Ganesha's Sweet Tooth

By Sanjay Patel and Emily Haynes

The bold, bright colors of India leap off the page in this picture book retelling of how Ganesha helped write the epic Hindu poem, the Mahabharata.

Ganesha is just like any other kid, except that he has the head of an elephant and rides around on a magical mouse. And he loves sweets, but when Ganesha insists on biting into a super jumbo jawbreaker laddoo, his tusk breaks off! With the help of the wise poet Vyasa, and his friend Mr. Mouse, Ganesha learns that what seems broken can be quite useful after all. With vibrant, graphic illustrations, expressive characters, and offbeat humor, this is a wonderfully inventive rendition of a classic tale.

Praise for Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth

“Pink elephants haven’t looked this good since Dumbo.” —The New York Times

“Beautifully presented. . . . So sweet we almost want to pop it in our mouths.” —Entertainment Weekly

“Stylish. . . . A fresh and comedic introduction to a Hindu legend, with a winning combination of both eye candy and actual candy.” —Publishers Weekly

“Bright, elaborately detailed illustrations. . . . Grade-schoolers. . . . will enjoy the story’s turnarounds and focus on luscious sweets, and many will be ready for the classic Hindu myth.” —Booklist

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Sep 7, 2012
• ISBN: 9781452119847

Sanjay Patel

Sanjay Patel is an advisor, consultant and speaker with three decades of professional experience spanning multiple industries and business functions. He has made successful career transitions into the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors of the economy. Sanjay also has owned and operated his own professional development training practice, serving clients across the United States. He is a recognized speaker at national conferences, as well as a graduate level instructor. Having experienced a layoff twice, Sanjay has applied the practical concepts in this book to overcome the challenges and adversity resulting from those layoffs. Sanjay holds an MS in Communication, Managerial Program from Northwestern University and MBA and BS degrees from DePaul University. He currently resides in Round Lake, IL with his wife and three children.

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Reviews for Ganesha's Sweet Tooth

[Ana Estella · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

this book is this so funny I mean who doesn’t like sweets?!?

[zoes_human · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Picture book fictionGrades: PreK - 2Ages: 3-7Lexile Measure: AD580LDRA Level: 24Themes: Hinduism, Indian & Indian American, poetry writingVividly colorful with art loaded with tiny, fascinating detail. This delightful children's story is loosely based on the ancient Hindu legend in which the poet Vyasa asks Ganesha to write down the Mahabharata and Ganesha loses a tooth in the process. It's a charming and funny story with a couple of good lessons buried within (broken doesn't mean useless and don't bite jawbreakers). Even as an adult, I had a couple of good laughs out of this one. Be sure to read the back page for more details on the legend and a pronunciation guide for those unfamiliar with some of the words.

[abigailadams26 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Co-authors Sanjay Patel and Emily Haynes tell the story of the Hindu god Ganesha and how he came to be the scribe who recorded the ancient epic, The Mahabharata, in this charming picture-book. A great lover of all things sweet, the elephant-headed god eventually breaks one of his tusks on a super-jumbo jawbreaker laddoo. Distressed at this occurrence, Ganesha is not to be consoled, even by his friend and steed, Mr. Mouse. But when he attempts to throw his tusk at the moon and strikes the poet Vyasa instead, he finds himself using his broken appendage to record one of the great works of ancient Hindu literature...Pairing an entertaining and humorous text from Patel and Haynes with gorgeous, eye-popping illustrations from Patel, Ganesha's Sweet Tooth was a distinct pleasure to read and peruse. Although interested in folklore and mythology from all parts of the world, somehow I haven't seemed to have read many works with a Hindu background. This one was all the more engaging for me, being unknown, and made me want to read more about the subject, and perhaps track down a children's version The Mahabharata. I appreciated the fact that the authors describe in their afterword how they changed the story, in this retelling. Recommended to all young folklore and mythology lovers, and to anyone looking for children's stories with an Indian cultural and Hindu religious background.

[rosa.mill · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An interesting twist on the story of how Ganesha broke his tusk to write the Mahabharata. It's sweet and funny and the colors are spectacular. Sanjay Patel is a pixar artist and you can definitely see it. The colors are vibrant and the illustrations add to the humor and sweetness of the story.

[kaulsu · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a delightful picture book combining several different versions of how Ganesh broke his tusk. It also introduces the Mahabharata in a very cursory manner. Patel's illustrations are a delight and will provide an interested reader with much to augment the story line.

[marybethlingner · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed, “Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth” for many reasons. First, I really like how the authors of this book elaborated on the real life Hindu legend of the elephant god Ganesha. They made a very sacred story in the Hindu culture tangible to people like me, who don’t know anything about it. Even though, “Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth” is only loosely based on the classic legend, it is still a very entertaining book that made me more curious about Hindu mythology. Secondly, I really like how the illustrations in the book depict India. With all the many colors and vivid details depicting the god Ganesha and the poet Vyasa, both real characters in Hindi mythology, I felt as though India was leaping off of the pages. Lastly, I really enjoyed the story itself. Ganesha is a god who loves laddoo’s (candy) and comes across, “the super jumbo jawbreaker laddoo.” Right as he is about to bite into it his friend, Mr. Mouse, warns him not to eat it because it will break his tusk. Ganesha replies to him by saying, “But I’m a god, I’m invincible” and proceeds to bite into the jawbreaker and break his tusk. Ganesha tries every way possible to put his tusk back on, but nothing works, so he throws his tusk at the moon. However, his tusk doesn’t hit the moon but the head of an old man walking by. The old man introduces himself to Ganesha as the poet Vyasa and tells the elephant he has been searching for him. Vyasa also tells Ganesha that he needs a special scribe for a very long poem he is writing because all other pens in the world would break before it was done. Ganesha and Vyasa strike up a deal for Ganesha to be his scribe. Vyasa has to tell the story in one sitting and Ganesha cannot stop writing. However, this can only be possible if Ganesha understands the meaning of everything Vyasa says, so he has to pay very close attention. Ganesha agrees to be the special scribe for Vyasa and uses his broken tusk as his pen. They work together and eventually produce the great epic of Hindu literature, the Mahabharata. The central meaning of, “Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth” is collaboration and humility. In the beginning of the story Ganesha does not listen to Mr. Mouse and as a result breaks his tusk. Ganesha is a very prideful elephant who believes that just because he is a god, nothing bad can happen to him. This of course is not true and conveys the message to readers that no matter how great you think you are, you are always capable of making mistakes. Secondly, “Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth” teaches the importance of people working together, because collaboration produces great things. The Mahabharata could not have been written if Ganesha did not have his tusk and Vyasa did not have his story. Their collaboration made the Hindu classic possible. This is the same in life. Sometimes, it takes more than one set of hands to make something great happen, and that is okay.

[sullywriter_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A fun, playful take on the Hindu myth with delightfully vibrant illustrations.