As a child, I adored animal stories. Dick King-Smith was a favourite, and I scoured the British Library for his books. Another favourite was the Animal Ark series – completely different in the sense that the animals aren’t anthropomorphic, but fun, all the same. That’s one of the reasons we’re reading The Lizard of Oz at my […]
Pinkoo Shergill: Pastry Chef
When the publishers sent me a review copy of Pinkoo Shergill: Pastry Chef, I devoured it. Even as I read it, I knew I wanted to introduce it to my book club soon. The only question I had was as to whether to introduce it to ages seven and eight, or nine and ten. Ultimately, I […]
Petu Pumpkin: Cheater Peter
Petu Pumpkin is a cheat! Or at least, so Jatin is convinced. And if Petu Pumpkin continues to cheat and lie, what will become of him? One day, he fakes a stomach ache. He used to be a tiffin thief. Tomorrow, he’ll be a pickpocket. And then soon, he’ll be a murderer! His friends have […]
Munni Monster
Mishti’s life is good. She has a best friend (never mind if said best friend is a little annoying), parents who love her, and a grandmother whom she adores. Everything’s perfect–until Munni, her grandmother’s cousin, comes to stay–no, live–with them. And suddenly, things are not idyllic anymore. Munni is a weirdo. She is old, but […]
Chitti’s Travelling Book Box
I love books about books, so I knew I would enjoy Chitti’s Travelling Book Box. When Chitti comes back from her Madras Mama-Mami’s place with a surprise gift, her friends can’t wait to find out what she’s brought. Unfortunately for them, it’s a box of books. Who gets excited about books? Chitti can’t believe how […]
Gupshup Goes to Prison
Why do some books sit on my shelves for months before I get around to reading them? I bought my copy of Gupshup Goes to Prison in August last year. In September, I met author Arefa Tehsin at the Neev Literature Festival and got my copy signed. I finally read it today! And what a […]
Writing Poetry
I’ve been conducting writing workshops for a long time, and if there’s one thing I love working with, it’s poetry. Nearly every writing programme I conduct begins with a poetry module. Why? Because it’s accessible. It’s far easier to write a poem in a week than it is to write a story in a week. […]
Who’s Afraid of a Giant Wheel?
I remember reading and enjoying Simply Nanju some five years ago. Who’s Afraid of a Giant Wheel?, also by Zainab Sulaiman, is even better. It’s the kind of story that made me wonder what draws me into a book. Is there adventure? No. Mystery? Also no. But did I enjoy the book?Very much. In fact, […]
Nisha Small: The Knot of Gold
Nisha Small (née Kutty) is the best detective in Madurai. And it’s time for her to compete with mustachioed detectives to catch the thaali thief. A missing thaali! That’s the knot of gold. But what does the word thaali mean to you? Different things depending on where you’re from. Or perhaps it means nothing at […]
Passepartout, Is That You?
I attended part of Menaka Raman’s session on Passepartout, Is That You? at Bookaroo Vadodara, and I was curious. I knew Passepartout was a tortoise, but that was all. What would the story be about? I finally read this delightful Hook Book just now, and I loved it! When repetition in picture books is well […]
Tara and the Friendship Theorem
Maths and Logic are fascinating. I remember when I studied Descartes, who tried to prove the existence of God using pure logic. I understand the drive to do that – just like I understand Tara’s need to use a theorem to find friends. Can a foolproof Friendship Theorem exist? Can we actually use a Venn […]
Amelia Bedelia Goes Wild
We read our first Amelia Bedelia (Amelia Bedelia Means Business) at the second edition of my reading programme, and what fun we had with it! Even though there were children who didn’t understand much of the word play, the humour came through, and we enjoyed the book thoroughly. Amelia Bedelia Goes Wild promises to be just as […]
The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips
I read The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips several years ago. And like most of Michael Morpurgo’s books, it’s a classic. In the cruellest, most inhuman of times, we find stories of courage and love – Morpurgo never fails to remind us of that. Through a series of diary entries, we learn about 11-year-old Lily, who lives […]
The Egghead Detective Agency
What child has never dreamed of being a detective? The Egghead Detective Agency is perfect for my book club in so many ways. For one, there are clues to solve within each story. For another, the characters are young children, accompanied by a friendly ghost, making the book fun to read. I enjoyed the cases too […]
Talon the Falcon
We love the Feather Tales series at my book club! I didn’t choose to read Talon the Falcon earlier because it is much shorter than The Golden Eagle and The Paradise Flycatcher, but when children fall in love with a series, how can we not read the whole lot together? Set in the familiar Rose Garden, Talon the Falcon opens […]
My Year in Writing: 2022
What can I say about a year when I FINALLY managed to take my books to audiences? At lit fests in Gurugram, Vadodara, Jaipur and Pune, I shared my books, interacted with children, and did school visits once more. Almost all through 2022, I was on a high! And yet, the true highlight of the […]
My Year in Workshops: 2022
The year 2022 was all about flexibility. Conducting online sessions from cafés and hotel rooms.Finishing an online session before boarding a bus to do an in-person session in another city. Adjusting schedules.Cancelling some editions of my book club because children were – finally – travelling.Competing with swimming and cricket coaching and all the other things […]
My Favourite Late Middle-Grade and Young Adult Books from 2022
I just looked back at the post where I listed my favourite young adult books from 2021. When I wrote that, I resolved to read more YA in 2022. And that didn’t happen. In fact, I read fewer. Just one of the three books on this list is a YA book; the other two would […]
My Favourite Middle-Grade Books from 2022
I read and loved so many middle-grade books in 2022! While some of these are early middle-grade books (I’ve read four of them with my book club for ages nine and ten), others are for ages ten and above. When I review a book, I usually indicate what age-group I think it is suited to, […]
My Favourite Chapter Books from 2022
Each year, I read dozens of chapter books for my book clubs. Despite that–or perhaps because of that–there were just three that I fell in love with in 2022. That is not to say I didn’t like the books I read; I did. I enjoyed most of them thoroughly. Yet, as I looked back at […]