Beautiful! This lovely picture book is stunningly illustrated, the colours are rich and festive. We follow Ayesha on her way to her older sister's wedding to another woman, there's some resistance along the way but love and dance save the day. The book also introduces a handful of hindi words with definitions at the back. Adorable!

As the name suggests, Ritu and Chandni are all set to get married. But the society and few of their relatives are having a hard time digesting this information. Ritu's baby cousin Ayesha, however, sees this as a wedding where she gets to get decked up, dance and eat to her heart's content. She is genuinely happy for her cousin and questions the negligence and hatred of the society at every step.

'Ritu Weds Chandni' is a sweet story that is set in a society plagued by homophobia. Armed with bright and striking illustrations of a North Indian wedding, this makes for a compelling read. This book is also a great opportunity to get our kids educated about same-sex marriage.

This is the story that will help young children to learn to accept others for who they are. In a conservative society like Indians, it is difficult to change a view or a belief easily, but as the author mentioned that his aim is to teach them about their rights, about human rights especially LGBT's.

The story is told from the point of view of young Ayesha, who is excited for her cousin's wedding party. She learns that not everyone is like her own parents, who understand and accept Ritu's love and were happy that Ritu was going to be the first bride in the Kapoor family to lead her own baraat.

The dialogues were nicely created yet I felt like some conversations were incomplete, like the one with Charu Chachi.
I love the beautiful illustration. It is colorful, festive and delightful. Also, the usage of Hindi terms was great and they are explained at the glossary at the end.

This was so beautiful. The story was simple and impactful. The illustrations were very pretty. Really loved how easily this depicted the hate and discrimination that exists in our society and how baseless they are. Writing this story from the eyes of a young girl really put a spark in it. It effortlessly highlights how queerphobia isn't something natural or just inborn, it is something the society indoctrinates. The art style beautifully captures the explosion of colours and excitement that exists around weddings in India.

I really liked this. the writing, the graphic, everything, the vibe was so realistic and yet so wholesome.

I love that this is a kids book. it's just really good and necessary.

this book can be incredible to make sure kids are not close-minded.
it shows a Hindu marriage but this book is applicable and can be read by all cultures.

I really enjoyed it.

I'm looking forward to checking out other books by the author.

amazing.

I might not be the target market for this picture book (being a 27 year old grown woman) but I really loved it. The illustrations were beautiful, vibrant and accessible, a real celebration of culture. The story itself deftly walked a line between being too serious for a children's book and being too flippant about an important topic. The book focuses on a little girl whose female cousin is getting married to another woman - she can't see why there's such opposition to her cousin's marriage as she can only see the love and joy of such a celebration. It was quite a moving read for something so short. I would buy it for all my little cousins and niblings.

Great representation of South Asian culture and a gay wedding in a children's picture book. I really liked the artwork and the end note by the author.

Ritu Weds Chandi by Ameya Narvankar boldly goes where few children's authors choose to go... LGBT, homophobia, and intolerance. It is well written and beautifully illustrated. I haven't written my full review yet, but when it's done I'll post it to my website (Kelly's Classroom Online).

Update 11/9/2020: I completed my review and posted it to my website. I also included strategies to integrate Ritu Weds Chandni into classroom instruction.

This book is short and sweet while being full of beautiful art work. The short translations in the back helped a lot. It's a good educational book to have while also being a very loving way to show acceptance.

Thank you so much to net galley for sending me a copy of this book. I DNFd this book. If it seems enjoyable I would give it a try

A sublime graphic book for children, very colourful, well drawn but above all the story is essential as it follows Ayesha, a young Indian girl, on her way to her cousin Ritu's wedding with her girlfriend Chandni. The story deals with love in the face of tradition and the need to stand up for those you love.

I thank Netgalley for this book in exchange for honest criticism, and acknowledge Ameya Narvankar for this story and the representation it offers.

Ritu Weds Chandni was an absolute joy to read. While it is a short picture book geared towards a younger audience, it is a read that is impactful and important for all ages. The illustrations are stunning–wonderfully detailed and full of rich, vibrant colors. The story itself is lovely and heartwarming, and it was beautiful to see a children's book that centers an LGBTQ+ couple (specifically, two South Asian women). I thought the book did a wonderful job of addressing a potentially heavy subject in a way that can be understood by young children, while also infusing it with an important message of joy, hope, love, and acceptance. I would absolutely buy/recommend this book for a classroom library, my young cousins, and my friends' children, or even fellow adults. Thank you to Yali Books and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This a short illustrated book about Ritu marrying Chandni and the related wedding arrangements and rituals. Ayesha is much excited about her lovely cousin Ritu's wedding. But she seems to be confused as her relatives are missing from the wedding and even her parents are concerned. She finds out this happening because her Ritu Di marrying her girlfriend Chandni. Ayesha takes a step ahead to make this celebration work.

