The blog
An assortment of thoughts, opinions and stories
Books I’ve enjoyed, notes from my workshops, and stories about writing, dance and travel
Pinkoo Shergill – Pastry Chef
Two days ago, at my reading programme, we discussed portmanteau words – words created by combining existing words. The children came up with words like roli (a rose and a lily) and brellow (brown…
Smash It, Butterfingers!
I love it when you can begin a series with absolutely any book! I have been eyeing the Butterfingers series for a long time, but I somehow never got around to any of them.…
The Great Big Lion
I work with young writers all the time. Sure, not with children as young as Chryseis Knight when she wrote The Great Big Lion, but seven and eight-year-olds often send me stories and poems to…
Dreamers
Dreamers. What a beautiful title for a series of illustrated stories about children who dared to dream and then dared to live their dream. The first two books in the series are about light…
My June Reading Programmes – An Overview
My June Reading Programmes – An Overview
“Ooh! I see something suspicious!” one child cried out, holding up her copy of The Monster Hunters. “Look! A monster at the window! Page 2!” “On page 33 of Bookasura, Bakasura is so big. How…
Karma Meets a Zombie
Karma Meets a Zombie is probably the most ambitious book I’ve chosen for my reading programme for ages nine and ten. I read Karma Fights a Monster some time ago and I loved it. I even…
The Absolutely True Adventures of Daydreamer Dev
The Absolutely True Adventures of Daydreamer Dev
Daydreaming! Sigh. You can be what you want to be. You can do what you want to do. And Dev is the ace daydreamer. In The Absolutely True Adventures of Daydreamer Dev, the boy embarks…
Another Reading Programme Comes to an End!
Another Reading Programme Comes to an End!
“Moin and the Monster was my favourite book because there’s a sequel!” said one child, holding up Moin and the Monster Songster. “Mine was The Very Glum Life of Tootoolu Toop,” said another. “It was mysterious and…
A Pinch of Magic
Asha Nehemiah’s Trouble with Magic was the very first book we read at my very first reading programme. And I loved it. So, when I learned that after all these years, there was a…
Nida Finds a Way
I stare at my laptop screen, wondering how to write about Nida Finds a Way. It’s such an important book. A book that makes me oh-so-curious about how a child would respond. What would…
