The Little Book of Hindu Deities: From the Goddess of Wealth to the Sacred Cow

by Sanjay Patel

Overview

Pixar animator and Academy Award–nominated director Sanjay Patel (Sanjay’s Super Team) brings to life Hinduism’s most important gods and goddesses—and one sacred stone—in fun, full-color illustrations, each accompanied by a short, lively profile.

The Little Book of Hindu Deities is chock-full of monsters, demons, noble warriors, and divine divas. Find out why Ganesha has an elephant’s head (his father cut his off!); why Kali, the goddess of time, is known as the “Black One” (she’s a bit goth); and what “Hare Krishna” really means.

“Throw another ingredient in the American spirituality blender. Pop culture is veering into Hinduism.”—USA Today

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780452287754
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/31/2006
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	6.32(w) x 8.27(h) x 0.51(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

SANJAY PATEL is an animator and storyboard artist for Pixar Animation Studios, where he has worked on features that include Monsters, Inc., A Bugs Life; Toy Story 2; and The Incredibles. He has also worked on The Simpsons for Fox and with legendary cartoonist John K., creator of Ren and Stimpy. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short for his short film Sanjay's Super Team.

What People are Saying About This

"Throw another ingredient in the American spirituality blender. Pop culture is veering into Hinduism."
-USA Today

Editorial Reviews

"Don't mess with Kali, cautions Patel on the opening page of this arresting, innovative, entertaining book. Who knew the Hindu pantheon could be so much fun? Patel, an animator at Pixar studios, breathes new life into old mythology, telling the exploits of various deities while drawing us in—literally—with his joyous and unexpected full-color illustrations. In the introduction, he notes that he has always been influenced by Japanese animation, and his renderings bear the mark of the wide-eyed, large-headed, simple style that he so admires. The book is awash in color, with vivid saffrons, purples, fuchsias and oranges adding a lushness to the tales he recounts... Both funny and informative, this is a fresh and breezy introduction to the Hindu gods."—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

Brahma…Vishnu…Shiva…and...? Most Americans (we hope) know that Hinduism is a religion of many gods and goddesses, but few of us can name more than a few of these deities. Even more sadly, we also lack even basic notions of their attributes. This petite, festively colored paperback pays tribute to Hindu deities with cartoon-like illustrations and crisp one-page profiles. A spirit-lifting homage.

Don't mess with Kali, cautions Patel on the opening page of this arresting, innovative, entertaining book. Who knew the Hindu pantheon could be so much fun? Patel, an animator at Pixar studios, breathes new life into old mythology, telling the exploits of various deities while drawing us in-literally-with his joyous and unexpected full-color illustrations. In the introduction, he notes that he has always been influenced by Japanese animation, and his renderings bear the mark of the wide-eyed, large-headed, simple style that he so admires. The book is awash in color, with vivid saffrons, purples, fuchsias and oranges adding a lushness to the tales he recounts. Although some of the design work is too trendy to last-to wit, the oversized green and yellow polka dots that decorate some interstitial pages-it is precisely that faddish nod to the au courant that will make the book popular with teens and 20-somethings, who are the core audience ("Next time you're angry with your parents, don't turn into a monster," Patel jokes after introducing us to Bhairava, a vengeful incarnation of Shiva). Both funny and informative, this is a fresh and breezy introduction to the Hindu gods. (Nov.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly