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.And so, each time, I try to work with different kinds of poetry. We've done list poems and narrative verse, limericks, rhymes, poems with strong verbs, and much, much more. Everything serves as a poetry prompt for me, and I think it can work for anyone!For instance, what we read always helps us to get creative, and so, my reading programmes too have an element of poetry sometimes. Here's a brief look some of the kinds of poetry we've explored recently.CinquainsThe first poem below is a cinquain, which the children wrote when we read I Survived: The California Wildfires, 2018. … [Read more...]
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, I read it in one sitting.Who's Afraid of a Giant Wheel? is the story of a fourth-standard girl, Noorie, who's confident and chatty in school. So confident that she's sure she will be vice-captain. There's no competition, after all!But at home, it's a different story. Her neighbour Tina, who's an Almost Teenager, runs Noorie's life, and Noorie would do anything to be in Tina's good graces. Even if it means putting up with Tina's terrible twin Tarun.The book takes us through the ups and downs in Noorie's life, and for me, therein lies the analogy of the giant wheel. There are exciting … [Read more...]
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 all, which made me wonder about the universality of the story.Despite my questions about what unilingual people would make of the book, I couldn't help chuckling at the inter-language wordplay. I've lost track of the number of times people have asked me why south Indians write Seetha, Geetha, Bharatha Natyam ... the works. But I've never thought of writing a book about it! Nisha Small: The Knot of Gold was fun!With Nisha and Jamie, the reader investigates the mystery of the thaali thief. Jamie has complete confidence in Nisha. She is the best detective in school, … [Read more...]
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 done, I love it. A few favourites come to mind instantly - All Mine and It's a Laddoo Party are at the forefront. In this book, we have Passepartout, is that you? And of course, each time the protagonist asks the question, it is not Passepartout, but something else altogether.. Because how could you have a story about a missing tortoise if we find the tortoise immediately?What I loved most was hunting for Passepartout in Jemma Jose's illustrations. Have you read You Can't Find Me? It's one of my favourite stories on StoryWeaver, and I've used it countless times at workshops. … [Read more...]
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 diagram to find friends? Tara and the Friendship Theorem is a lovely book about big changes and making friends. Like with Ramanujan, I enjoyed the facts at the head of each chapter; they help me get into Tara's very particular character. Just like Tara (and the author Chitra Soundar), I, too, played pallanguzhi as a child too, though my rules were a little different from the ones at the beginning of the book. But I played all things mathematics - Cheese Buzz, Magic Squares, even mental maths games. Unlike Tara, however, I never attempted to use Maths to find friends. And more importantly, I … [Read more...]
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 - raining cupcakes, a missing chicken, a pink pool and more!Here's what we'll do as we read the book together. Solve It Yourself! Can we all become detectives? We'll begin by trying to solve the clues in the stories, but we'll move on to observing the world around us. What unusual things do we notice the moment we pay attention? A mark on the wall? A strange smell? Good detectives are, first, good observers! Magical Chairs Many children are familiar with Enid Blyton's wishing chair. Here, in The Egghead Detective Agency, we have another … [Read more...]
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 with a beloved character, Shikar, who wonders where all the birds have disappeared. He soon finds the reason - the presence of a falcon in the neighbouring garden! Of course, the birds, terrified, have flown away. But everything isn't as it seems, and Shikar soon realises that the mighty falcon needs their help.Here's what we'll do as we read Talon the Falcon together.Idioms and Proverbs Birds of a feather flock together. Bird-brained. Chicken-hearted.I never tire of working with theme-based idioms with children. A quiz always … [Read more...]
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 year as a writer was the publication of a book I started writing in 2015, after I visited the beautiful forests of Nagzira. Red EyesRed Eyes is an environmental thriller, and it is one of the very few books I've written that was never rejected. I started writing it in 2015, but I'm what they call a pantser. I muddle about, writing what I can, letting the story take the lead. So, in the beginning, I had nothing but an assortment of tales told to us by guides we met in Nagzira and Tadoba.Guide tales? Interesting, sure, but I wanted more. So I started putting them all together in a story told … [Read more...]
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 that weren't factors I needed to consider at all in 2020-21. And it's been quite a journey. We did so much; I met so many people; I travelled extensively for work. I can't help wondering what 2023 is going to be like! Book Clubs Book Club Reads 2022 (ages 9 and 10) I launched my first book club in December 2020, and look how far we've come! Yes, we read ALL these books in 2022. I read 14 with ages nine and ten, and 18 with ages seven and eight.Yes, there were … [Read more...]
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 be classified better as late middle-grade. The reason I include them here rather than on my MG list is that I know I would have enjoyed them more as a young adult than as a middle-grader! Clap When You LandI love it when I chance upon a book that I've never heard of and love it! I was scrolling through recommended reads on Kindle Unlimited, and I came across Clap When You Land. It had nearly 5,000 ratings. That was all I looked at before I downloaded and read it.And I loved it. Verse novels, when well done, are brilliant. I love their sparseness - no beating around the bush, no unnecessary details, just … [Read more...]