At the Neev Literature Festival 2023, I watched Menaka Raman conduct a session on character development, and I knew I wanted to invite her to my writing programme. She did a session for us today, and what an engaging session it was! Her lively teaching style made the workshop a treat. This workshop was my twenty-sixth guest session, and my very first one on podcasting. Menaka took us through the basics---from what a podcast is to what equipment we need to record a podcast.In some ways, a podcast is like Netflix for audio - it has episodes that are recorded and that you can listen to in your own time. That’s what makes it different from radio, which you have to catch only when it is broadcast!Through a series of writing exercises, Menaka helped us experience firsthand the process of podcast creation. Asking the right questions, choosing a theme, taking our time editing---all … [Read more...]
When You Trap a Tiger
What an unexpected book!Often, I don't know much about books before I read them. Some books keep showing up on my social media. Others are recommended to me multiple times by children I teach. Usually, it takes me a while to get around to reading them, and based on who recommends a book to me, I sometimes have preconceived notions about what a book will be about. For instance, despite its name, I expected When You Trap a Tiger to be realistic fiction, with no fantasy or fable thrown in. I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong!Lily and her family move into her grandmother's house to take care of her. When the girl realises how sick her grandmother is, she knows that there's only one way to save her. The tiger from all her Halmoni's stories needs to be placated. She must do what it takes, and she must act on her own.The traditional Korean stories her grandmother has shared … [Read more...]
The Poet X
I've been meaning to read Elizabeth Acevedo's The Poet X ever since I read Clap When You Land and discovered that she had another, more famous verse novel. I borrowed this one from Kahaani Box (may libraries prosper forever!), and I loved it. A powerful, moving story told from a young Hispanic girl's point of view, The Poet X is about rebellion, love, and making your voice heard.Xiomara, the protagonist of the story, keeps her poetry to herself. Only her twin Xavier, whom she calls Twin, has listened to her work.But that is until she meets Aman, who, it seems, wants to hear her voice, wants to hear her poetry. Slowly, she begins to unfurl. But coming out of her cocoon may require more than she bargained for. Unlike her best friend Caridad, she questions the faith she is expected to follow blindly. She cannot find it in herself to listen to her mother and be a model … [Read more...]
Amil and the After
Five years ago, I read The Night Diary. It's a story that brings alive the bewilderment of children forced to move out of their homes during the Partition. But just like the "happily ever after" at the end of fairytales glosses over the beginning of a new, complicated phase of life, safely reaching a new home after the Partition cannot be the end of a story.And with Amil and the After, we see that it isn't. The struggles and questions Nisha and Amil face don't end with the end of their journey across an arbitrary border. Now, through Amil's eyes, we follow another kind of journey. A journey that involves settling in, finding friends, and building a new home.The emotions of the two adolescents in the story come alive to us. Most importantly, we understand their guilt. What right do they have to be safe when so many others didn't make it? How is it fair that they have a roof … [Read more...]
In the Bear’s Den
Little Shambu is such fun! I read In the Bear's Den and Other Adventures of Little Shambu some time ago, and at my book club, we read the first book in the Little Shambu series earlier this year. Short stories are fun! I'm looking forward to reading more of this young animal lover's adventures with my book club! Dialogue Role play for dialogue reading is something that I repeat frequently at my book club. Paying attention to paragraph structure and punctuation, and understanding how we know who says what is an important step towards creating stories as the children grow older! Drawing an Animal When we read Ostrich Girl, we discovered that drawing an ostrich isn't actually very difficult. What about a bear? We'll draw a bear together and perhaps a couple of other animals too! Unscramble I know that unscrambling words … [Read more...]
Paati vs UNCLE
We're rereading Paati vs UNCLE by Meera Ganapathi at my book club! It is a delightful combination of funny and serious, action-driven and character-driven, making it a perfect book club read.Inju is all set for a quiet, boring holiday with his Paati. That's just the way he likes it. Unfortunately, from the moment he gets to Parijat Retirement Colony where his grandmother lives, he realises that it's going to be an exciting, adventurous holiday, not a quiet, boring one. It isn't what he wanted, but when his Paati is upset and angry, what can he do except take charge? Making Posters Inju makes a poster inviting people to join PAATI - People's Association Against Thieves International. Someone else puts up a poster about a missing parrot, Gangaram.Posters are always fun to make! What if you want to get people to adopt kittens in your society? And … [Read more...]
The Magic Finger
I typically shy away from very well-known books at my book club because I feel that children will come across these books through schools and bookshops anyway. But I've always loved Roald Dahl's work, and what is a book club for if not to spark the joy of reading? We've read Fantastic Mr Fox and Esio Trot. Next month, we'll read The Magic Finger! Anger While all of us might wish we had a magic finger to zap someone who makes us angry, that isn't practical, is it? What do you do when you're angry? What makes you angry? Superpowers Discussing superpowers is a great way to get creative. What superpowers would you like to have? What would you do with those superpowers?Taking this further, what superpowers would you need to solve specific problems that we see around us? Book Review With my book club for ages seven and … [Read more...]
Leonora Bolt: Secret Inventor
I borrowed Leonora Bolt: The Great Gadget Games from a library recently, and my first thought was that the series would be perfect for my book club!A science-loving protagonist with imaginative, innovative ideas, a secret inventor, an unusual set of friends ... it's full of possibilities! And that's why we're going to be reading the first book from the series, Leonora Bolt: Secret Inventor at my book club next month. Friendship Leonora Bolt's friends include an otter, a cook, a sea captain and a boy who washes up on the island. This will be our prompt to write about an unusual friendship we'd love to have. If you could befriend anyone, whom would you befriend and why? How do you think you could help each other? Inventions If you are on an island in the middle of nowhere, but you were the smartest person in the world, what would … [Read more...]
Bookasura
Some books demand to be read at reading programmes. Lucky Girl, with its exploration of poetry. Chitti's Travelling Book Box with its message of spreading the love for reading. Book Uncle and Me, with the need to save a lending library.And Bookasura, with its book-eating asura. And that's why we're rereading this one at my book club!Bala loves books. He devours them. Not literally, of course. The problem, however, is his baby sister Meera, who actually likes to eat books. When Bala meets Bookasura, a book-eating demon, he sees a strong resemblance between Meera and the asura. What can he do to defeat Bookasura? What weapon does he have to destroy this book-loving monster?Bookasura is a fun, funny book about a boy fighting a villain who is bigger and stronger. He uses the skills he has - his stories and his wit. Imaginative and thrilling, I know this is the perfect book to read next with … [Read more...]
Birds on the Brain
Uma Krishnaswami's Birds on the Brain is such a lovely book! I've read Book Uncle and Me with my book club, and I just revisited the post I wrote about it. Three years ago, I wrote about having discovered verse novels "quite recently" and now I have two verse novels of my own!In Birds on the Brain, we meet lots of familiar characters, and although I love verse novels, I enjoyed this book more than the first. The characters, particularly the protagonist Reeni, are wonderfully relatable. Reeni, for instance, is a balance of self-centred and selfless. She has birds on her brain and it takes her a while to notice that not everyone is motivated by the same things. Yet, she makes an effort. She doesn't want to lose her friend Anil and she does want to help the istri lady. But how?This endearing story shows us just how she can catch two birds with one phone, to use her words, much kinder than … [Read more...]