Jha gets to the core of a certain truth about children—their idiosyncracies, politics, joys and anxieties—which most adults have very little access to.

There are picture books for children, and then there are picture books that do more than just tell a story. Two new picture books by Richa Jha attempt to embed lessons in the narrative.

Writer Richa Jha ties up with illustrator Gautam Benegal in this story and together they charmingly bring out how cool and nice it is to be yourself.

We loved the story and its narrative laced with underlying humour, the real-life like characters and their quirks and have read the book many times over and each time there’s something new we discover in the illustration, almost as if it were a “look and find’ adventure of our own!

Gautam Benegal, the book’s illustrator, draws them all — monsters, witches and ghouls — and there’s not an inch which isn’t filled with his charming squiggles. Apart from his drawings, what makes The Unboy Boy endearing is its idea that there really is no such thing as un-boy boy or an un-girl girl.

This book, about two best friends, Rhea and Dia, who do everything together. Even do susu together. I can’t tell you how happy this makes me because when I was a child I always envied the way men stood at the urinals and continued a conversation they’d started outside the loo, no sign of embarrassment. So while I’m not sure the Bean and any of her friends will end up sharing a toilet seat, I am blown away by the fact that Richa thought of it and used it. The ultimate test of friendship!

I was pleasantly surprised with how the author has managed to break stereotypical notions in a picture book for young girls.

...a great job of demonstrating how Gagan experienced inner conflict with regards to the pressures he felt to be a typical “boy” while still pursuing his own interests. I would highly recommend this book in a classroom setting to facilitate discussions about diversity, gender, and stereotypes.