It's been ages since I wrote a travel post, although I've been thinking about writing one for a while. Often, there's so much else I want to write that travel posts take a backseat. But Nagaland was special for so many reasons that I decided to write about it even though this post comes almost one month late.The White Owl Literature Festival and Book FairI always dreamed of my writing taking me to places I've never visited. Going to Dimapur, Nagaland, for a literature fest was surreal!I did my first ever event on How I Feel, and although I had a very mixed audience in terms of age-group, I loved it. We explored emotions, drew emojis, and wrote a little, all in this beautiful bookstore, The White Owl. Among the many charming things the literature festival did was to make these steps with our books on them!I did a writing workshop based on my first novel-in-verse, … [Read more...]
Ghosts, Thieves and Aha! Adventures
I love the idea of a Silly Billy Book! That's what the series is called, and that's what drew me to Ghosts, Thieves and Aha! Adventures by Asha Nehemiah in the first place. With its full colour illustrations, the series is a great addition to books that bridge an awkward gap between age-groups and reading levels. It's perfect for ages eight and above, well suited to children who aren't yet ready to pick up middle-grade books, but enjoy colourful chapter books.Independent bookstores are close to my heart, and a book set in a bookstore was bound to be fun! At Aha! Books, there seems to be rather a lot happening. There's a ghost that keeps putting a particular book on display. There's a thief (or more than one thief, perhaps?) who steals scarves and harmonicas. Could a rambunctious dog called Kattabomman, a baby called T-Reks and a young man called Biplob be somehow involved?Like … [Read more...]
The Hunt for the Nightingale
Gone to a better place. Passed away. Moved on. Passed on. We have so many euphemisms to help us talk about death. But what if, sometimes, you need to hear the harsh truth, unembellished?Anxious, socially awkward Jasper Wilde puts all his faith in just one person--his sister Rosie. Rosie never breaks promises. She sits with him and helps him listen. She shows him birds and helps him create a book of birds, full of good, true facts, which calm him down whenever he panics. When he learns that she's gone to a better place, he knows exactly where that better place is. It's where Rosie told him they would go find their nightingale.And so, Jasper sets off on a journey alone. A journey to find Rosie and the nightingale they listened to together.The Hunt for the Nightingale by Sarah Ann Juckes is a heartbreaking, heartwarming story. It's the story of a boy who loves his sister so … [Read more...]
The Girl Who Played with Numbers – Shakuntala Devi
The Girl Who Played with Numbers by Lavanya Karthik is a lovely addition to her series of biographies for very young readers. A little note tells us that the illustrations in this book about Shakuntala Devi are inspired by the Mysore school of painting. While this isn’t my favourite style, I love the fact that the choice isn’t random.I also enjoyed the story, and the part I loved best was the childlike desire to stop studying and be allowed to play instead. Shakuntala Devi may have been a genius and a prodigy, but she was, after all, a child! I like that the story mentions it without dwelling on it.The Dreamers series is a delightful one, ideal for those looking for simple, illustrated biographical picture books. I look forward to seeing who the next dreamer in the series will be!TitleThe Girl Who Played with NumbersAuthor and illustratorLavanya KarthikTagsDreamers, Picture … [Read more...]
The Bridge Home
Eleven-year-old Viji has had enough. Her mother might believe that her father is repentant and will stop abusing her. But when he hits Viji and Rukku, she makes a decision. However harsh life on the streets may be, it is preferable to being home with a drunken, abusive father. And so, Viji takes her sister Rukku away, determined to find a place where she can be safe. Amongst untrustworthy adults and bullies, she finds friends who are better than family. She finds home.The Bridge Home is a story of grit and love, of finding home outside home. As a creative writing trainer, I thought about it as a mentor text too, a wonderful example of how well a story told in second person can work. Viji tells the story as if she is talking to her little sister Rukku. We hear every emotion in her voice--her longing, her regret and the depth of her love. Everything that she does is with Rukku in … [Read more...]
