The Tilted City, written by Masoud Malekyari and illustrated by Susan Batori, is a cute hardbound children’s picture book about a zebra who lands up in a city where everything is tilted because the king who rules this place has ordered everything to be this way. He has innumerable questions popping in his head but learns soon enough that they are considered inconvenient and unwelcome here. Not one to be cowed down by fear, this zebra approaches none other than the king himself.
Why is the zebra perturbed by the status quo? What does it mean to shake things up, and straighten them? Who gets to decide what is normal? How does it feel to be a misfit? Why does standardization seem unreasonable and scary? What are the risks involved in speaking up? Where can one find the courage to say things that are obvious to all, but no one is reluctant to name?
Published by Perky Parrot, the children’s imprint of Niyogi Books, this book offers more questions than answers, inviting readers to contemplate the literal and metaphorical meanings embedded in the story. It resists any singular or definitive interpretation, and this works in its favour.
(Chintan Girish Modi, who recommends this book, is @chintanwriting on Instagram and X.)
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