Gloria Steinem: “It is a special gift when a great poet of the world is finally well translated. I believe that Acrobat is a book that will rescue us and be loved around the world.”
Anita Desai: ”A new collection of Nabaneeta Dev Sen’s work, translated with great felicity by her daughter Nandana, covers a spectrum of the poet’s gifts, from the playful and tender that recall Tagore to the fierce and passionate, the final poems not so much shadowed by death as ignited by it.”
Forrest Gander: “These sparkling translations from Nabaneeta Dev Sen’s long, important body of work cycle through her (and our own) exigent concerns: time, identity, the familial.”Arvind Krishna Mehrotra: ”Good translations of modern Indian poetry are hard to come by. This one by Nandana Dev Sen has to be one of the best.”
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Financial Times
“The new translations in Acrobat give a glimpse of the history of women translating women. It feels like a sisterhood, reviving and recovering women's voices… Nandana Dev Sen joins this heritage, a daughter bringing her mother's work to light in a moving act of love and skill, in that family of three generations of women writers."
Amitav Ghosh: “These translations of Nabaneeta Dev Sen's poems capture her quirky yet profound voice so beautifully that I felt I could hear her reading them aloud. These are the poems of an adventurous and indefatigable traveler, observing the world with deep understanding and sympathy, through the prism of a sensibility that is securely rooted in the culture of Bengal.
Even though Nabaneetadi was a towering figure in Bengali letters, very little of her work is available in English. This is all the more reason to be grateful to her daughter, Nandana Dev Sen, who is a hugely talented writer in her own right, for translating a selection of her poems into English.”
http://amitavghosh.com/blog/?p=7622
https://dev.lareviewofbooks.org/article/an-intimate-utopia-on-nabaneeta-dev-sens-acrobat/
Poetry Foundation
“Nandana Dev Sen has distilled 60 years of Nabaneeta Dev Sen’s life into Acrobat, a posthumous poetry collection that is also a familial labor of love, a tender duet between mother and daughter… To read Acrobat is to feel the poet’s clarity of compassion, the radiating warmth of her words unshakably ringing out as an instrument for women’s freedom and unity.”
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet-books/reviews/155884/acrobat
“The translator has done a superb job retaining the flavor of the translated poems matching those that the author herself wrote and translated into English... Saturated with feelings of sadness, betrayal, haunting memories, and amorous grievances... Nabaneeta’s poetry is a precious addition to international literature."
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Kenyon Review
“Acrobat is the kind of poetry that brings new complexity to the world around it… The translated portions of Acrobat are deft and lyrical. The poems are full of emotion, and, despite the delicate work of translation, they give off a sense of ease and beauty… Dev Sen’s poems are profound and timeless.”
Asymptote
“It is a testimony to her versatility as a poet, and to the skill of translator Nandana Dev Sen, that without the notes identifying which poems were originally written in English and which were the translations done by the poet herself, it would be impossible to know the genesis of the texts we have before us… Dev Sen always finds a way to surprise us with life, only to remind us that we are finite.”https://www.asymptotejournal.com/criticism/nabaneeta-dev-sen-acrobat/
Rough Ghosts
“It is the distinctive voice, the vulnerability and the openness that combine to make the poems in this collection so strong. Nandana Dev Sen’s translations and her loving curation of this volume—which opens with an Introduction that is both biography and translator’s note and closes with an open letter to her mother—makes Acrobat at once a beautiful memorial that honours Nabaneeta Dev Sen’s life and spirit and a vital introduction to her poetry for English-speaking readers.”
https://roughghosts.com/2021/08/20/as-long-as-i-live-in-poetry-acrobat-by-nabaneeta-dev-sen/
Words Without Borders
"Acrobat is a powerful demonstration of poetry's ability to express one writer’s vision of the world. The supplementary materials included in the book, from translator Nandana Dev Sen, offer a first-hand look at both the author’s life and the translator’s approach to rendering her mother’s poems in a new language. It’s a moving and at times elegiac study of a singular perspective on the world."https://www.wordswithoutborders.org/dispatches/article/the-watchlist-may-2021-tobias-carroll
Witty Partition
“I stand in awe of Acrobat…Acrobat gives full voice to the emotions that arise… joy and grief, yearning and avoidance, affection and anger. But the variations in emotion are always deft, never flagrant. Acrobat moved me to tears on several occasions…. Acrobat’s emotional resonance arises not only from the content of the poetry, but from the techniques of the translator.”
