Another book that's hot off the press is coming to my book club! Vincent Can't Go is a charming story about a boy who isn't allowed to go anywhere because his mother is too afraid. I enjoyed this sweet, simple story, and I'm sure my book clubbers will too! Interactive Game What are you allowed to do? What are you not allowed to do? Let's play a game! After that, we will use an interactive whiteboard to explore new ideas of things we would like to do if we were allowed to do them! Friends Friendship is an integral part of Vincent Can't Go. I'd like for the children at my book club to show me a picture of their friend, what they have in common, why they're friends, and anything else they would like to share! Portraits I love Habib Ali's pictures of 'Most Important Friend' and 'Man of Action'! In class, I'll ask the … [Read more...]
The Space We’re In
Have you ever read a review that describes a book as being “full of heart”? Katya Balen’s The Space We’re In is exactly that–a book full of heart. It bursts with love and emotion, raw and authentic. And the voice? Perfect.Ten-year-old Frank sometimes resents his brother Max. Max has changed everything with his humming and hand flapping and his meltdowns. (Frank has no idea why they’re called meltdowns, though, because there’s no melting in that rigid, furious body.) His mother has no time to paint, and she looks tired all the time.And yet, when Frank hates Max, he feels a surge of guilt, of shame. Because there’s so much to love about his little brother, about the way he shines with happiness and the way you never need to wonder what he’s feeling or thinking because he has no artifice.The Space We’re In navigates Frank’s feelings, and right through the book, I love that the … [Read more...]
Circus Mirandus
I remember the first time I came across the idea that you have to believe in magic for it to be real. I remember my skin tingling, and a kind of excited joy making my hair stand on end. That's the mood Circus Mirandus creates, although I'm no longer a child reading about magic for the first time.Micah's grandfather is dying, and it's on his deathbed that Micah learns something impossible: all the stories his grandfather told him about the magical Circus Mirandus are true. Micah's grandfather Ephraim really did go to a magical circus, and the Man Who Bends Light offered him a miracle. Ephraim saved the offer for a rainy day, and it's on his deathbed that he knows it's time. Time to ask the Lightbender for his miracle.Micah is sure that the miracle will save his beloved grandfather. But his great aunt Gertrudis wants nothing to do with those nonsensical stories. So Micah must … [Read more...]
The White Lotus
The White Lotus by Aditi Krishnakumar is a gripping work of historical fiction that, like the best kinds of stories, stays with you and makes you think. Layered and sensitive, it is perfectly paced, immersing you in the life and times of a village in south India in the early 20th century.Fourteen-year-old Arali is looking forward to a life with her husband Sundaram. He is everything she could want in a husband—gentle, caring, and honourable. When he dies the day before her life as Sundaram’s wife is set to begin, she is shattered. And from the pieces, a new Arali emerges—one who is brave, strong, and determined to seek out the truth.What I found most impressive about The White Lotus is how seamlessly the characters grow through the story. The Arali at the beginning of The White Lotus is an excited bride with no ambition beyond living with the man she’s grown to love. … [Read more...]
An Absence of Squirrels
A couple of years ago, I finally read The Giver, a book that students at my writing programme recommended to me time and again when we were studying dystopia, mythopoeia, fantasy ... almost anything, in fact. And that's the book that kept coming to mind as I read Aparna Kapur's An Absence of Squirrels.An Absence of Squirrels is a fantastical, dystopian story about a perfect leader who wants only the best for her perfect island. Once, however, she was compared to a squirrel, and ever since then she's hated those creatures. And that's why, the tooth-shaped island of Thutta is made even more idyllic by a complete absence of squirrels. In fact, even saying the word "squirrel" leads to memory erasure brought to you by a hat that assures you that the Captain is everything that is perfect. You can trust her. She knows what's good for the island.Enter Katli--or a profusion of Katlis, … [Read more...]