I loved reading this cute little book which is also an impactful book for children and elders. The colourful and vibrant illustrations made this book look amazing.

<i>arc provided to me by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review</i>

This was absolutely beautiful. The art was stunning, the characters were gorgeous and the message in this short little picture book was so important and just as beautiful as the art.

This story will let others see a new perspective, one that before was not seen in a good light. A younger audience will get to grow up seeing themselves in these characters and seeing the hope and love poured into these pages. Their culture shouldn’t have to be erased for them to love and our main character, Ayesha really highlights this. We see her showing her love for her cousin and her wife and because of Ayesha, they found the courage to continue on with their wedding. This was so beautiful.

I can’t wait for everyone to get their hands on this story.

5/5⭐️

Ritu Weds Chandni by Ameya Narvankar
Rating: 5/5

Little Ayesha is all excited about her favorite cousin Ritu’s wedding. She can’t wait to dance at the baraat ceremony! But not everyone is happy that Ritu is marrying her girlfriend Chandni. Some have even vowed to stop the celebrations. Will Ayesha be able to save her cousin’s big day?

Being a part of a large family, I have attended weddings where relatives, cousins gather together and have immense fun. I always believe that weddings are a great way to celebrate the meeting of two hearts. That’s why, even after not being a fan of children’s books anymore, I picked this book up. I thought this one to be fun read. However, this book emerged out to be a game-changer.

The social message that was sent by the writer through our little Ayesha is important for us as a society to understand and abide by. The judiciary system sanctions a law. However, it is up to the people following the system to respect the law and make everyone’s life smooth. But, to our very dismay, there are always people to come in between every good deed. They don’t have the courage to accept the fact that everything is not about ego and trivial prestige.

Little Ayesha with her innocence will do something that elders were unable to act upon. Children do have very soft hearts and sometimes they act more maturely than adults. I loved the execution of the book. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience.
Thank you, NetGalley for providing me a copy of this beautiful book.

This was so sweet! I don’t often read children’s books, especially picture books, but when I saw what this was about I decided I really wanted to read it,

This was a cute and quick read, and I enjoyed it as an adult - I think children will like the book as well! I enjoyed the art style and there’s plenty of colorful pictures for children to enjoy,

I hope more picture books like this one, with queer characters and especially queer characters of color, get published. It’s so important for children to reads books like this one early on in life and I’m so happy that this book exists for children, I hope to one day have lots of books like this one if I end up having children!

This was such a sweet book! I loved the fierceness of Ayesha refusing to back down when people tried to stop the baraat! I am white and did not know about a lot of these customs, so it was a really cool way for me to learn some new things! I loved seeing a lesbian couple represented in a childrens book, and learning about another culture, and traditions was really fun too. I will definitely be buying this book for my nieces and nephews!

This is such a beautiful book. I love the story, and the illustrations are lovely. I love how a non-indian/non-hindu speaking reader can figure out what the Hindu words used in the story mean from the context of the writing and the pictures. We need more stories like this one for young readers. Nothing but love here.

This is one of the most important children’s books out there.

The book follows the story of Charu, who is excited to go to her cousin Ritu’s wedding. But the wedding is met with many obstacles—many family members do not attend and there are people opposing the wedding who are trying to disrupt it. Love wins in the end and Charu and her family celebrate the union of Ritu and her wife.

As a queer person who grew up in a culture that still doesn’t see queer marriage as valid, reading this book as a child would’ve been so affirming. I hope that young children can read this book and see that love is love and that there are people out there who are accepting, loving, and similar to them. The representation of two women getting married is so powerful, especially in a conservative religious society.

The color palette was very colorful, yet minimal and consistent the whole time, and effectively made the setting very immersive. The cultural details added in were lovely, and as someone who isn’t very familiar with Hinduism or its culture, it was great to see that represented in this book. There are Hindi terms embedded throughout and a glossary at the end. The author’s note was really impactful as well. All around, I think this is a much needed and important book that will positively impact many.

This book is simple, succinct and beautiful. It is a great book for adults who want to educate the children in their lives about compassion, LGBTQ and love. I love that the plot is extremely simple but has enough momentum to keep you engaged. The art is bright and colourful. It's not a style I usually prefer but it fits the narrative pretty well. It's something that was needed in india. It keeps the focus on the 2 women and little Ayesha, making Ayesha the eventual decision maker and ally. It's an amazing choice because it affirms that we only need love to accept things that might not make sense to us. It also places hope in children and how, if we teach them right and don't push our prejudices and agendas upon them, they might take their own decisions which will stem from a place of love.
Sweet, short read.