Translating Women
“Acrobat is moving in both content and context: translated with great heart by the poet’s daughter and published posthumously, it is a two-way love story between generations and a celebration of life in all its complexity and contradictions”
https://blogs.exeter.ac.uk/translatingwomen/2021/07/15/review-acrobat-by-nabaneeta-dev-sen/
Center for the Art of Translation
“A new and posthumous collection of poetry from Nabaneeta Dev Sen, a mix of poems she herself translated to English and poems her daughter, Nandana Sen, has translated in her stead. Both of their voices come alive through every lively, loving, celebratory line.”https://www.catranslation.org/blog-post/spring-2021-in-translation-books-preview/
Full Stop
"Translated and introduced by her daughter Nandana Dev Sen, Acrobat is an illustrative and delicate portrayal of Nabaneeta Dev Sen’s immense poetic life… Nandana’s translation of Acrobat, then, is a material necessity that achieves her mother’s standards in a compelling and artful way. The collection also goes a step further, as it is a testament to lives committed to the beauty of kinship and its enduring ability to inspire poetry.”
https://www.full-stop.net/2022/04/04/reviews/zachary-kinsella/acrobat-nabaneeta-dev-sen/
Scroll
“Rhythmic, restless, and fiery – Acrobat is a wonderful introduction to Dev Sen’s writings for those who cannot read Bengali. Translated with flair by daughter and author-activist Nandana Dev Sen, these radiant poems infuse beauty and meaning to our everyday lives.”The Week
“Tender, evocative, sad and deeply felt, Acrobat is a book that is life-changing and life-affirming. It is unflinchingly honest and impossible to forget… The poems linger in your head and get lodged deep in your heart… What makes Acrobat essential is that it is an act of love. It is a daughter’s tribute to her mother through finding words for her pain while she grappled with her own.”
The Arts Fuse
”Nandana Dev Sen’s invitation to savor Bengali women’s verse through these lovingly translated poems of her mother is very much a cause for a ‘grand celebration.’”https://artsfuse.org/237405/poetry-review-acrobat-the-beautiful-bengali-poetry-of-nabaneeta-dev-sen/
Mekong Review
“The dominant translations are by the daughter, keeping as close to the original in form without being so literal that the dynamic and tone are lost… codas to episodes that aren’t described but may be inferred… The reach of the poems is sometimes startling, even from page to page.” https://mekongreview.com/versions-of-a-voice/
Acta Victoriana
"Acrobat by Nabaneeta Dev Sen is a tour de force collection of poetry from a master of the craft. Not only is the collection expansive in subject and image, but ambitious in feeling. Reading the collection, the reader becomes the acrobat, leaping between the poems and the worlds Sen creates within them."
https://actavictoriana.ca/uncategorized/review-acrobat-nabaneeta-dev-sen/
Kangaroo Kisses
Curling up with a good Book - click here for full article (external website)
November 18, 2016
Curling Up with a Good Book 5*/5*: “Kangaroo Kisses is a beautifully written children's books with vivid, bright, colorful illustrations. I would recommend Kangaroo Kisses to any parent who enjoys reading to their kids at night and who has a bedtime routine that they like to instill with their children.”
http://curling-up-with-a-good-book.blogspot.com/2016/09/5-star-childrens-book-review-kangaroo.html
Kirkus Review: “Smiles and wild creatures abound in this playful mother-child bedtime routine. A warm and spirited invitation to dreamland.”