Vincent Can’t Go
We all know what it's like not to be allowed to go somewhere we really want to go. Birthday party. Sleepover. Movie. Dinner.In Vincent's case, though, it's been months since he's been allowed anywhere. Ever since his father was sent to America, his mother doesn't allow him to do tiny things he used to do. He can't even go buy blue Lays from the kirana shop.Buying blue Lays may not be such a big deal. But his best friend's birthday party is a big deal. He knows what his mother will say: 'Vincent Can't Go'. Now, however, Vincent must go. Or else will his best friend even be his best friend any longer?Vincent Can't Go by Mariyam Fatima, illustrated by Habib Ali, is a charming story about children making something happen. At the mature age of eight, surely Vincent is old enough to be doing things for himself! Without ever being cute or patronising, the story takes us through … [Read more...]
I Am Quiet: A Story for the Introvert in All of Us
How could I not read a book with a title like this? Anyone who knows me knows that I’m happiest in my own company. If I spend time with people, I need to unwind; I need my quiet time. Yet, as a child, I was noisy and talkative, unlike Emile, the protagonist of I Am Quiet. Adults keep telling Emile not to be shy, but the truth is that he isn’t shy at all. He is just quiet. On the inside he has imaginative, colourful worlds that are vibrant and exciting. They are enough for him.I smiled page after page as I read about the places Emile inhabits in his head. The quiet confidence of an imaginative child comes through with each word, and the gentleness of the story won my heart. I love how the book is designed too, with the white space all around him showing how quiet he seems to the world outside, and the colour within that shows how perfectly happy he is. Like so many … [Read more...]
Agalya in the Spotlight
When I learned that Divya Anand had a new book out, I knew I had to read it. I loved Misfit Madhu. I’ve read it with my book club twice, and the children enjoyed it each time!Agalya in the Spotlight is just as breezy a read. I was invested in the characters from the very beginning. How could I not be when in the first chapter itself there’s a character called Varsha who loves dancing? Varsha makes no further appearance in the story, but the other characters more than make up.When class V A is to stage Rapunzel, Agalya is delighted. She loves the story, or more specifically, the movie Tangled. She’s determined to get the lead role, and she thinks the competition between her best friend and her will be simple, friendly rivalry.When she gets the role at the cost of her friendship, however, things start tumbling downhill. She must find courage within herself to keep going, … [Read more...]
Manvinder’s Medu Vada
Manvinder's Medu Vada by Riddhi Maniar Doda and Vinayak Varma had me chuckling at each page! I could completely identify with Manvinder, who refuses to eat something that doesn't look like it's supposed to look! As a child, I had a problem with the same food--vadas. How could it be a real vada if it didn't have a hole? This, despite the fact that vadas (without holes) were made at home for special occasions, and I enjoyed them too!When Manvinder's family moves to Bengaluru, he eats a medu vada for the first time. It's delicious. Somehow, gobi parathas no longer look so tempting! And so, the family sets off on a mission to make medu vadas for him.With each page, Manvinder grows more and more upset. A medu vada is supposed to be round! With a hole in it! The page that had me laughing aloud was the one where he's fooled into eating a donut instead!I love the wholesomeness of … [Read more...]
Everything Changes And That’s Ok
How do you read picture books? Do you pause as you turn each page, just to admire the pictures? Or do you race through the story and then come back to the pictures to take them in slowly?For me, it depends on the book, but with Everything Changes And That's Ok, I found myself trying to do both! A picture book in verse, each page is a visual treat! My favourite page was probably this one, a gorgeous forest scene:For children, change can be frightening, but Everything Changes and That's Ok reminds us that change is all around us. A playful puppy, full of energy, could grow up to be a dog that likes to lounge about all day. A new school is daunting, but perhaps new friendships are just around the corner.Rhyming verse doesn't always work for me, but this book did, for the most part. It's a gentle, beautiful read, inviting us to slow down and look at how the world changes both … [Read more...]