’s friendship with Riya, the little nuances provide so many insights and convey emotions, and the author deserves appreciation for it.
Although the book targets children of age 9-12 (as mentioned on Amazon, I strongly feel that this book should be read by everyone. There is so much to learn, understand, acknowledge, feel, and to be more inclusive, and to be more human. When the blurb of the book mentions that, this book is “A funny moving story about a ten-year-old dealing with strange and difficult changes and disability, and above all, about love.”, you understand it, acknowledge it, and feel it. And this book cannot be described more beautifully than that. And author Madhurima Vidyarthi deserves all the love and appreciation for this book. Tanvi Bhat did a great job with the illustrations as well.
Read this book no matter what your age is or what your reading preferences are, because this story needs to be read. A must-read for everyone. I’ll give it 5/5 stars.
I was provided a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
If you liked the review or have any feedback, don’t forget to let me know in the comments! Also, if you haven’t followed my blog till now, what are you waiting for?
Read Also: In A Thousand Different Ways by Cecelia Ahern
Jainand Gurjar 
4 thoughts on “Munni Monster by Madhurima Vidyarthi: A Book that everyone should read”