Pinduli (ASPCA Henry Bergh Children's Book Awards)

by Janell Cannon

Hardcover, 2004

Status

Available

Call number

813.54

Genres

Children's Books

Publication

HMH Books for Young Readers (2004), Edition: First Edition, 48 pages

Description

Pinduli, a young striped hyena, is hurt by the unkind words of Dog, Lion, and Zebra, but her clever trick in return promotes her clan's survival and spreads harmony throughout the savannah. Includes backmatter notes about hyenas and other animals of the African savannah.

User reviews

LibraryThing member schaefercrew

Pinduli, by Janell Cannon is another treasure by this author. Janell Cannon was the type of kid who was always coming home with a new pet. Although, we're not talking about your standard kitten in a shoebox or errant neighborhood mutt. Janell has always had a soft spot in her heart for animals most

people might find, well, kind of gross. Upon visiting a zoo, she encountered the resident striped hyena, an endangered animal, and was immediately struck by her remarkable beauty. One of Janell's friends at the zoo told her how he had watched people drawn to this stunning animal who instantly turned away when they saw the hyena label on her enclosure. "It was all just a word that shifted their attitude," Janell said. That shift in attitude was all she needed to get the story of Pinduli (a Swahili word for "catalyst") in motion.

In Pinduli, the young Hyena wakes up, her mother asks her not to wonder far from camp. While at the watering hole, Pinduli comes across various animals who say insulting things to make fun of her. After each insult, Pinduli tries to change the thing that each animal has made fun of. After each round, Pinduli looks less and less like a hyena. Finally she appears, and the animals see her and think she is the “Great Spirit”. Pinduli discovers the source of each animal’s meanness; it originated from the meanness of other animals. It has a pay-it forward context. Pinduli convinces the others to be nice to the ones that were mean to them, and also convinces then to leave some of their food after each meal. Thus, Pinduli solves two problems with her cleverness – the animals are being nice to each other, and she and her mother are always able to eat because of the food that is left by the others.

I really enjoyed this story. It incorporated unusual animals and taught several valuable lessons. Readers will read that their actions affect others, that kindness is contagious, everyone is different, and be clever and think your way out of situations. Graphic paintings illustrate the stark savannah and it's variety of inhabitants. They will catch the reader’s attention. Children will find Pinduli’s hurt feelings understandable and her quick thinking admirable.

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LibraryThing member lwmasters

A young hyenna travels to the local water hole. While there different animals say hurtful things to her. She then tries to change everything about herself. The ones who were mean to her mistake her for a god. She then orders everyone to be nice and change the mean things they have been saying. A

wonderful story that teaches the importance of kindness. Much like the rest of Cannons books, it has a wonderful meaning behind it.

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LibraryThing member dbhutch

This book is about a little hyena who gets teased and then after trying to cover her "flaws" the other animals think she is a ghost and they confess and she tells them the need to be nice so they a;; hunt down who was mean to them and find out why.

LibraryThing member elmartin

Pinduli, a young hyena, struggles with fitting in and having features that others poke fun at. After many uncomfortable situations, Pinduli finally proves that there is much more on the inside than meets the eye. All of the other animals realize that looks aren't everything and that no one is

perfect. And, of course, Pinduli's mother thinks her baby is perfect in every way.

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LibraryThing member RebeccaMichelet

The story is about a young hyena that one day was teased for the look of her ears, her fur, and the markings in her fur by three different animals. In order to change her appearance she pulled her ears flat against her head, wet her fur to smooth it out, and rolled in dirt to hide her markings.

When the other animals saw her, they thought she was a ghost. As a "ghost" she heard the reason the other animals teased her for the way she looked; which was because someone teased them. She told the animals they should ask the ones who hurt them why they did so, as well as leave an offering of food; which would be for her and her mother to eat. This book shows everyone is different, and no one should tease others for their appearance.

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LibraryThing member missbrandysue

Pinduli was a hyena who was made fun of by other animals in the African safari. When the animals made fun of his ears he started keeping them down. When the lion made fun of his furry coat he swam in the water hole to smooth it out. And when the zebras made fun of his coloring he rolled in the

white dirt. So when he came around to the animals they thought he was a white ghost and they all bowed to him. Pinduli told them to get into his good graces they had to apologize to everyone they had wronged so the rest of the day they went around asking forgiveness. At the end of the book is a nonfiction section where it talks about the advantages of all the traits that Pinduli was criticized about from the other animals.

