If you like Roald Dahl’s Matilda, you’re sure to enjoy Leeva at Last by Sara Pennypacker!Leeva’s parents, in a perfectly Roald Dahl-esque way are impossibly cruel. They have all kinds of rules for Leeva. She can’t go to school; in fact she isn’t even permitted to step out of her yard.When, one day, she breaks through the hedge around her yard and makes her way to the library that lies just beyond, a whole world opens for her. A world that is in equal parts fascinating and terrifying.Leeva is a lovely character with a question she must answer. The best place to find answers is, of course, a library. And she slowly does find answers to that impossible question: What are people for? As she meets more people (secretly, of course, for her parents must never know that she steps out), she finds more answers.At the same time, though, she discovers how much people hate her … [Read more...]
My Year in Writing – 2024
Reflecting on my journey as a writer is probably the post I enjoy writing most. Writing is such a slow business and wins are so few and far between that it's easy to get bogged down by all the endless waiting, the ghosting, and the rejections. Yet, when I look back at my year, I realise, again, how far I've come. Each year, I celebrate my wins. I celebrate the books I've written and the ones I'm writing. In brief, here's what my year brought me:two middle-grade books (one was already published by Scholastic Asia, but it came to India in January 2024)a Highlights Foundation scholarship to attend a course on revising a verse noveldozens of school visits, author events, and lit fests... and finally, an agent! Fishbowl Fishbowl is my second novel-in-verse for middle-grade readers. In some ways, it's more ambitious than my first, Uncontrollable, because … [Read more...]
My Year in Workshops – 2024
As someone who loves routine and predictability, it's amazing how unpredictable my workshops are, each year! Teacher training workshops took me to Indapur, Goa, Satara, Talegaon, Nagpur and Beed, in addition to schools all over Pune. This also meant that I did multiple book club and writing sessions from hotel rooms and cafés, just like last year.I also continued to run my in-person writers' club at St. Mary's School, Pune, although I often have to run those sessions online too because I travel for work.With my book clubs, I read 39 books; with my writing courses, I created three e-magazines; it was quite a year! Book Clubs Most of the books we read in 2024 - they didn't all fit neatly in one image! My book clubs are always rewarding. Bringing books to children is such a joy! With the little ones, it's heart-warming to see how … [Read more...]
Top 5 Young Adult Books – 2024
I finally read a few more young adult books last year, so I don't have to combine my late middle-grade and young adult books! I loved all these books, three of which are by writers I've read before. I highly recommend these books for ages 13+! Spin I am not usually a fan of mythological retellings, but what a gorgeous book Spin by Rebecca Caprara was! It was part of the required reading for a course I did on revising a verse novel and it was my favourite on the list. Full of powerful imagery, this sapphic young adult verse novel blew me away with its story as well as its storytelling. It's splendid! Book review The Poet X I read Elizabeth Acevedo's less famous Clap When You Land some time ago and I loved it. The Poet X is, in some ways, even more powerful. It's such a moving story, and the verse form is the perfect way … [Read more...]
Top 10 Middle Grade Books – 2024
I read many, many middle grade books last year, but somehow just one Indian book stands out this time! Here are my top ten, in no particular order. I highly recommend these books to readers ten and above! The Stories Grandma Forgot (and How I Found Them) Last year, I read many books in verse, primarily because that's what I've been writing. My most recent middle-grade verse read was The Stories Grandma Forgot (and How I Found Them) by Nadine Aisha Jassat. It's a richly woven book about family and a support system. I always find verse novels to be pacy reads, but this one was even more so because it has multiple secrets at its core, secrets that the reader is curious to uncover. It's a story about stories, and I love how all the stories come together at the end. Book review Odder Odder by Katherine Applegate is the second … [Read more...]
Top 10 Early Middle Grade Books – 2024
Many of the titles on this list of my favourite early middle grade books from 2024 are book club reads. Some, the children enjoyed thoroughly; others, I enjoyed more than the children did! On the whole, I recommend these books for ages nine and up. In no particular order, here are my top ten early middle grade reads from 2024. No Talking Even though I don't usually like books that follow a boys vs girls sort of dynamic, I thoroughly enjoyed No Talking by Andrew Clements! For me, his books are particularly useful because there's just so much I can do with them at a book club. With easy, readable text that is humorous and engaging, they are perfect for all kinds of readers; plus, my book clubbers love them. No Talking was no different! Book activities Kushti Kid So many books by Vibha Batra have featured on my lists of … [Read more...]
Top 7 Picture Books and Chapter Books – 2024
It's time for my yearly roundups! I have no idea how many books I read last year (I never count), but I know I read a significant number. I read fewer picture books than usual, but I made up for that by reading dozens of chapter books.I always share these annual posts of mine with a disclaimer---not all these books were published in 2024; I just read them in 2024.A second disclaimer---I received several of these books as review copies from the publishers. This does not influence my opinion of the books; I review only ones that I enjoy.And now, here's the first of my lists - my favourite picture books and early chapter books. Three Hook Books and one hOle book feature on the list! What Happened to Grandpa What Happened to Grandpa by Nandini Nayar and Aditi Anand is a beautiful picture book about love and loss. A bittersweet story about coming to … [Read more...]
Boo-Boo the Eco-Warrior
I don't like horror stories, but what about stories featuring a friendly, helpful ghost? Boo-Boo the Eco-Warrior is one of those! Written almost like a series of short stories, this book by Tanushree Podder is a child-friendly read, made all the more engaging by the use of varied font sizes and, of course, pictures. Boo-Boo the ghost, along with her human friend Tanya, embark on a set of adventures including a rescue mission and justice for an old man employed by a cruel shopkeeper. I'm sure my book club will enjoy this one! A Ghostly Friend Wouldn't it be useful to have a friend who can turn invisible at will? What adventures would you go on together? Tanya and Boo-Boo have some answers, but I know that my book clubbers will have more! Newspaper Bags Schools often use the phrase "art integration", something that is an integral … [Read more...]
Misfit Madhu
We're rereading Misfit Madhu at my book club! It was a favourite when I read it two years ago, although it's longer and slightly more complex than the books we usually read. I'm waiting to read it again!Madhu makes an app that goes viral. At first, she can't quite believe it, but soon, she begins to bask in the attention. Things quickly go wrong, though, and Madhu must decide between what she wants and what's right. Here's what we'll do as we read the book! Apps When we read Cricket for the Crocodile, we did an activity where we made our own games. One child made a rudimentary online game, which made me wonder: what apps do children feel they need? While we won't create an app (I know nothing about coding!), we will try to design one, coming up with a name, a purpose and details of what the app can do, no matter how farfetched. What … [Read more...]
Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom
Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom opens with the oracle at Delphi predicting the fall of the Titans. The future is misty and the oracle’s glasses are foggy, so she can’t quite tell what will happen. What lies ahead? Dancers? Oh, no. Danger. Danger lies ahead.On that humorous note, we begin the story of Zeus, who has no idea that he isn’t an ordinary ten-year-old boy. Sure, it often feels like the lightning is after him, but then, that isn’t possible, is it? It’s a coincidence. It has to be. Except for the fact that each time lightning strikes him, he hears a voice saying, "You are the one."I thoroughly enjoyed reading Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom, which made me sure that my book club would love it too. Adventure, suspense and a good dose of mythology make it a fun read! Chip English At the temple in Delphi, Zeus discovers a rock chip, which … [Read more...]