Family Book Review: The Seekers

The Seekers by Hari and Deepti (Hari Panicker and Deepti Nair) is one of the beautiful books our family has been enjoying recently. This story of Mio and Nao and their adventure is told through words, yes, but more important are the gorgeous papercut illustrations.

The people have long told the story of the silver fox and the fire wolf. Nao believes the legend, and he is right, and the people restore balance in the end. This book is about the illustrations: the turquoise of the silver fox, the focus on purples on one page and golden on another, the layering and the precision of the tree roots, the fish in the water, the gloom, the luminescent beauty. The stylized paper cut illustrations match the story and tell it well. 

This is a story of storytelling and the destructive consequences of exploitation, clearly but not (for me at least) overwhelmingly. Part of what makes this work is that the elusive idea of balance underlies the moral. It’s no more moralistic than any other fable or in fact your average children’s story. 

This is obviously for those who want to enjoy the art. It is a story suited for reading aloud to young children and complex enough in its themes for older children, probably with guidance. It’s also a great (meta) illustration of the power of storytelling in a culture and leads easily to questions about the power of stories in raising children and in passing along knowledge and values.