The Letter with the Golden Stamp
The Letter with the Golden Stamp by Onjali Q. Raúf is such a heartwarming story! As a lover of letters (psst: my first novel in letters, The Wall Friends Club, is just out!), I was drawn to the idea of a story about a special letter right away. With an enterprising protagonist at the centre, the book is completely unpredictable and utterly charming.The book opens with Audrey sitting in a police station, sure that she has been arrested even though the adults around assure her that she has not. They just want to know her story. And as she tells her story, the reader keeps wondering, What did she actually do? How outlandish could her ideas get? And the reveal doesn't disappoint!Stories with strong familial relationships and friendships always warm my heart. The desire to protect your family's secrets is so strong! It's what inspired my Sisters at New Dawn, and I keep encountering … [Read more...]
The Astoundingly True Adventures of Daydreamer Dev
It's been nearly four years since we read The Absolutely True Adventures of Daydreamer Dev by Ken Spillman. We had fun reading it, and I hope The Astoundingly True Adventures of Daydreamer Dev will be as much fun with a new group of book clubbers!Dev is a highly imaginative character. The smallest things set him off on the wackiest of daydreams. A question asked during his geography lesson sends him daydreaming to Antarctica. A conversation about volcanoes, and he lands up in Whakaari. Where can our book club escapades take us? Where are you? Physically, Dev may be in an autorickshaw, but his mind is far away in New Zealand!What was the last place you read about? What if you were transported there? What do you think you would do, see or eat? Daydreaming Adventures Picture prompts always spark the imagination. I will give each child … [Read more...]
Nimmi’s Bizuper Birthday
Some time ago, we read Nimmi’s Dreadtastic Detective Days, and although it is longer than most of the other books I choose for Read, Write, Explore, we enjoyed it. It’s funny and engaging, and there’s so much we can do with the book!Nimmi's Bizuper Birthday is no different. Like in Lucky Girl, Nimmi finds herself eating (and sharing) all kinds of ... interesting ... foods. How can she admit that the chocolate-like things she distributes are jowar banana bites?The hapless Nimmi finds herself in one coil after another as she navigates her way through a birthday that is nothing short of bizuper. Portmanteau Words I love portmanteau words! When we put two words together—like bizarre and super to get bizuper—we have a portmanteau word. We’ll do a quick quiz about words that have come into being in exactly this way, before we go on to invent a few … [Read more...]
The Chocolate Touch
The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling is an old book, unlike most of the others I select for my book clubs. Its copyright dates back to 1952! And that's not the only thing that makes it different from the books I usually choose. Another important distinction is that it has a clear moral, something I usually avoid. But the story is such fun! Plus, it's about chocolate, so it's already a win, isn't it?John Midas loves chocolate. He can eat it all the time. Or so he thinks. It is only when everything that touches his lips turns to chocolate that he begins to realise that there might just be a limit to the amount of chocolate he can eat.At first, no one believes him. How could they? He has to be lying. How can everything he puts in his mouth turn to chocolate? That's absurd!Eventually, however, everyone realises he is telling the truth. Even the doctor has no choice but to believe … [Read more...]
I Survived the Nazi Invasion, 1944
We’ve read one book from the I Survived series at Read, Write, Explore before—I Survived the California Wildfires, 2019. This one, I Survived the Nazi Invasion, 1944, was written way before that, and from what I can tell, it’s one of Lauren Tarshis’s most popular books. I thought long and hard before choosing to read this book with 9- and 10-year-olds. The horrific events of the second world war don’t make for easy reading, and like I’ve said before, it’s always more difficult to gauge the mood of my book clubbers online than offline.Yet, it’s an important story, and while I wonder what conversations will be triggered by the book, I’m looking forward to reading it at Read, Write, Explore. Symbols Different symbols mean different things. The star and the swastika on the cover, for instance, are relevant. What other symbols do we know, and what … [Read more...]