I giggled and gasped at how imaginative this crazy story is. Full of puns and clever humour, I chuckled at Empurrer Alexander, six-year-old prince who is turned into a cat by a young alchemist, Teresa. It could have been a CATastrophe; instead it was purrfect.I know lots of people would not recommend this book to children; I wonder whether I would have enjoyed it as a child, for there are parts that are gloomy, other parts that are gory, and still others that are gruesome. Yet, I enjoyed the book. Sam Gayton's imagination is incredible!The first book I read by him was Lilliput. I loved it, but somehow ended up writing just a one-line review. I later read The Snow Merchant, which I enjoyed too, though not as much.His Royal Whiskers was a roller-coaster ride for the imagination, with every twist and turn as plausible as the previous one, but as gasp-worthy. Teresa and Pieter … [Read more...]
Arangetram – Sakshi and Shivona
As I write this post, I look back at the number of times I've written about an Arangetram. Some are just posts sharing details of upcoming arangetrams, but others ...The emotions after - in August 2013A reflection on the idea of the Arangetram itselfWhat I felt after an Arangetram in 2014Our Arangetram anniversaryI write so frequently about the Arangetram because for us, at the Academy of Indian Dances, each Arangetram is significant for everyone. I don't know if this is true for other dance schools too, but for us, it is a moment when all of us are charged with emotion. We are excited and nervous. Even though we are not going to be on stage at all, we are all part of the experience. We are part of this moment in each dancer's life.After today's Arangetram, 49 girls from the Academy will have reached this landmark. These dancers are scattered all over the globe. Some … [Read more...]
Operation Eiffel Tower
Jack hates it when his parents row. He wants to hide away from all the shouting, crying and smashing of plates. It is no different for his little sister Ruby. When their parents fight downstairs, Ruby sneaks into Jack's room, afraid and anxious.Jack knows that somehow, he has to get his parents together again. They were in love once; what changed? Is it ... could it be ... that there are too many children? Are Lauren, Jack, Ruby and little Billy the real problem?Lauren and Jack, being the oldest, come up with a plan to get their parents together again, a plan called 'Operation Eiffel Tower'. Paris is the most romantic place in the world and Lauren's teen magazine tells her that dinner in Paris is guaranteed to bring the spark back into any relationship. The problem is that the children need to put together two hundred pounds to make it happen. Operation Eiffel Tower is the … [Read more...]
Karma Fights a Monster
Karma Tandin is a monster hunter, and he is determined to capitalise on it. With his friend Chimmi's help, he makes posters advertising his services. Among other things, he hopes to impress pretty Dawa, who, for whatever reason, continually seems disappointed in him.Unfortunately, the poster does not turn out very well; the photograph of him is awful.Additionally, his mother (incidentally one of my favourite characters in the story) notices that Karma has put his number wrong. So much for that.With this promising beginning, Karma embarks on his first adventure -- and I loved it. I enjoyed the story so much that I would go as far as to say Karma Fights a Monster is among the best middle-grade books I've read this year. The characters, the writing style, the wholly unique plot - everything was lovely.When I started reading it, I hoped there would be 'real' … [Read more...]
Catching Up – Reading
Picture booksThe thing about picture books is that I read so many delightful ones one after the other, particularly thanks to Storyweaver. I finish one, another is recommended to me and I read it ... And so, I don't end up writing about any of them! Here are a few that stayed with me.The Best House of All, written by Natasha Sharma and illustrated by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan, is a delightful read, with the best kind of protagonist of all - an enterprising little girl. I love the repetition and the illustrations, and I think the book is perfect to use in class too.The Grand Patch-up, written by Karthika G and illustrated by Tasneem Amiruddin is another lovely story, a story of friendship, quarrels and making up. Quarrels may be simple, but to the children involved, they're always silly. Sometimes, a little extra effort is required to make up after an argument - and … [Read more...]
Catching Up – Workshops
It's always fun to do workshops when I don't have to organise them! Last week, I conducted a fun workshop at The King's School in Goa. We worked with critical thinking - something that is close to my heart also because I taught Theory of Knowledge and enjoyed it so much.Lots of people ask me what a critical thinking workshop involves. For me, it involves understanding our prejudices and assumptions. Of course we need to make assumptions all the time. But perhaps we could look at the ways in which we jump to conclusions, what fallacies creep in, and how everything we know and think is shaped by more factors than we can count.An interesting assumption that cropped up during this workshop, for instance, was that almost everyone in the room assumed the store owner in a tiny written exercise we discussed was male!I'm travelling to Chandrapur and Akola next week to do some … [Read more...]
Catching Up – Writing
It's that time again, when I've postponed blogging for so long that I don't know where to begin. I keep saying that I intend to do monthly roundups and that never happens. I'm now planning to do a series of posts, catching up with what's gone by, though.In terms of writing, I'm working on multiple things, and that's a wonderful place to be. I just had a poem published by Scoop - a UK-based children's magazine that has published writers like Neil Gaiman, John Agard and Jacqueline Wilson. If I don't count the poems that were published when I was a child, this is my first poem to be published - the first of many, I hope!My poem is called "Making a Clone", and it's about two girls who come up with a wonderful plan - they'll make a clone out of ketchup and potato peels.I also had a travel story published by Inside Himalayas - the first bit of non-fiction in a while.My … [Read more...]
The Mighty Miss Malone
Deza Malone's teeth are rotting, but her family cannot afford the luxury of a dentist. Her elder brother Jimmie has achieved the grand height of a twelve-year-old and does not seem to be growing any further. Eating welfare food - sometimes filled with bugs - is normal for the Malones.Set in the years of the Great Depression, The Mighty Miss Malone, the story of a black family in Gary, could have been a tale of woe that would make me weep. In fact, that is what I expected when I picked the book up.But The Mighty Miss Malone is, instead, a story of hope. Every character in the book speaks of love, optimism and sweetness.Sweetness in literature goes, for me, with a slowness of pace. Books that are sweet are not thrilling or action-packed. Rather, they are hopeful and gentle, full of life and the belief that something delightful is about to … [Read more...]
A Tigress Called Machhli
A Tigress Called Machhli has added at least three places to my neverending list of places I want to visit: Kokkare Bellur, the village of storks, Kalo Dungar in the Rann of Kutch and Jawai for the leopards.A collection of true animal stories promised to be delightful, and A Tigress Called Machhli did not let me down. I loved the lighthearted style, and how easily facts are woven into engaging stories. Perhaps you know about the tigon - the result of irresponsible mating between a tiger and a lion - but how does that become a story?Supriya Sehgal's storytelling style is simple, and the brevity of each tale left me smiling and satisfied.A story I found particularly striking was "The Sport in the Sky", which is about a creature that is not dear to me at all - the pigeon. Pigeons are messy - and what I hate most is when they come into the … [Read more...]
Al Capone Does My Shirts
Doesn't the title just grab your attention?The edition of Al Capone Does My Shirts that I picked up begins with a letter from the author Gennifer Choldenko, where she talks about having set out to write a book for boys. And somehow, Natalie, an autistic sixteen-year-old, slipped into the story, making it far more steeped in emotion than she had intended. And yes, boys did like it too. Boys do also like emotional stories, given a chance.The story of a family on Alcatraz, Al Capone Does My Shirts is a unique tale told from the point of view of Moose, a boy with a specially-abled sister. Adding to the layered narrative is the fact that autism has not yet got its name - the novel is set around 1935 - so Natalie goes from one school to another, trying out treatment after treatment.A sensitive, beautiful portrayal of family relationships, Al Capone Does My Shirts moved me and … [Read more...]