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/nandana-dev-sen/kangaroo-kisses/
IBBY Review October 20th, 2016
Kangaroo Kisses Nandana Dev Sen, illus. Pippa Curnick, Burley Gate: Otter-Barry Books, hb. 978 1 9109 5900 8, 2016, £11.99, 24pp. [Picture book. 1–5 years. Keywords: bedtime; anthropomorphism; rhyme; imagined adventures.] This colourful, beautifully illustrated picture book tells the story of an imaginative little girl who is ‘Not yet!’ ready for bed! Perfect for children aged 1–5 years as the book has so many details to look at but also big, expansive scenes that will directly appeal to young children. Page by page, the animals in her bedroom or bathroom come to life. A child reader is likely to enjoy spotting the visual clues dotted all over the illustrations; for example, the giraffe pattern on the towel or the bear-like wrap hung on the door before these creatures turn into wild, friendly creatures. The story has a good pace as the little girl has a series of adventures: from singing and dancing with musical rhinos to climbing trees with lively monkeys, ending with her kissing a friendly kangaroo. Rhyming couplets give this narrative a sparkly quality with interesting words such as ‘snuggle’, ‘nuzzle’, ‘squeeze’ and ‘tickle’ all standing out in a larger, bold font. Any adult reading this book will also smile at the perennial problem of coaxing a young child into bed at night when the child has completely other ideas! The bedtime routine is alluded to but in a subtle way, such as elephants flossing their tusks and bears brushing their fur. From Kangaroo Kisees. Copyright© 2016 Nandana Dev Sen (text), Pippa Curnick (illus). Reproduced with permission Otter-Barry Books. This book has many talking points. The little girl’s bedroom is lit up at the beginning but dark at the end just before she settles down for sleeping, inviting a comparison or peering at carefully. Also, the little girl’s special rabbit pops up in every page, just waiting to be noticed. Most exciting, I think, is the use of the single to double spreads in the picture-book format that move the story from the home (usually a single page) out to the brightly appealing animal scenes (usually double spreads), which emphasise the little girl’s imaginative qualities.
Anna Harrison, Cambridge University, UK
Feathered Quill Book Review: “The illustrations are colorful and adorable, while the actual story expertly combines reality with fantasy. Quill says: A true bedtime story, this is one that should become a staple for all parents and children to enjoy.”
Critical Blast: “…an adorable new picture book, Kangaroo Kisses is a short and fun tale perfect for bedtime... I highly recommend this one! Super cute, and definitely an author/illustrator duo to watch.”
http://www.criticalblast.com/articles/2016/09/08/kangaroo-kisses-cute-bedtime-story
Mrs. Mommy Booknerd: “A very sweet bedtime story that sparks the imagination and delights both parents and children alike. This would be a great book to add into your nightime line up.”
http://mrsmommybooknerd.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/mmbbr-review-kangaroo-kisses-by-nandana.html
The Friendly Book Nook: “This is a very sweet book. Even though it is perfect for very young children (preschool or Kindergarten), my second graders loved it…. I can’t wait to read it to my grandsons!”
http://thefriendlybooknook.com/2016/09/12/kangaroo-kisses-by-nandana-dev-sen/
U.K. Reviews
Books for Keeps: 5*/5* “Reading aloud well, the rhymes jump off the page as listeners join in and enjoy the illustrations. The illustrations match this bedtime scenario perfectly.”
http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/issue/219/childrens-books/reviews/kangaroo-kisses
Mirrors Windows Doors: “Kangaroo Kisses is author Nandana Dev Sen’s first book published in the UK but hopefully not the last… so well crafted that it requires no effort to make it into a great shared readaloud experience... Taking Kangaroo Kisses as an example, we can certainly look forward to some wonderful books that encompass diversity and promote empathy – and that children will want to have read to them again and again.” http://mirrorswindowsdoors.org/wp/review-kangaroo-kisses-by-nandana-dev-sen-and-pippa-curnick/
Parents in Touch: “It's full of fun and captures perfectly a child's reluctance to stop having fun and simply go to sleep.”
