‘PIVALIDHAMAK SAGUNABAI’ IS A COLLECTION OF STORIES CENTERED AROUND THE LIVES OF ADOLESCENT CHILDREN. AS ONE PEERS INTO THE WORLD OF THESE CHILDREN, ONE REALIZES THAT WE, TOO, HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME FLIGHTS OF THOUGHT AND IMAGINATION. IN TODAY’S TECHNOLOGICAL ERA, THESE STORIES TEACH CHILDREN HOW TO TRULY LIVE OUT THEIR CHILDHOOD ONCE AGAIN. THROUGH SOME OF THESE TALES, THE MEDICINAL PROPERTIES OF COMMON KITCHEN INGREDIENTS—SUCH AS TURMERIC, SALT, GINGER, AND GARLIC—ARE REVEALED. MEANWHILE, THE DEGRADATION OF NATURE—MANIFESTING AS DRYING RIVERS AND STREAMS, AND BARREN HILLS AND VALLEYS—FINDS EXPRESSION THROUGH THE CHILDREN`S INNER MONOLOGUES. THESE THEMES ARE PRESENTED IN AN ENGAGING MANNER, VIEWED THROUGH THE CHILDREN`S OWN INTELLECTUAL LENS, THEREBY FOSTERING AWARENESS. AS A FATHER FIGURE, THE AUTHOR, EKNATH AVHAD, HAS UNDERTAKEN THE TASK OF INSTILLING IN CHILDREN—AT A FORMATIVE AGE—AN AWARENESS REGARDING THE UTILITY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS AND INGREDIENTS IN DAILY LIFE, AS WELL AS THE IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION.