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Day Three – Reading is Fun!

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I always tremble when I talk about my book. But somehow, today was just perfect. For once, I felt that the children simply loved the story and were still eager for more! Today was a grand day. I bit my lip controlling my laughter as a child read a little excerpt he had written about writing letters. About how he would write a letter. His mother would write a letter. His father would write a letter. His friends would write letters too. He ended the letter-writing spree with 'I love Geronimo Stilton'. I didn't quite understand the link, somehow. The children are wonderfully enthusiastic about everything I do with them! I made them write, make comics, listen, draw, colour... They were excited about everything! The library wants me to conduct the workshop again during the holidays. I'm not yet looking forward to it - right now, I'm looking forward to two more sessions … [Read more...]

Sophie’s Lucky

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The perfect children's book is not one that you read and say, "Oh, I would have loved it so much if I had read it when I was seven!" The perfect children's book is one that you read and say, "What a truly delightful book!" And that's what I feel when I read Sophie's Lucky, or, in fact, practically everything I've read by Dick King-Smith (except one, to tell the truth). I love what he makes me feel. I love that warm sense of belonging, of animal love, of regular daily happiness. I remember being thrilled with The Sheep-Pig and thoroughly enjoying Ace. I loved How Green Was My Mouse and so many others - so many that I've lost count. Sophie in this series is such a lovely girl! I love the kinds of words Dick King-Smith continually uses for her; I love how she thinks coming down from Scotland has to be downhill all the way because, very clearly, it's … [Read more...]

The Prince and Other Modern Fables

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Prose poetry at its most beautiful. I never thought I could enjoy stories like this so much. Every story is so rich, so intricate, so charming! It's supposed to be for children and adults alike, but I wonder how much I would have taken in had I read it as a child. Reading it now, I smiled, I shook my head and felt that warm glow of my inside smiling. Take, for example, an excerpt from A Day '... The room was dark. I didn't feel like working. I picked up the sitar and struck up Raag Malhar, a tune befitting the rains. From the next room she came and stood at the door just once and then she went back. After a while, she appeared at the threshold again. Then slowly she stepped inside ... The rain drizzled to a stop; my music came to an end. She got up and went away to do her hair. It was nothing more than this: just a certain afternoon swathed in rain, music, leisure and shadows. Stories … [Read more...]

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

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Perhaps it was the right to time to reread this book and realise that Roald Dahl, genius beyond compare, never intended to be a writer. In the last-but-one story, he talks about how he happened to get a lucky break and things did not stop after that. He also writes about a little notebook in which he jots down ideas as they occur to him. The most wonderful stories of all time, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar come from a maximum of three sentences. Roald Dahl, Roald Dahl. Will I ever be able to write an endless short story, with a story within the story, and a beautiful non-preachy moral - without losing the interest of the reader? Will I ever be able to build atmosphere as effortlessly as you do time and time again? Will I ever be able to write crazy stories that take not only imagination but also boundless courage? Perhaps it helps … [Read more...]

Day One – Reading is Fun!

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And fun it certainly was! I had 21 children there in all. Apparently, after 20 registrations had been made, someone wanted to join. The child was told that there were no seats left, but she could try her luck, show up at the workshop and see if anyone backed out. The child diligently showed up early. No one backed out, but how could I tell her to go home? I told her to join in! We read, we acted, we played. I recited Television by Roald Dahl. I made them recite several poems. One of them was exceptionally good. I made them go get to know one another, asking one another questions about books, what the others like, what they dislike, evertything. How enthusiastic all of them were! At the end, they filled a feedback slip for me. 18 children chose 'good' from the three options given to them (Good, Average, Bad). One child asked what 'average' meant and then happily ticked average. One … [Read more...]

Treason

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The year is 1539. King Henry VIII is King of England. All three of his wives, Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour are dead. He has three children: Mary, Elizabeth and the long-awaited heir to his throne, Edward. Henry has broken away from the Church of Rome because the Pope would not allow him to divorce his first wife. Anyone who refuses to accept that he is the Supreme Head of the Church of England is accused of an offence that is punishable by death. Treason. That's how the book begins. And it did not let me down. Treason, winner of the Carnegie Medal, took me a while to read. There were parts that made me think about why I was reading it. Yet, it was worth it. To create a protagonist who is weak and most certainly contemptible takes courage. How can anyone enjoy the story of a soppy page who considers it beneath his dignity to work alongside a boy to whom he … [Read more...]

How Green Was My Valley

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I read the book when I was eleven or so. It was among the very few books that made me feel I was too young to tackle that kind of emotion. I remember thinking that I would be able to feel everything better when I was older and did not need to look up words like 'colliery' which found their way into every chapter of the book. I never did read the book again, but I did watch the movie. I wept right through it. Family love is unique. Brother and brother, father and son, mother and son. How Green Was My Valley explored the family bond to the core of its being. Humour, emotion, religion, marriage, hardship . . . all these come together in the green valley in ways that are incredible. The simplicity of the young widow's statement, "I'm lonely." . . . How could I not cry? And dear Mrs. Morgan is delightful, truly beyond compare, there's an old beauty, you are! Ah. And there is a glorious … [Read more...]