What a puzzling book Shine was! It leaves me all mixed up in terms of what I feel about it.It's a page turner, that's for sure. I began to read and just kept reading without ever stopping. Yet, there were just so many places when I groaned and felt it was too predictable. There were things that were dramatised that were not, I felt, in any way dramatic. There were many places where I felt Nah ... This is just too convenient.But I never write about books that I dislike. In more than one place, despite its predictability and and the tinge of the unrealistic, I found myself moved to tears. I found myself thinking that Shine is such a brave book. How difficult it is to write a story about a girl whose mother is a thief who drinks too much!Tiff loves her mother. You and me, Mum, you and me ... But her mother can be so embarrassing! She pulls off bar codes from things in … [Read more...]
A Monster Calls
Stunning. Absolutely stunning.I picked up A Monster Calls in the same way that I pick up all other books - randomly. No one recommended it to me. I read no reviews. I did not read the blurb. Sometimes it's better that way, simply because you have no idea what to expect.Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls is a truly remarkable book, so remarkable that I cannot write anything about it. It wrung my heart. I sobbed as I held on to the book I had just finished. It was over. I didn't want it to be over.Young Conor has the same terrifying dream, night after night. And then the monster, which is older than time itself, comes walking. The monster tells him three tales that twist and turn, and frustrate Conor. Yet, each tale is important. And each tale brings him closer to the fourth tale that he himself must tell - the one that's no easy story. It's the truth. The truth of his nightmare. … [Read more...]
More First Prints!
I wrote not so long ago about the first prints of The Duronto Adventure and Bholu at the Level Crossing. The next two books for young readers are here!A little about these two books ...Kevin has lost his lucky coin! Bholu volunteers to help him look for it, and Deven, Priya, Rohit and Ruth come along. Would you like to explore the train with them?Forty-two children go on a school excursion to the railway station. What happens when one child gets lost? … [Read more...]
Flickering Flames – Now Available!
During the last academic year, a group of girls from St. Mary's School worked with me at the Writers' Club. They imagined, wrote and rewrote. Now, their work is available in the form of an anthology of poems and short stories! Flickering Flames, written by girls from classes VI and VII of St. Mary's School, is now available online.The proud authors are Advaya Venbakkam, Advika Dhar, Ananya Banerjee, Anika Garg, Anushka Shinde, Ashna Bhavnagarwalla, Jayde MacFarland,Lavanya Dua, Pareesa Irani, Rashmin Kaur Juneja, Riva Verma, Samiksha Deshpande and Tejasee Khurjekar.The illustrators (also girls from the school) are Advaya Venbakkam, Ananya Banerjee, Anika Garg, Ashna Bhavnagarwalla, Chahat Agarwal, Nandini Ghosh, Pareesa Irani, Paridhi Kumar, Riva Verma, Samiksha Deshpande, Shanaya … [Read more...]
Duronto and Level Crossing Resource Packs!
I wrote about first prints and the joy of having the resource packs in hand. But how could I cut up the one electric loco kit I had? Now, armed with a spare set, I'm ready to make my own electric loco model.As a child, I loved jigsaw puzzles. I loved them so much that I used to compete with myself as I tried to make my puzzles faster and faster. And I had enough puzzles to make a mat of puzzles on the drawing room floor. Do you see the whizzing hands? Old habits die hard!And then, we have stage one of the electric loco for The Duronto Adventure. We're cutting the sheets, slowly but surely. I cut badly, rarely in a straight line. But does that stop me from enjoying it? Never!The process is slow ... Working on it a little every day, and loving it! … [Read more...]
The Duronto Adventure Resource Pack
Of course I'm delighted with the books, but each book is also part of a complete resource pack!Each pack contains: A story A CD (with the ebook and lots of animation) A kit to build your own model of an electric locomotive! … [Read more...]
Two new books by Varsha Seshan!
It's been nearly four years since The Story-Catcher was published. Finally, here are two new books!Launched at the National Rail Museum yesterday, these books are currently available only at the Souvenir Shop of the museum. They are part of a kit that also contains a CD and an activity! Pictures of those will come soon ...The Duronto Adventure Chitra, Rohit, Priya and Deven are travelling by themselves for the first time. They are excited about their newfound independence, but little do they know that their journey is going to be even more adventurous than they imagine! When the train stops at Igatpuri and Rohit goes missing, Priya panics. Yet, this is only the beginning of a crazy ride ...Title The Duronto AdventureAuthor Varsha SeshanIllustrator Rishi BhardwajGenre AdventureAge-group 10+ Bholu at the Level Crossing Welcome to the … [Read more...]
Books I’ve Been Reading
Lots of travelling always means lots of reading! What better way to spend long train journeys?The Last Unicorn is a classic. If Patrick Rothfuss says it's the best book he has ever read, you know it's worth looking out for.Title The Last UnicornAuthor Peter S. BeagleGenre Classic/Fantasy/Fairy TaleRating (out of 5) 5Age-group 10+Among the most powerful books I have ever read, I now know that Theresa Breslin is an author I want to read more of!Title Prisoner of the InquisitionAuthor Theresa BreslinGenre YA/Historical FictionRating (out of 5) 5Age-group 13+I picked up this one because I was sure that a book called Travelling Backwards written by a person called Toby Forward had to be entertaining, at the very least. I was not disappointed.Title Travelling BackwardsAuthor Toby ForwardGenre Fantasy/MagicRating (out of … [Read more...]
A Brand New Series of Books on Trains: Coming Soon!
Do you know who Bholu is? Since 2002, this friendly guard elephant has been the mascot of the Indian Railways. I'm delighted to be writing a series of stories for children, featuring Bholu, along with many other characters.The series will target two age-groups: Younger readers (aged 5-8) Older readers (aged 9-13)The books for younger readers will have Bholu at the forefront; the ones for older readers will be adventure stories -- all set in and around the Indian Railways.Coming soon - both in print at the National Rail Museum, Delhi, and as ebooks! … [Read more...]
Running on the Cracks
So much to do, so much to read, so much to write! I haven't written my blog for ages because I've been busy writing a brand new series on trains ... But more about that when we're closer to the date it's to be launched.Running on the Cracks made me create a little space in the whirlwind of activity that has made up the last few months. I read and watched The Gruffalo's Child a while ago, and when I saw a book by Julia Donaldson in the library, I had to read it.And I read on and on.Moving beyond the 'political correctness' of the way we ought to address the immigrant Chinese population in Glasgow, Running on the Cracks came alive to me at each step.Leonora Watts-Chan, half-Chinese and half-English, is on the run. Her parents died in a plane crash, and she begins to live with Aunt Sarah and Uncle John. Her cousins tease her about the colour of her skin; in fact, they tease her … [Read more...]