http://www.parentsintouch.co.uk/Book-reviews-fiction-age-2-to-5-page-15
Book Trust (Largest Reading Charity/UK): “A charming bedtime story in verse that's easy to read and easy to share, with lots of lively and colourful animal illustrations on every page.”
http://www.booktrust.org.uk/books/view/35115
Reading Zone – Best New Picture Books: “A lovely bedtime picture book…Lively rhyming text and colourful illustrations make this a great book for sharing.”
http://www.readingzone.com/index.php?zone=sz&page=book&isbn=9781910959008
Armadillo: “The scenario is familiar to most parents and grandparents and this will make a great bedtime read, as well as being a good choice to read to small groups at a story time.” https://sites.google.com/site/armadillomagazine/picturebooks2a#TOC-Kangaroo-Kisses
ACHUKA: “Perfect bedtime reading.”
http://www.achuka.co.uk/blog/kangaroo-kisses-by-nandana-dev-sen-illustrated-by-pippa-cornice
Red Reading Hub: “The blend of fantasy and reality works well.”
https://jillrbennett.wordpress.com/2016/05/04/adventures-at-bedtime/
Dolphin Book Blog: “Beautifully produced in hard back by OtterBarry Books. It is a book of adventures for bedtime as the toys become real wild animals… Great for young children.”
Mambi and the Forest Fire
"Nandana Dev Sen crafts a delightfully uplifting story for children to remind the little ones that being different is more than okay."
- Chintan Modi, The Hindu
"Mambi and the Forest Fire is a must read for all children as well as parents, who will thoroughly enjoy not only the rich language used to create a wonderful story, but also the beautiful illustrations."
- Fiza Pathan https://insaneowl.com/2016/01/28/mambi-and-the-forest-fire-review-by-fiza-pathan/
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Kanika G's Books - July 2017
Mambi And The Forest Fire is a gorgeous picture book... an excellent story to read out loud. The plot is simple, so it is easy to follow in a group reading, but there is also enough drama and suspense to keep the kids hooked. I read this book to the kids in my daughter's school, and they loved it.
Mambi is an adorable, bright eyed, excitable, monkey living in a tall mango tee in the middle of a forest. Koko the crow and Tonga the turtle are her two best friends. They are both self confident and have amazing abilities. Koko can fly and glide through the air and Tonga can swim and glide through the water. Mambi finds both these things exciting but to her dismay, she can do neither. Koko and Tonga laugh at her as she tries to fly and swim and fails spectacularly both times.
Mambi is sad that she does not have any special abilities of her own. But she loves her friends and she is happy for Koko when Koko's eggs hatch and three perfect chicks emerge. With that happy thought, Mambi falls a sleep on a hot dry summer night.
Late in the night Mambi is woken up by the scorching heat of flames from the forest fire. In this crisis situation, Mambi discovers her own special ability. But will it help her save her friends from the hungry flames? Read on to find out.
Highlights:
Mambi with all her goodness and self doubt is lovable and easy for kids to relate to.
The book shows that courage is not the lack of fear, but the ability to do the needful in spite of being terrified.
Mambi does not let petty resentment hold her back, when her friends really need her.
This is an excellent story to read out loud to a group of kids. The plot is simple, so it is easy to follow in a group reading, but there is also enough drama and suspense to keep the kids hooked. I read this book to the kids in my daughter's school, and they loved it.
The book is suitable for 3 to 6 year old kids.
"Monkeyshines are good for something!"
https://sites.google.com/site/kanikagebooks/blog-1/areviewofmambiandtheforestfire
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Not Yet!
Review: Read Diverse 2017
A classic bedtime picture book where the child and parent tussle for control. In this imaginative story in rhyme, all naughtiness has to end in niceness and it does. The story has also been translated into Bengali by the author herself, with a little help from her mother, the legendary poet Nabaneeta Dev Sen. It’s a great book to read aloud and children could of course even act it out – as long as they do get into bed with a little kiss – as weary parents would know.
http://www.chitrasoundar.com/not-yet-readdiverse2017-review/
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In My Heart
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January 1, 2019 - The Indian Express
Reviews from the Good Reads Community
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Published Reviews
“With simple text matched by vivid illustrations, In My Heart is a lovely way to introduce the concept of adoption to children.”
