It's only as I was looking back at all the wonderful books I read in 2023 that I realised that five of my favourite picture books and early chapter books were Hook Books! I love the series, and I'm always excited to read new additions to it.A usual, I begin my list with a disclaimer - not all the books that feature in this list and the ones that follow were published in 2023. I just happened to read them in 2023. One difference this time, however, is that I received many review copies last year, so an overwhelmingly large number were actually published last year too! Here are my top six for ages six and under (though, of course, I'm not under six, but I loved these books anyway!). What Feelings Do When No One's LookingWhat Feelings Do When No One's Looking was the very best kind of birthday gift. It's a book I would not have bought for myself, but one that I treasure, not … [Read more...]
The Very Glum Life of Tootoolu Toop
We've read The Very Glum Life of Tootoolu Toop before and I can't wait to read it again!I know it's longer than the books I usually choose, plus every batch of children is different, with mixed reading levels. Once more, I find myself asking, will it be too ambitious to read it in three classes with a bunch of children?The answer is still the same - possibly. Yet, there are so many things that draw me to the story that I am willing to take the chance again! It worked once; I know that for sure. Also, considering the number of children I meet who love fantasy, I think this will be a wonderful way to end the reading programme. Magic Stories about magic are fun to read and fun to write. What makes a magical world come alive? What magical words can we create?Even when I reviewed Tootoolu Toop, I mentioned how I love the influence of Indian languages on the … [Read more...]
The Canary Caper
It's been 25 years since The Canary Caper was published, and it's still such a joy to read! We read the first of the A to Z Mysteries, The Absent Author, in April 2021. When I met the some of the same children again in June, several of them were devouring the rest of the series. I'm now looking forward to introducing the series to a new set of enthusiastic 7- and 8-year-olds!As I read The Canary Caper, I was struck by many little details. On the one hand, I was upset about the animals in the circus. Of course, this is something we will discuss at my book club--animal rights. On the other hand, I was delighted that Ruth Rose pooh-poohs the idea of becoming a car salesman because she wants to be President! And then, she rubs it in by adding that it's saleswoman, not salesman. Reading the book with my book club is going to be such a … [Read more...]
An Alien in the Jam Factory
An Alien in the Jam Factory is such a fun read! A book that celebrates ideas is the best kind of book to read with children. The very first page is filled with doodles and ideas--like a jam slice, which is like a cheese slice that you can put straight into a sandwich. What else can we do as we read the book? Food Ideas Create your own wacky jam recipe! Scooter, the protagonist of An Alien in the Jam Factory, creates wasp-repelling jam, Brussels sprout jam, cherry bomb jam and more. What can we make? What kind of jam do the children at my book club think will be fun and delicious? Waiting to find out! Alien Creative writing is an integral part of my book club for ages nine and ten, so let's imagine aliens of our own. If an alien landed in your balcony, what would you do? What problems would you face and how would you solve them? Would you … [Read more...]
Trunk Call for Ajju
Even when I read and reviewed Trunk Call for Ajju in June 2023, I knew it would be one of my book club reads soon enough. A book about children and animals always holds a special place in my heart, and elephants are extra special. Here's what we'll do as we read the book. Money-Making Ideas Children's business ideas are fascinating! If you had to raise money for a cause you believed in, what would you do? How do you think you could make money?Just like Making Millions and Amelia Bedelia Means Business, Trunk Call for Ajju is the perfect book to explore entrepreneurship! Talent Show Ajju and his best friend Karthik take part in a talent competition that they're determined to win. What would you do to win a talent show? In the past, at my book clubs, we've had all kinds of performances - piano, solving Rubik's cubes, the flute, recorder ... It's … [Read more...]
When the World Went Dark
I read When the World Went Dark one year after our first lockdown. And I wondered about including it at my book club. Grief is deeply personal. No one feels the way you feel. It almost feels unfair when people do.Even so, we do want to talk about our grief. Additionally, with any book, we take away what we want to take away from it. The lockdown, online classes and the fear of the virus are so real that I want children to read this, a book about their lived reality, one that acknowledges that not all adventures happen outdoors when we are free to run about and play. Book Discussion For When the World Went Dark, the discussion will lead the way. Children will want to talk about lockdown, loss, online school and more; I am sure of it. When the cook of one of the children at my book club caught covid, the child was so horrified he could not stop … [Read more...]
A Pinch of Magic
We've read Trouble with Magic at my book club; it's time to read the sequel! A Pinch of Magic is a fun read, full of surprises. I read and reviewed the book some time ago, and I'm excited to be introducing it to my book clubbers. Here's what we'll do with it. Innovative Address One of the first things that made me chuckle as I read A Pinch of Magic was the Maha Guru's highly accurate address. And this leads us to our first activity. How would you write your address if you did it in a similar fashion?I love linking screen time with the world around us. Looking around them, I want the children to tell me: what tree is closest to them? What is the shape of tree near the gate? How tall is the tree at the end of the lane? Together, we'll create an innovative address for each one of us! Label Design We thoroughly enjoyed creating different kinds … [Read more...]
Sad Animal Facts
Did you know that frogs can close their ears? Or that anything a duckling meets within ten minutes of being born becomes its parent? (That reminds me of The Wild Robot, though the bird in the story is a gosling, not a duckling. Even so.) Those two aren't sad animal facts, though, are they?In fact, many of the sad animal facts in the book aren't exactly sad. It's the endearing way in which Brooke Barker presents them that makes you feel that way. Quirky, informative, and wholly entertaining, I found myself struck by every page, a collection of animal facts presented in a wholly unique style.The cover itself prepares you for the style of the book. The fact presented is simple: Cats can't taste sweet things. But the cartoon and speech bubble are what make it charming, for you have a cartoon cat saying, 'tell me about ice cream again.'Similarly, the back cover informs us that … [Read more...]
An Alien in the Jam Factory
There's something about book titles that can just grab your attention right away. An Alien in the Jam Factory is one of those.I often pick up books when I travel and when I was in Goa last month, I visited Literati for the first time. I browsed for quite a while before this book caught my attention, and I loved the premise.Scooter McLay is a genius. Thanks to his incredible inventions, McLay's jam is a phenomenal success. Whether it's wasp-repellent jam or the not-yet-very-successful Edible Jam Bubbles, each of Scooter's inventions sparkles. He has loving parents, he thoroughly enjoys inventing, and he's never going to let their rival Daffy Dodgy steal his secrets. It's all perfect. Except that he has no friends. No one is allowed into the top-secret factory. And for hygienic reasons, he cannot even have a pet.One day, however, an alien called Fizzbee crashes into the … [Read more...]
What Feelings Do When No One’s Looking
What Feelings Do When No One's Looking is such a gorgeous, whimsical book! Do our feelings live inside us, or do they go on journeys of their own? Or do they do both?Each page of this endearing picture book is beautifully written and beautifully illustrated. As I read about curiosity, joy, gratitude, anxiety, shame and more, I wondered about so many other feelings. And I found nearly each one addressed. Kindness calms storms, doesn't it? What else would it do for you? In me, I hope it reaches out and shares. It knows when to be silent, and when to speak.Seventy-two pages kept me reading, staring at the heart-warming illustrations. Quirky and lovely, believable and outlandish--What Feelings Do When No One's Looking is easily one of the loveliest picture books I've read this year!TitleWhat Feelings Do When No One's LookingAuthorIllustratorTina OziewiczAleksandra … [Read more...]