Earlier this month, we read Maya in a Mess at my reading programme, and one child volunteered, "I've read the book that comes before Maya in a Mess.""Did you like it?" I asked.She nodded. "I read it four times."Now, if that isn't endorsement, I don't know what is!I enjoyed Maya Saves the Day thoroughly too! What I loved most about it is that it is told entirely from the point of view of a child who is a bundle of contradictions. On the one hand, she has all kinds of fears. She's scared of crows, whooshing mango trees and dark places. On the other hand, she's completely secure - when she's separated from her parents at a mall, she does not become afraid. Instead, she's angry with her parents for being so careless as to get lost.Maya is a very special combination of humour, solemnity and madness. In the same way as she cries MAYDAY! in Maya in a Mess, we find a confident girl here … [Read more...]
Writing about Cyber Crime
What a fun session we had with digital forensic investigator Shweta A. Chawla yesterday! The children had all kinds of questions, and all kinds of stories. Nearly every child had a story of a parent or relative receiving a call and asking for an OTP or bank details. It just shows you how close cyber crime is to us!One child said, "We should keep changing our passwords, but it's difficult to remember them. So I write them in an Excel sheet." Before Shweta could respond, he said, "The Excel sheet is password protected."And I found myself thinking, Do I even know how to create a password-protected Excel sheet?We spoke of how stories no longer need masked robbers going into banks with guns, and the fact that you are much more likely to encounter a hacker online than a smuggler. Sure, we love our Enid Blyton stories of smuggling and crime, but perhaps stories can reflect something … [Read more...]
Books and Important Conversations
No, I don't believe that every book needs to teach us something. Absolutely not. I read to laugh, have fun and unwind. Yet, every so often, I come across a book that invites discussion and makes me think.At my reading programme for ages 9 and 10, we're reading Flying with Grandpa. Yesterday, we were to read the section where Grandpa refuses to eat. He makes a fuss and keeps banging his fork on the table.I paused as I reread this section in preparation for my reading session. The children at my book club had clearly said that they had never encountered adults behaving like children. The idea, to them, was absurd. I knew we needed to have a conversation - about dementia, Alzheimer's and growing old. There would be no better time than this, but how could I go about it? A StoryI lost my grandfather six years ago. He was a remarkable man, a retired Air Vice Marshal, whom I … [Read more...]
Writing about Cyber Crime
During my writing programme last year, I met many children who wanted to write detective stories. What would a detective story involve? How did investigations really happen?This got me thinking.What could I do that would be new and unusual? I've never solved a crime. I have no inside knowledge. And if children (and I!) don't want to write about smugglers and private islands and the like, what detective stories can we write?My answer was cyber crime. And that led to the very first guest session of my creative writing programme. About the Facilitator Shweta A. Chawla is an independent digital forensic investigator with over 15 years of experience in digital forensic and cyber investigations. She is the founder and chief investigator at SC Cyber Solutions, and has acted as consultant to various police departments in investigations into cyber crimes. Shweta is … [Read more...]
The Very Glum Life of Tootoolu Toop
A fully trained ten-year-old witch chooses to live with regular human beings. The premise itself is delightful. Sure, you want to be a witch or a wizard. You want to do magic. But have you ever thought about the other side of the story? The magical creatures who want to be part of a regular world?Enter Tootoolu Toop, who loves books and regularly sneaks into the cottage of an old lady nearby to “borrow” what she can. She’s forced to do this because ever since the great war, the written word has been banned in the magical world, and witches from Tootoolu's tribe have hidden themselves underground. Is this the life Tootoolu wants for herself? Of course not!Soon, with the help of her grandmother, she takes the big step. She leaves her tribe and goes off in search of a glum* (read non-magical) family that would be willing to adopt her.[*I love that 'glum' is written with a small 'g'. … [Read more...]
Workshops During a Pandemic
Last week, I started reading Maya in a Mess with my book club for seven and eight-year-olds. As part of the discussion, I asked them, "Have you ever been a monitor in class? How do you feel?""I feel like a king!" said one child."I love it," said another. "You don't have to just stand in line with the others. You can actually do things.""It feels good," said a third. "You feel responsible."One avid reader in the batch isn't seven yet, but she's at par with the others. When it was her turn, she said, "I haven't ever been a monitor.""Do you want to be a monitor?" I asked.There was a minuscule pause."I don't know. I've never been to proper school. When I was in kindergarten, we didn't have monitors. Last year, it was all online. So I don't know what it would be like to be a monitor."My heart broke just a tiny bit. I've never been to proper school.Sigh. … [Read more...]
Once Upon an Alphabet
Stories are made of words and words are made of the alphabet. What if there was a special story for each letter of the alphabet?That's the premise of this zany, wonderful book, Once Upon an Alphabet, by Oliver Jeffers.My father bought the book for me some three years ago, or so I understand. And he forgot to give it to me. My mother and my sister just assumed that I had seen it and left it there because I'm not a hoarder, because I didn't want to take it right away, because ... because.But the truth is that I didn't know of its existence until last week, when I brought it home and devoured it.What a fun, grand book it is! I gasped at the genius of it, chortled at the fun and rolled my eyes at the silliness. And I loved every page. This kind of writing comes from brilliance that's at an altogether different level.A is for astronaut, for instance. But Edmund, who wants to be … [Read more...]
When the World Went Dark
I was fortunate that I didn't have to deal with death when I was a child. Yet, I was terrified of people dying. My father remembers a day when I stood on the terrace, watching for my mother who was to return from work. My fear - when I was about ten years old - was What if she died?Where do these fears come from? I have no idea.Are we equipped to deal with them? Not really.Books like When the World Went Dark are a step in a direction that I believe can help. Yes, it's a book to give to children who are trying to cope with grief and loss. But equally, it is for children who are not. Only if they are prepared - in whatever way - can they come to terms with what loss is.When the World Went Dark is a timely book, set in the lockdown, a period of gloom for children and adults. Children cannot go out to play; everyone is afraid of setting a toe outside the house. When Swara … [Read more...]
Book Uncle and Me
I discovered verse novels quite recently. I began by reading a few for young adults and then I slowly went down the age ladder. I love them. I love how much they say with such few words. Would I have enjoyed verse novels as a child? I have no way of telling, for I was such a mix. I liked things that were familiar, so it is possible that I would have rejected them out of hand as weird. On the other hand, I was never a fan of long paragraphs, so I don't know.I do know, though, that I want to introduce young readers to this form, and Book Uncle and Me is ideal.Yasmin has a mission. She wants to read a book a day for the rest of her life, and she has accomplished this for over a year thanks to Book Uncle, who not only runs a free lending library but also recommends the best books. One day, however, Yasmin discovers that Book Uncle is packing up. He's been told he needs a permit to … [Read more...]
Wisha Wozzariter
Wisha Wozzariter. Say it aloud. Wisha Wozzariter was what pushed me to launch this reading programme!Several parents have called to ask if my online creative writing programme is suited to children who want to begin the process of writing. The answer is 'no' because, for the most part, the children who enroll already enjoy writing. They write regularly and don't find written assignments a chore. For children who don't already write, the course could be daunting, and the last thing I want to do is to put children off writing altogether!So I wanted something that would introduce creative writing in smaller, more accessible chunks. And just as I was thinking about it, I came across Wisha Wozzariter.Wisha wants to be a writer. When she reads a book she loves - like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - she thinks, "Now that's a book I could have written."Enter Bookworm, who asks … [Read more...]