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Reading Challenge Workshop at Mumbai

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Twelve hours of travel-time, and a three-hour workshop. I can't promise to do it again, yet it was fun! The British Council, Mumbai, has rolled out the reading challenge programme in several schools in Mumbai. I conducted three workshops at Universal High, Dahisar, and had a lovely time. We worked with Sophie's Snail by Dick King-Smith, a story I love. Classes one and two read the story with me, and enjoyed it as much as I did! We couldn't get over the size of the snail. The whole class chorused with me, "It's bright yellow and just the size of Sophie's middle fingernail!" With the older children, we did "The Porcupine" by Roald Dahl, "The Adventures of Isabel" by Ogden Nash, "The Quarrel" by Maxine Kumin, "A Pizza the Size of the Sun" by Jack Prelutsky and "Jimmy Goes to the City" by Arthur Read. The children learned about rhyme and meter, and then played with all the poetry we … [Read more...]

The Story-Catcher – A Review by a 9-year-old

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I've been waiting for something momentous before writing my blog - what could be more momentous than a review of The Story-Catcher by a nine-year-old? Arushi Upadhyaya had to design a book-jacket for a school competition. The entry she submitted is with the school, but she sent me the rough plan she made. At the back, she informs me, she put in the ISBN details and the name of the publisher. On the side, she wrote the name of the author. Within the book jacket, she wrote a synopsis of The Story-Catcher. And guess what? She won the first prize! She has also sent a review of The Story-Catcher to ParentEdge Magazine for a book review contest - I hope she wins! I will put up her review as soon as the ParentEdge results are announced. Meanwhile, here are the book cover and the synopsis. … [Read more...]

Alma Mater

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Thoughts come to me in bits and pieces. The house charts  are still displayed at the back of the hall. They've become bigger and grander, not restricted to single sheets of chart-paper. Also, the availability of print-outs means that girls with neat handwriting don't make all the charts. There are big boards on the wall, displaying the names of achievers, including prefects, toppers and those who achieved something in sports. There is a projector in our assembly hall! The grand piano is still there, except that it no longer has the sign that we used to find hilarious: 'DO NOT MOVE'. About sixty girls turned up for the writing programme I'm offering for classes VI and VII and St. Mary's. How will I choose 25 of them? The girls felt almost proud when (not knowing their names) I identified them by their houses. This is the beginning of a grand new adventure. … [Read more...]

Books for Rainy Days

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It's been a while since I wrote, mainly because I've been reading. Here's a look at some of what I've read recently. As a child, I enjoyed reading and collecting the entire Animal Ark series. As I grew older, I learned that Lucy Daniels, the author of the series, did not exist. Just like Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon. While I never enjoyed Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys, I loved Animal Ark. I loved the names of the books - Owl in the Office, Hamster in a Hamper, Roo on a Rock ... I wanted to have them all. I imagine the Silver Dolphins series somewhat like that. The stories, in themselves, may not be memorable, but Stolen Treasures is a sweet story that build loyalty in young readers for the series as a whole. Children are always animal-lovers. Some are more vicarious in this love than others, but most enjoy books that … [Read more...]

St. Mary’s … St. Mary’s …

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When I read the title (and when I was writing it), I could not help singing it. I've been writing for ages now. I've had about 25 stories for children published. I have a book to my credit. Yet, I can't deny that I am happy to see an article in the St. Mary's School magazine! I have the usual writer's complaint, though - I wish it had not been edited. The editor in me is cringing a little bit.   … [Read more...]

What Went By

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It's taken me a while to write about the last month. How full of emotions it has been! We performed in Kalakshetra for Pushpa Teacher and Jaya Teacher, my teacher's teachers. We peaked and fell, rising and falling with a tide of emotions. We felt we underperformed, and then we were overwhelmed by everyone's responses. The teachers praised the performance; nothing else is important. My heart is brimming with joy and gratitude. In Bangalore, I did a two-day reading workshop. I wrote about day one here on the blog, but kept postponing it, even though I've been waiting to talk about how wonderful it was to conduct a workshop there. Atta Galatta is a delightful place, with the perfect ambience for a reading workshop. What warmed my heart is that the store ordered ten copies of The Story-Catcher, some of which were bought by the children after the session. (If you're in Bangalore and … [Read more...]

Empty Quarter (Girl on the Run Book 2)

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I sat at Coimbatore train station, book in hand. "What happened?" asked my sister, looking at my face. I grinned. "I'm inside this book." I added, quickly, "Will you keep a lookout for the train? I may not notice when it pulls in." That's how Empty Quarter was. As with Cat's Cradle, I jumped straight into the series without reading the first book. It was simply wonderful. What impressed me most of all is how rounded each character is. Christopher Lock is the perfect combination of grandfather and career-obsessed, calculating official. I love Darcie Lock, her stupidities and her beauty. Empty Quarter is the perfect combination of humour, anticipation and excitement. Reading it, I realised how effortlessly the story moves from up to down to up to down, pulling the reader through all the twists and turns in the plot. The confused mixture of child and adult in … [Read more...]

Reading Workshop at Atta Galatta, Bengaluru

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I'm conducting a two-day reading workshop at Bengaluru! Highlights: >Read aloud >Act out a story >Develop a love for reading >Imagine and create >Play a vocabulary game >Learn about book-publishing >Understand what copyright is Age-group: 8-12 years Dates: 4th and 5th July, 2015 Time: 11 am to 1 pm Total duration: 4 hours Fee: Rs 500 per child Venue: Atta Galatta Phone: 080-4160 0677 Contact Varsha at 09890798756 seshanvarsha@gmail.com … [Read more...]