The Secret Kingdom: Nek Chand, a Changing India, and a Hidden World of Art

First, I have to say that I recently discovered the children's illustrated biographies of Barb Rosenstock. They are all excellent and I highly recommend them. She writes about a lot of artists (Chagall, Kandinsky, Van Gogh, and photographer Lange) and other famous people. I discovered Nek Chand (and other Outsider artists) a few years ago when I read another wonderful book, The Art of Secrets by James Klise. I was thrilled to find Rosenstock's illustrated biography for children about Chand. It is so important to introduce children to artists, people, and events they may not have heard about.. This book about Chand should be used as a springboard to enjoy photos of his wonderful Rock Garden in India. And, I have to mention Rosenstock's fabulous Caldecott Honor book (illustrated by Mary GrandPre) The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky's Abstract Art. This book introduces children to Kandinsky's art as well as his synesthesia, a sensation I'm sure would be interesting to children as well as adults. Please check out Rosenstock's wonderful books.

As I read this book I loved learning about a changing culture and its impact on a young boy and his village in India. This story of a refugee who is forced to flee Pakistan for India in 1947 is so very relevant to many people in today’s changing world. As the seasons and years ebb and flow in the story so did my feelings of happiness loss despair and hope.What a great book to begin some very serious and thought provoking conversations with young adults!

OMG LOve her books.. The center fold out is amazing!

The Secret Kingdom is a picture book biography of Nek Chand who built a secret rock garden in the outskirts of Chandigarh. Nek Chand was born in a village of Berian Kalan in Punjab. He grew up listening to stories and folk lores that fascinated him. He channeled his fascination into building a castles, forts and figures using sticks and stones he would find on the river bank. In 1947, his peaceful life was shaken up with the Partition of India and Pakistan. His family traveled miles to relocate to the newly partitioned India.Nek found a job as a government roads inspector but never really felt at home in this modern city. He missed his home and village. So when he found an area of forestland that was abandoned, he decided to make this space his home. He cleared away some land and settled right in. He used all the natural material such as sticks and stones to start creating a world that he could relate to. Over the next 15 years, Nek created this secret garden from his imagination. He still continues his work..The secret garden captures Nek's passion on creating a kingdom from his imagination. Nek truly find a way to channel his dreams into reality. A truly fascination subject, an intriguing story and wonderful biography to read. Highly recommended!

A picture book biography of Nek Chand, a man who grew up in the region that is now part of Pakistan, escaped as a refugee when the countries divided, and settled outside of Chandigarh where he secretly started an art project he developed over years using only reclaimed materials. When the government found his massive art installation on their land they wanted to destroy it, but the people of Chandigarh had another idea.This is kind of a crazy story. The art installation/rock garden that Chand created was spread over twelve acres by the time the government discovered it and he made it all by hand out of recycled materials by himself. According to the back of the book this rock garden still exists (it was actually expanded) and it is a popular place to visit though every once in a while the government threatens to tear it down. I'm not sure how I feel about this story. On the one hand I'm amazed at what this one guy accomplished all on his own. On the other hand, he was trespassing and it sounds like he knew from the start that it was government land. You can let readers debate what they think. Should the government have forced him to move his creations somewhere else, should they have shared the profits from visitors coming, how would they resolve this issue? If you're looking for an interesting refugee story, this is definitely a unique one. Recommended to art lovers, art classes, and those studying India.

The kind of book you'll want to use with students--of all ages. Read this aloud to students, letting them savor the author Rosenstock's language--"Nek played and planted, laughed and listened, as the ancient stories circled with seasons, beginning to end and back again." Share with small groups and ask them to contemplate questions like, "What is the role of art (or storytelling) in society?" or "How did Nek reveal his determination?" Use as a mentor text for writers. Read and then reread, slowing down carefully to look at the water color illustrations asking, "What do you notice?" and "How does the illustrator Nivola convey X?" or "What is the role of the gatefold (photograph that folds out) in the book?"Don't skip the author's note. Read this aloud to students or ask students to read. You can use this as a "second" source and ask students to think about how the content adds to their learning. Encourage them to ask lots of questions and do more research including reading about other artists and their endeavors.I have so much more to say about this book. It's powerful and has a lot of classroom potential. Barb Rosenstock is a "go to" author for me. As soon I got the book, I knew it would be well written. Nivola has also illustrated several other informational books--her illustrations always expand and deepen my understanding of the topic.