Malu Bhalu

Many of you will read this book with a child. With you I'd like to share something: how and why this story was born.
It goes back many years... It was a holiday. My son Chotu and were snug as two bugs in bed. I was showing him a book. Oh yes, I must tell you that Chotu is a special child. He is spastic. He cannot speak, he cannot use his hands and feet, nor can he sit and stand. But he loves books, television, and music.
The book we were reading that day was either Chinese or Russian. Stories about polar bears. Now this was our first introduction to polar bears and Chotu and I were thrilled. After we had read thebook, we made up Malu Bhalu. For fun. Sadly, I cannot recall the name of the book or even the author. But we must thank the author for sparking us off.
There's one more thing: Chotu and tend to be feminist. That is why Malu and her mother simply had to be courageous, daring and adventurous. (By feminist I mean that we believe in equality, freedom, and equal opportunity for girls and women.)
This book, then, is dedicated to the carefree, fun loving, whimsical wanderer and seeker hidden inside each one of us.