It’s been such a long time since I read a collection of short stories! Hey Sis! Hey Bro! by Deepa Agarwal was a fun read, bringing together a range of stories featuring brothers and sisters, or, as the subtitle says, celebrating the sibling bond. From mythology to historical fiction and realistic fiction, I enjoyed the […]
What’s the Point of Kiki?
The name of the book itself makes me chuckle. It makes one think of big philosophical questions like What’s the point of life? or Why are we here? And yet, there’s a simplicity to the question that I love–what’s the point of a pet that does not show you any love, that you cannot cuddle? […]
ZardoZi
ZardoZi by Debasmita Dasgupta is a gentle, deceptively simple book. In just a few words, accompanied by powerful pictures, it tells a rich story–one that, as the subtitle says, is stitched with love. ZardoZi begins with a dream. Zi feels like he has found a treasure, but he doesn’t know what it is. When he […]
A Patch of Sun, A Patch of Shade
A Patch of Sun, A Patch of Shade is an endearing story, one that I read for the first time as a manuscript that was shortlisted for the Scholastic Asian Book Award 2023, when I served as chief judge. I was curious to read it again, curious to see how the story had grown and […]
Trouble in the Tea Gardens
When I started reading Trouble in the Tea Gardens by Mitali Perkins, I was struck by how similar several elements were to Tiger Boy. An intelligent small-town child capable of winning a scholarship to get a better education, a teacher with the child’s best interests at heart, a power-hungry, avaricious person in authority … I […]
Prabir’s New Flute
I love Asha Nehemiah’s stories, and I love Rajiv Eipe’s artwork. How could I not read a Hook Book created by the two of them? Prabir’s New Flute is a lovely, gentle story about a gifted boy, whose music is part of every happy event in Munshipara. When his flute breaks, however, Prabir realises that […]
The Impossible Pet
The Impossible Pet by Jane De Suza is such a fun book! I laughed out loud more than once as the hapless Tarun tries one thing after another to get a pet of his own–whether his parents like it or not. Just like when I read Puppy Trouble, what drew me first into the story […]
Top 8 Picture Books – 2025
I’m not much of a picture book reader, but every year, some gems come my way, gems that I love revisiting before I start a new year of reading. Most of these books were sent to me as review copies, but of course, that doesn’t affect my opinion in any way. In fact, if a […]
Gobi Goes Viral
Gobi Goes Viral by Vibha Batra is funny, heart-warming, and altogether believable. We’ve read and loved Kolam Kanna and Pinkoo Shergill at my book club, and I’m happy to introduce yet another book by the same writer to the children I meet. Here’s what we’ll do as we read this story! Talent Show How can we read […]
The Mystery of the Disappearing Drone
A few months ago, when I read The Mystery of the Disappearing Drone, I knew I would eventually introduce this AKA Mystery to my book clubbers. Some of them have read The Mystery of the Missing Geometry Boxes with me; I look forward to introducing this one to them! Detective Notebook As we read The Mystery of the […]
Amelia Bedelia Goes Wild
We read our first Amelia Bedelia (Amelia Bedelia Means Business) at the second edition of my reading programme, and what fun we had with it! Even though there were children who didn’t understand much of the word play, the humour came through, and we enjoyed the book thoroughly. Amelia Bedelia Goes Wild promises to be just as […]
A Boy Called Bat
What does it mean to be autistic? What exactly does the word inclusive mean? I think these are conversations we must keep having, and the earlier we have them with children, the more likely it is that they will be sensitive to neurodiversity, and the fact that we can look at things from other points […]
Help, My Aai Wants to Eat Me!
Yes, Help, My Aai Wants to Eat Me! is as mad and fun as it sounds. I know LOTS of people who express affection by saying they want to eat people up. People like Avi’s Aai who thinks Avi is so adorable that she wants to eat him. The problem is that Avi thinks she’s for real. […]
Tiger Boy
Sometimes, it takes a while to get to a book, even though you come across it everywhere. Tiger Boy by Mitali Perkins was like that for me. I knew it was set in the Sunderbans, and that it has sold over a lakh copies. I bought a copy, and yet, it sat unread on my shelf for […]
Mahalaxmi Will Go to Mysore
In some ways, Mahalaxmi Will Go to Mysore is a difficult read when it comes to my book club. A lot of children grow up in bubbles, unaware of what it means to be poor, oblivious to privilege and prejudice. I don’t know how effective our conversations will be, but I said it even when I […]
A Drop of Golden Sun
I remember reading Five Children on the Western Front several years ago, and if I remember right, I enjoyed it. The idea of writing about characters I had encountered in another book was fascinating, and perhaps that was what drew me into the book in the first place. With A Drop of Golden Sun, I […]
No Matter the Distance
No Matter the Distance by Cindy Baldwin left me with such a mix of emotions! I almost didn’t finish the book because the middle was a little draggy. But verse tends to keep me reading, and the burgeoning relationship between a girl and a dolphin was promising, so I persevered … and I really liked […]
The Battle for Baramulla
The Battle for Baramulla, the latest book in the Songs of Freedom series takes us to 1947 Kashmir. The maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir wants his kingdom to remain independent. But when there are attacks from the northwest frontier, is staying independent really an option? The Battle for Baramulla begins slowly. I took a while […]
Rosa in a Rush
Pai’s purple dahlias are missing! Of course Rosa is in a rush–she must find out who stole them. Was it Dona Sylvia de Braganza, who won second-best garden when Pai won the prize for best garden? Or was it Cousin Mario who recently turned his house into a hotel? Rosa must find out! It’s quite […]
What Could It Be?
Bapu is scared of something in the bathroom! What could it be? A gang of ghosts in a giggling gather? Scary skeletons covered in lather? When Diya discovers it’s none of the things her imagination leads her to believe but just a lizard, she knows that she must save her father. Even if her Bapu […]