What’s the best kind of surprise? An unexpected book in the mail! Last week, I ordered books from KoolSkool and Funky Rainbow. The following day, I received a message saying that my shipment from Scholastic India was on its way. I was puzzled, but I let it go. I don’t know how things work.Except that […]
The Boy Who Grew Dragons
Dragon fruit. Who hasn’t heard the name and considered the possibilities? I remember when I first came across dragon fruit at Shivaji Market. Ooh! Dragon fruit! And the way I see it, that tiny spark lit a fire in author Andy Shepherd. She took the idea to its logical conclusion – a fantasy story about […]
Uncle Oscar’s Chairs From A to Z
It’s sometimes amazing how a book comes into your world at just the right time. A dear friend whom I don’t talk to often enough sent me Uncle Oscar’s Chairs: From A to Z out of the blue. I had not heard of it, but a book is always an exciting gift, right? Plus, she […]
Neha and the Nose
Why did I not read this book earlier? It’s such a fun book, so witty and well written! I love it! Neha and the Nose are teen detectives. And they’re not just your regular detectives – they’re so good that even the principal calls on them when there’s investigation required. Of course, “the Nose” is […]
Muggie Maggie
I promised to write about the books that I don’t end up using at my reading programmes because they aren’t easily available – and Muggie Maggie is at the top of the list. I’ve read barely anything by Beverly Cleary. She was somehow one of those famous authors whom I never encountered as a child. […]
Granny Ting Ting
Let’s be honest. I picked this book up because of the name. Granny Ting Ting. I didn’t know anything about the book. I read the title and looked at the cover image–and bought the book. Every two months, I buy a set of chapter books. I love that I do this for work! I need […]
One Day Elsewhere
One Day Elsewhere is such a lovely series! Looking at events in history from a child’s point of view is always special. Yes, we know people were arrested during the Dandi March. But what of the children of those arrested? How did they make sense of things happening around them? Each book in this series is […]
Rattu & Poorie’s Adventures in History: 1857
A book about a pair of sisters, where the protagonist is the younger sister … of course I was intrigued! Additionally, historical fiction has attracted me for a while, and I have come across very little in the genre for seven and eight-year-olds. Rattu & Poorie’s Adventures in History: 1857, shortlisted for the Neev Book Award […]
Reading, Reading, and Reading Some More
Yesterday, we came to the end of yet another batch of my reading programme for ages nine and ten. I wrote about our ‘raise hand‘ anecdote, and thinking about that made me realise – again – that the main reason I conduct reading programmes is that I enjoy them so much! Yes, I spread the […]
Rise of the Earth Dragon (Dragon Masters #1)
I love introducing children to book series. It’s heartwarming to see children come back to a subsequent edition of my reading programme bursting with excitement because they’re reading the next book of a series to which I introduced them! It’s happened with the hOle books, Amelia Bedelia, the A to Z Mysteries, Moin and the […]
No Nonsense Nandhini
What do you do when circumstances force you to let go of your dream? You create another dream. And another. And another. Hold on to your sense of humour and don’t give up.At least, that’s Nandhini’s way. No Nonsense Nandhini, shortlisted for the Neev Book Award for Junior Readers 2021, is a book about resilience, […]
Cricket for the Crocodile
I launched my online reading programme for ages seven and eight in December last year, which means that this is the sixth edition of the programme. Each time, I’ve focused on Indian books – books written by Indians, published in India or set in India – usually all three. On the whole, I’ve tried to […]
A Big Splash
Dhivya loves swimming.But when her brother nearly drowns, she isn’t allowed to swim in the lake anymore. Dhivya enjoys playing cricket with her friends.But they don’t seem to want to play with her anymore. Now what? A Big Splash is a sensitively told story about a thirteen-year-old who blossoms not just into a champion swimmer, […]
The Vampire Boy
The Vampire Boy by Sharanya Deepak is another delightful hOle book – quirky and unique. The government has decided that all children – including young vampires – must go to school. What is Kristofer to do? He knows he will be shunned, but off he goes, only to meet with curiosity and bullying. In a way […]
No Ticket, Will Travel
For ever so long, I didn’t even know what the general compartment of a train was. When I saw people lining on station platforms, I assumed that they couldn’t plan their travel in advance and so, they didn’t get tickets. I knew all about not getting tickets because each year, we would stand in line […]
House of Uncommons
We all know about the House of Commons. What could the House of Uncommons be? I didn’t want to read up about the book to find out, so I picked it up and dived right in. The book started slowly, and I frowned as I read about Krishnan travelling with his Chikkappa to Snehagao. I […]
Book Spotting!
When my first book, The Story-Catcher, was published, we started playing a game. We would go to every bookstore in every city we visited and try to find a copy of the book. It was impossible. And yet, it was exciting. I even got a spreadsheet from my publishers, listing the stores in which my book […]
Book Club Discussions
We just finished reading Sandy to the Rescue, the first of five books we’ll be reading at this edition of my book club. One of the joys of reading the hOle books at the reading programme is that the length is perfect. We have enough time to read and do activities during each session, which, […]
Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame
Ahimsa by Supriya Kelkar left its mark on me. But Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame was something else altogether. I devoured the book. Each chapter made me read just one more chapter, as compelling as the previous one. Meera is an unlikely protagonist, one who seems a far cry from the typical feisty girl […]
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 and yellow). I must introduce them to Pinkoo Shergill next, with his delightful portmanteau words! Fabtastic! Wowmazing! Spectaculous! Just like those […]