The Hindu Metro Plus
February 27, 2019
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“In My Heart is a deceptively simple and gentle story that takes on one of the most difficult parts of parenting an adopted child. Its tender moments and pleasant illustrations make for splendid bed time reading, with the trickiest issues addressed in a language that appeals to children.”
Scroll.In
May 25, 2019
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“Titled In My Heart, the book explores the subject of adoption through a beautiful story that tugs at the heart strings.”
Mumbai Mirror
June 26, 2019
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“Wonderfully written and beautifully illustrated. The climax melts your hearts. Kudos to the author for writing this heartwarming story.”
Thought Is Free
February 2, 2019
https://anoomk.wordpress.com/2019/02/02/book-review-in-my-heart-by-nandana-dev-sen/
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"Nandana Dev Sen’s book should be essential reading for homes with adopted children. It is a heart-warming way to tell them about their origins. The book is also great for introducing the concept of adoption to young children, who will invariably come across friends/ neighbours/ playmates who have been adopted...
I loved the book for its writing and sensitive handling of a difficult subject, and recommend it to everyone."
A Jaunt Through Life
May 19, 2019
https://nooranandchawla.com/review-of-nandana-dev-sens-in-my-heart/
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“Today I am going to tell you about my favourite NLF (Neev Literature Festival) book. It is called ‘In My Heart’ by Nandana Sen. The book is about the parents’ unconditional love for their child Mia…
I give this book a ‘True Love’ award because Mia’s parents adopted her and always thought she was the most precious thing to them. I hope you read this book because it is about true love and it is also a very special book.”
Rev Ishika (Grade 2C) on Neev Literature Festival
October 14, 2020
https://www.neevliteraturefestival.org/portfolio-item/in-my-heart/
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“This book, ‘In My Heart,’ is a beautifully written and very aptly illustrated kids’ book on adoption. I expected it to get too technical, but it didn’t. I expected it to be a little too complicated for kids but it wasn’t. I expected it to be a good book, but it was beyond great if you ask me.”
My Tiny Tigger
May 30, 2019
https://mytinytigger.com/2019/05/30/in-my-heart-tigger-reviews/
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“Have you read the book “In My Heart”? Well I have! This book is by Nandana Dev Sen. My favourite character is Mia because she is always curious; I am too and I ask a lot of questions….The life lesson I learnt is that no matter where we are, we will always stay together!
Another life lesson is that the person you love will always be in your heart and that the person you love will always love you! The author has written about a family where everyone loves each other unconditionally. I hope you enjoy reading the book.”
Ruhi (Grade 2B) on Neev Literature Festival
October 14, 2020
https://www.neevliteraturefestival.org/portfolio-item/in-my-heart/
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“I choose the book “In My Heart” for the Best Book on Loving and Caring. This book is about an adopted girl named Mia and her family.…My favourite part is when Mia’s parents helped her find her tummy mummy. The love and care which Mia got from her family members made her feel very happy and she found her mother in her heart itself.
This is a FANTASTIC book!”
Saina (Grade 2) on Neev Literature Festival
October 14, 2020
https://www.neevliteraturefestival.org/portfolio-item/in-my-heart/
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“While discussing adoption is often ignored or hushed in our society, the book bravely encourages us to talk about it. The approach to the topic of adoption is heartwarming and celebrating. The book becomes even more endearing as it touches the extended family too.
We need more books like this. This would be helpful for young children, parents, extended families, and other social circles of any bonded-by-heart family.”
Rating: 5/5
Life with my Penguin
May 21, 2019
http://lifewithmypenguin.com/in-my-heart-by-nandana-dev-sen-book-review/
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“In My Heart is a beautifully illustrated and touching book on families bound by heart. Explaining the concept of adoption to a child may seem daunting. However, this book crosses the barrier and gently approaches the topic. The terms ‘tummy-mummy’or ‘heart-parents’ immediately give a voice to these unique relationships. In My Heart quite perceptively opens up the reader to the fact that there are many different kinds of families. It is a story filled with love and poignancy, and the joys of familial bonds.
