Stories are made of words and words are made of the alphabet. What if there was a special story for each letter of the alphabet?That’s the premise of this zany, wonderful book, Once Upon an Alphabet, by Oliver Jeffers. My father bought the book for me some three years ago, or so I understand. And […]
When the World Went Dark
I was fortunate that I didn’t have to deal with death when I was a child. Yet, I was terrified of people dying. My father remembers a day when I stood on the terrace, watching for my mother who was to return from work. My fear – when I was about ten years old – […]
Mini’s Money
Sometimes, when I pick up a book for children, I wonder, “What would I have thought of this as a child?” Mini’s Money would probably have appealed to me, but what really made me stop and think was the idea of colouring the story. Colouring in a book was a strict no for me, but […]
Happy Book News
On Saturday afternoon, the doorbell rang. It was a courier. For me. From Penguin Random House. When you receive an unexpected package, do you try to guess what it could be? I do. It was a slim package, so the easiest guess would be that it contained one book.But why would Penguin send me one […]
Online Reading Programme – Looking Back
Magic potions. Superpowers. Word games. Adjectives, homophones, homonyms, mazes. Codes, recitation, performance. What fun my first reading programme was! The first book we read together was Trouble with Magic by Asha Nehemiah. A reading programme involves more than simply reading the book, though, so we used our imaginations. What would we get if we put different […]
Amelia Bedelia Means Business
Amelia Bedelia. The name just asks you to read it aloud. And what a character Amelia is! As with the very best fictional characters (I’m thinking of Anne Shirley, Pippi Longstocking and the like), Amelia’s personality leaps out of the pages. She makes you chuckle at her sheer optimism, at her zest and her drive. […]
Hungry to Read
If there was one thing that could push you to read, what would that be? How would you get someone who doesn’t like reading to read? When Arjun’s teacher announces a competition in school, Arjun is thrilled – until he learns that it is a reading competition. He is no reader; he likes logic, facts […]
How to Be a Writer
My online creative writing programme served as the perfect excuse to get a copy of How to Be a Writer. And as I read it, every few lines, I found myself thinking, “This, exactly this!” For the first time, I highlighted sections all over the book (ebook, not physical book, just saying) simply because so […]
Giggi and Daddy and Four Others
Yes, this post is about five picture books I read last week, but Giggi and Daddy is special, so special that I think it’s probably one of my favourite picture books of all time! I bought a bunch of books at Pickle Yolk Books’ birthday sale and ah! I could read all of them over and over […]
Creative Writing with Children
Every time I work with children on creative writing, I realise why I enjoy it so much. Each interaction is full of laughter, fun, and most joyous of all–moments when children finally understand something and it shows on their faces. I’m still elated after yesterday’s online creative writing session! Since I launched the programme on […]
A Week of Reviews
As a writer, receiving (nice) reader reviews is always delightful. This week has been special! One child read How I Feel as part of his weekly library activity and enjoyed it thoroughly. When he found out that I was the author, he was thrilled because he’s read Dragonflies, Jigsaws and Seashells too! And that was just […]
Online Creative Writing Programme (ages 9 to 11)
Please note that registrations are now closed for this batch. To find out about the next batch for this age-group, please fill this form, or follow me on my social media handles – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Outline Different kinds of poetry Making a story engaging Creating believable characters Working with plot and setting Genre […]
Online Creative Writing Programme (ages 12 to 14)
Please note that registrations are now closed for this batch. To find out about the next batch for this age-group, please fill this form, or follow me on my social media handles – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. “I’ve written five poems. Will you read them?” “I’ve written three stories. How can I get them published?” […]
Number the Stars
What does it mean to be brave? And how can we help one another to be brave? Number the Stars is a beautiful work of historical fiction set in Denmark during the second world war. I love historical fiction that comes alive to me. Some time ago, I wrote about ten works of middle-grade historical […]
The Chat Box
I love virtual school visits. I enjoy talking to children about my books, encouraging them to explore reading and writing, and taking them through my journey as a writer. Visiting schools virtually was such a novel experience that I wrote an essay for The Curious Reader about it. But of course, as virtual visits go […]
Reading Challenge at Indus International School
“The circus has come to Pune!”“Yes, and it can fly!”“Yes, and there are gymnasts jumping from the ceiling!”“Yes, and there is a flying unicorn!”“Yes, and there are singing koalas!”“Yes, and the tiger can bark!”“Yes, and the dogs are miaowing!” I love playing ‘Yes, and …’ with children. They are just so imaginative. We created a […]
What animal are you?
Have you ever played Chinese Pictionary? I used it as part of my junior workshop for the British Library’s Reading Challenge this year. It’s a combination of Chinese Whispers and Pictionary, and it promises to be hilarious. Especially with young children, or people who cannot draw, it becomes a crazy game that is loads of […]
Solve the Mystery!
Of all the workshops I conduct, the ones at the British Library remain special. Maybe it’s because that’s where it all began. For the Animal Agents Reading Challenge, I conducted my first pair of workshops at the new premises. Logic, imagination and laughter are such a delicious combination! For the seniors, I conducted a session […]
Children’s Day at the Writers’ Club – Who Am I?
“I know that,” I said, irritably. “But that’s no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumours.” I threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore, hoping he was going to tell me something, but he didn’t, so I […]
Reading Workshop at JustBooks Baner
New characters, new stories and comics – today’s session at JustBooks Baner was lovely! During the ice-breaker, I met all kinds of new characters. I usually encounter only Geronimo Stilton, Thea, Greg and Harry Potter. Today, I met Xan, Rafe and Joe, whom I don’t know at all! And I was also delighted to find […]