I really liked the book. It's a very touching story with great morals. The illustrations are wonderful. The nonfiction section in the back is also a great resource for kids.

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LibraryThing member 1derlys

This book uses animals to share how it feels to get called names. A young hyena tries to change because other animals tease him about his looks, but in the end he teaches them a lesson on making amends and analyzes some of the reasons others were calling him names to begin with. It also has a bit

of a tale to it as in why there is food left over for the hyenas to eat.

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LibraryThing member mspisa1

I adored this book! The first reason I liked this book is for its cultural and rustic illustrations. The book’s setting is on an African savannah and follows a hyena on an outing where she gets bullied by other savannah animals. The illustrations throughout the book are similar to those you’d

find in an informational book that details African culture, except drawn using finely tipped colored pencils. This makes the setting come to life even more than simply illustrating the characters, making the reader more engaged with the story. The illustrations also help the reader visualize the emotions of the characters within the story. At times where the main character is upset or embarrassed, her ears are down and she is frowning. In contrast, when the main character and her mother are reunited at the end, they both are depicted with smiles. I like this aspect of the book because it helps me, a visual and kinesthetic learner, better understand what the characters are thinking and feeling. I also like this book for the informational section at the end. Titled “Meet the Hyena Family,” the section details physical attributes of all of the animals found throughout the book, which ultimately explains why the animals were so bothered by being told they look a certain way. For example, the lion of the story made fun of the hyena’s hair because the lion was told by another animal that his mane looked “mangy.” The section in the back of the book explained that some lions have big, beautify manes, while others have small, ruffled ones. The author put a spin on that and made the lion of the story self-conscious about his small, thinning mane, which is what led to him calling out the hyena’s hair. The big idea of this book is bullying is not a positive act, even if you were bullied first. If you find yourself bullying someone, think about why you are doing it and address that reason instead of spreading the harmful act onto others.

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LibraryThing member ycinto1

Summary:

Pinduli is about a hayena that is made fun of by different animals. As each animal makes fun of a part of her, she tries to change that thing about herself until finally she ends up looking like a ghost. When the other animals see her they are scared and call her the great spirit. Through

some questioning the hyaena learns that they animals were mean to her because other animals had been mean to them. So Pinduli declares that all the animals should talk it our and that they must leave food for the great spirit when they eat. The animals all apologize and Pinduli is never hungry or made fun of anymore.

Review:
Many critics of this book say that it is a n ill attempt at sharing a lesson and that it focuses on that so much that the story line drags on but i disagree. The story is entertaining. As per Cannon's usual style the writing is low level but written in proper English and with a good vocabulary. The story is creative and as always the illustrations are very detailed, colorful and convey real feeling from the animals with out giving them silly cartoonish faces. Over all a really good read for all ages.

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LibraryThing member CRoss13

I really enjoyed this book! The first reason I liked this book is for its cultural and rustic illustrations. The illustrations were also very bold! The illustrations also help the reader visualize the emotions of the characters within the story which enhances the text. At times where the main

character is upset or embarrassed, her ears are down and she is frowning. In contrast, when the main character and her mother are reunited at the end, they both are drawn with smiles. Another really interesting part of this book was the informational section at the end! Titled “Meet the Hyena Family,” the section describes of all of the animals found throughout the book. The main idea of this book is not to be a bully! Everyone is unique and special in their own way! Truly a great book!

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LibraryThing member wichitafriendsschool

Pinduli is a hyena who lives on the African savanna. Her mama tells her she is the most beautiful hyena ever. But Dog, Lion, and Zebra tease her about her big ears, her fuzzy mane, and her wiggly stripes and make her feel ugly. Poor Pinduli just wants to disappear. When she rolls in the dust to

make her stripes disappear she creates a case of mistaken identity with the other animals that provides a wonderful solution. After the story, the author provides information about the hyena family and interesting facts about animals that live in Africa.

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LibraryThing member NMiller22

Pinduli, a young striped hyena, is hurt by the unkind words of Dog, Lion, and Zebra, but her clever trick in return promotes her clan's survival and spreads harmony throughout the savanna.

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