This book is a wonderful addition to any children’s library, as well as for schools. Adopted or not, all children need to know that ultimately, families are bound by heart!”
BookedforLife
March 2019
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“A very sensitive topic handled with extreme care and warmth, author Nandana Dev Sen has beautifully described Mia’s journey of searching her tummy mummy and the warm end where Mia understands and accepts.”
MOMMYTOMISHKA
May 24, 2019
https://www.instagram.com/mommytomishkaa/p/Bxz238zlpx5/
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“The subject was handled very well by the author. I loved how Mia’s parents had told her the truth from the beginning – that she came from their heart – in a way that she could understand and handle at her age, and continued telling her the truth when she started asking questions about her biological mother, her ‘Tummy Mummy’.
This just reinforces the fact that it is not necessary to lie to children to avoid difficult conversations. There’s always a way to explain the circumstances to them in a way they can understand, and that’s what will always stay with me about this book.”
Being Mamma Bear
May 22, 2019
https://beingmammabear.com/2019/05/22/book-review-in-my-heart-nandana-dev-sen/
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“Often when I pick up childrens books I think about the story and the lesson the story will leave behind for my kid. Recently I happened to come across the book In My Heart by Nandana Dev Sen, published by Puffin Books. This story is presented with simplicity and it easily makes a place for itself In My Heart. The underlying maturity makes this read all the more heart-warming.
Do I recommend this book to your kid? Definitely! Does it have a moral? Yes, it does and you will certainly love it too.”
BOOKS.BABIES.AND.MORE
May 12, 2019
https://ofbookbabiesandmore.wordpress.com/2019/05/12/in-my-heart-by-nandana-dev-sen-book-review
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Books. Babies.And.More - click here for full article (external website)
May 12, 2019
Being Mamma Bear - click here for full article (external website)
May 22, 2019
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"#In My Heart is a deceptively simple & gentle story that takes on one of the most difficult parts of parenting an adopted child. Its tender moments make for splendid bedtime reading, the trickiest issues addressed in a language that appeals to children" #ChildrensBooks #Adoption
There are certain topics that are quite easy to explain to a child and a certain other topics that are a little sensitive. A child is naturally curious and bubbling with questions to understand anything and everything better. When a care giver takes the time and effort to sit down and talk to a child about things, a child realizes the importance given to such topics and makes additional efforts to tune zir own mind about it. This curiosity starts at a very very young age, right from the time the child tries to turn towards a sound or grabs an object. When the care giver tries to encourage a child to explore and understand better, the child grows up emotionally healthy.
Adopting a child or the process of Adoption in itself is one such topic that is a little sensitive, in my opinion. This book, ‘In My Heart’ is a beautifully written and very aptly illustrated kids’ book on adoption. I expected it to get too technical, but it didn’t. I expected it to be a little too complicated for kids but it wasn’t. I expected it to be a good book, it was beyond great if you ask me. Read on to know why and also how you can get a copy of your own.
The book is written in a very simple yet beautiful manner. It portrays the life of Mia and her parents as she understands how she came into the world through a tummy mummy. (Isn’t that a beautiful way to explain things to kids?) It goes on to show how gentle her parents were and how truly understanding a parent can be when a child shows her curiosity. It also has some subtle references to equal parenting and gentle parenting that I absolutely loved.
The illustrations are something I want to specifically mention about as I somehow found the characters melting so beautifully throughout the book. Both Mia’s parents have such gentle looking faces and Tigger immediately said aunty as he looked at Mia’s mom.
My Tiny Tigger
May 30, 2019
https://mytinytigger.com/2019/05/30/in-my-heart-tigger-reviews/
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Thought Is Free, Anook - click here for full article (external website)
February 2, 2019
Instagram Review
May 24, 2019
Twitter link to Scroll.In Interview
May 25, 2019 - click here for full interview (external website)