Each January, when I look through my blog posts and my shelf on Goodreads, I realise how much I've read! As always, many of these books weren't published in 2021; I just read them in 2021.Through the course of the year, I read a range of picture books from wordless ones (which I love) to long, beautiful stories that are more suited to older readers. I've tried to arrange them on the basis of reading level, but with 18 books on the list, I kept shuffling the order because children and their reading levels are so different! My Street My Street, written by Sadaf Siddique and illustrated by Habib Ali, is a lovely wordless picture book that I read nearly a year ago now. It's such a treat!It's a perfectly ordinary day in a familiar neighbourhood - but even an ordinary day is full of colour and adventure.I ‘read’ with round eyes until I reached the end. What more could I ask for from a … [Read more...]
Art, Music and Movement with Veda Aggarwal
Yes. Each time I invite a guest to speak to my creative writing programme, I realise that the session is as much for me as it is for the children. As a writer, I am often caught in a capitalist circle, writing with a clear goal in sight. What is the purpose of a piece? What do I want my audience to feel?Yet, sometimes, writing is just writing. The arts are interconnected and once in a while, we need to be reminded of that.When we were children and teens, Veda and I spent hours talking about art, music and literature. We read Shakespeare and made notes (which I probably still have somewhere). We discussed Giotto and Matisse, Van Gogh and Gaugin. Veda painted and drew; I didn't. When Veda was ten (I think), she started playing the guitar and we began to listen to classical music together. We talked about Vivaldi and Mozart, Schubert and Beethoven. We thought about and spoke … [Read more...]
White Socks Only
White Socks Only is a stunning piece of literature and art, a charming book about a curious child eager to find out whether something she's heard is true. I revisited this book purely for the purpose of teaching it, and there's just so much to explore! Of course, the obvious choices would be to visit the themes of racism and segregation. But as a creative writing trainer, there's much more.The book opens with the young narrator wanting a story, and not just any story, her favourite story. And she knows just how to get her grandma to tell that story - by asking if she may go to town alone. She knows what the response will be - she may not go until she can do some good there. But she also knows that this will lead to the story of the time her grandmother sneaked out, went to town--and unwittingly did some good there.Without revealing why her grandmother went to town and what … [Read more...]
Magic Flutes
I love giving books away. I don't hold with the idea that if you have too many books, you need a new shelf. But on the other hand, I do think that there are books for keeps, comfort reads want to go back to and sob over.Eva Ibbotson's Magic Flutes is one of those. I read it in 2018 and loved it (even though it didn't make it to my top ten list), but rereading always brings a different kind of joy. Often, it's only when I reread that I look at the book as a writer. What draws me in? What captures my heart? Over and over again, I realise that it's setting and character. They go together, and they're far more important to me than plot.Set in Vienna just after the first World War, Magic Flutes tells the story of young Tessa, a princess who is a determined Republican. She believes that art and music are universal equalisers. They are what will help abolish titles and aristocracy, … [Read more...]
November Reads
Generally speaking, I read so little literature in translation! Just by chance, however, this month, I've read three books in translation. One was adapted from several Russian editions, one translated from German, and one translated from Swedish. Each is for a different age-group, and each one was enjoyable in its own special way. Here are a few quick reviews. Little Girls Are Wiser Than Men I've never owned a collectible book before, and this one is such a treat. Illustrated with linocut art by Lebanese printmaker Hassan Zahreddine, printed on handmade paper, using a vintage 1965 Heidelberg letterpress, translated from Russian by an Indian ... I love how global the book is! And apart from all the elements that make the physical book special, the story is lovely. I hadn't read the original tale in any form, but I enjoyed reading this one. As I work … [Read more...]
A Very Naughty Dragon
I love Paro Anand's books, and when I learned that she had collaborated with a nine-year-old girl to write a book, I was intrigued. As a teacher and creative writing trainer, I've read many stories that children have written. Some are excellent, others not so much. A Very Naughty Dragon? I had to read it to find out.I did, and I loved it. It starts slowly, with a lot of repetition that I associate with books for much younger children, but as I read on, I enjoyed it more and more. I love the place where it sits in terms of a story - between picture books and chapter books, full of colourful illustrations, but with enough text to make the story more than a book for very young readers.Draco is a Komodo dragon, determined to show his father that he can hunt. Surely he can catch a Timor deer! No, it's too fast.A civet cat? No again.A butterfly? Nope.But Draco doesn't give up. He tries again … [Read more...]
Staging a Script with Lav Kanoi
What an enriching scriptwriting session we had with Lav Kanoi on Saturday! Ah, there's nothing like a guest session to bring a fresh spurt of energy to our creative writing programme."What is a story?" That's the question Lav began with.I like the question. What is a story, really? As we talked about it, we came to the realisation that a story can be anything. Can't it? But that leads to the question, is there anything that a story cannot be?The discussion that followed led to the idea of form, which brought us to the idea that various forms - a song, a play, a story, a film script - are different because they serve different purposes. One thing led to another, and through all the excited exchanges, one conversation stands out."A play wants to be performed," Lav said. "Sure, you can read it. But reading a play is incomplete. It wants more. It's like a tape. It wants to be … [Read more...]
The Butterfly Lion
I love Michael Morpurgo. And The Butterfly Lion? I've had it on my shelf for ever so long, hoping to share it with more readers someday. That day is nearly here!The Butterfly Lion is a classic. In Michael Morpurgo's signature style, he tells a heartfelt, almost mystical story in the simplest and most magical of ways. It's the story of love and kindness, friendship and loyalty.Bertie is heartbroken when his beloved white lion is sent away to the circus. He knows there is no choice, but that does not make it better. He promises the lion that he will find him, somehow, someday. But Bertie's story is a story within a story, told to a runaway boy Michael by an old lady who isn't everything she seems to be. As we learn about the butterfly lion, we explore the joy of memory and the ways in which we remember the ones we love.Like so many other older books, there are so many resources available … [Read more...]
Mira the Detective
Another reading programme, another hOle book! Mira the Detective by Pavithra Sankaran is perfect for my book club in so many ways. We love detective stories, and what better than a book featuring a child detective?When an antique watch is stolen, Mira has very few clues, but they have got to be enough! She must get to the bottom of the mystery.The theft of the antique watch is just the first of three mysteries that Mira the detective solves. What makes the stories even more fun is that we, as readers, are equipped with the same clues as Mira and we can solve the mysteries with her! Sounds and smells Working with our senses is something that never gets stale. In the first story, Mira hears a tic-tic-tic sound. What could it be? In the last story, an aroma is the biggest clue. I've worked with several activities to do with the senses before, and … [Read more...]
Manolita
In many ways, Manolita is a simple, old-fashioned tale. For a generation that's immersed in mythology - from the retelling of Indian myths to all the popular books that have their foundation in Greek mythology - I think a story about a selkie set in the modern world is perfect!Jaya makes friends easily, so it comes as no surprise that she befriends a stranger in Oregon. Of course, her new friend Manolita has to be perfectly human ... right? Even if she doesn't quite understand the phrase 'exchanging numbers', and she likes to eat her fish raw ...?The entire series of books that Karadi Tales has released under the Minmini Reads imprint is remarkable in many ways. Often, books of this length are for younger children, but a chapter book like this for slightly older readers works so well! It's a quick read, wholly satisfying and perfect as a conversation starter. Here's what we'll do … [Read more...]