Where There's A Will, There's a Way! Farmer Falgu Goes to the Market by Chitra Soundar

It was market day.

Farmer Falgu loaded his cart.

Falgu sets off to market, his oxcart loaded carefully with baskets of tomatoes, onions, chilies, cilantro, white eggs, brown eggs, and a few duck eggs as well.

All is well as the two oxen set off at a brisk trot down the road, until the cart wheel hits some big potholes!

BUMP!

Now all is not well.

The white eggs are CRACKED!

Farmer Falgu is sad. But the rest of his cargo is sound, so he sets off to market again! But...

WHOA!

A mother duck and her ducklings dart across the road and Farmer Falgu's cart stops abruptly. But the baskets of tender chilis and cilantro are crushed under cascading onions. Still, Falgu has brown eggs and duck eggs and tomatoes left to sell, so he slaps the reins and his oxen set off once more.

Farmer Falgu is almost to the marketplace when a speeding truck forces his oxen to veer suddenly, and the rest of his cargo is squashed, cracked, or crushed! Now he has nothing to sell at the market!

Or does he?

Farmer Falgu knows just what to do. To make an omelet, you have to first break some eggs, and Falgu is already ahead in that game. He sets up a brazier in the middle of the marketplace, chops up his vegetables and herbs, and makes something absolutely scrumptious for all the hungry people there.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, and Chitra Soundra make good use of what's left in her Farmer Falgu Goes to the Market (Farmer Falgu Series) (Karadi Tales, 2018). This colorful tale is a lively modern fable in the mode of Aesop himself, great for giving kids a valuable little lesson in handling disappointments and mishaps and and with a bit of imagination and serendipity, making the best of what they've got. Artist Kanika Nair's illustrations, done up in strong blackline and glowing colors, are a delightful example of visual storytelling in themselves.

For a great folktale with a similar theme share this one with Phoebe Gilson's Something from Nothing or Sims Taback's Caldecott-winning version, Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (Caldecott Honor Book)