We need more illustrated middle-grade books! I read When Fairyland Lots Its Magic on my way to Kolkata for the Junior Kolkata Literary Meet, and there was so much to love about it! The way Bijal Vachharajani plays with fairytales (like Gretel and Hansel), the comments about odd names (Little Red Riding Hood? Who names a child after the clothes she wears?), and the puns about pages and trolls ... delightful! At the JKLM, Bijal and I were in conversation, purportedly about storifying important issues such as climate change and democracy through fairy tales and fantasy. Of course, we did talk about issues and why they find their way into fiction, but we also spoke about the joy of stories and the things we do when we write. We spoke of magic, and how we find it in nature, in ourselves, and between the pages of a book. Retelling fairytales with the idea of the climate crisis … [Read more...]
My Favourite Picture Books and Early Chapter Books from 2023
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 Looking What 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...]
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...]
Mahalaxmi Will Go to Mysore
I've been reading so many books that deal with RTE in one way or another! As a teacher trainer, I find that RTE is a conversation topic that some schools want to sweep under the carpet. Others test waters to find out where I stand. Still others are belligerent and self-righteous, even as they talk about how many challenges they face just because they follow the law. But stories are important. Stories pave the way for conversation. Mahalaxmi Will Go to Mysore is one of those stories--a story that raises questions. The Right to Education requires schools to admit some children free of charge, but what does this imply when it comes to school trips? How can Mahalaxmi's family afford to spend three thousand rupees on a class trip to Mysore? Although I did find a character shift towards the end of the book rather too sudden (I don't want to reveal more), I liked the sensitivity with … [Read more...]
Schooled
I stumbled upon Schooled by Gordon Korman by chance and read it in one sitting. What a lovely, fun book, full of unexpected twists and turns! Capricorn Andersen (Cap for short) has spent all his life at Garland Farm, homeschooled by his hippie grandmother, Rain. When Rain falls off a tree, Cap is launched into the world outside, utterly ill-equipped to deal with school, money, and life in general. An oddball with practically no survival instincts and no skills to cope with the world outside Garland, Cap is such a delightful, surprising character--alternating between freakazoid (as one character calls him) and angel (as another character discovers). I loved it! Often, when a book gets a little too intense or the character does something that is bound to have awful consequences, I have to step away and breathe a little. I need to prepare myself for what will happen next because I … [Read more...]
The Big Bad Fight
I just finished reading The Big Bad Fight written by Yamini Vijayan and illustrated by Kruttika Susarla, and what a lovely book it is! We all know what it is like to be an angry child. The injustice of a game like Snakes and Ladders! The unfairness of a sore loser! We get upset, angry and annoyed, and it is all these emotions that rile us up. Anna and Kichu are fast friends, but when they have a big, bad fight, they don't quite know how to make up. For quite a while, they don't. But eventually, they must find a way to get together again, and my favourite thing about the book is that they do it without adults' interference. The Big Bad Fight shies clear away from being cute. (I've written multiple times about not liking stories that are cute. Cuteness appeals to nostalgic adults, not to children.) It is full of big emotions, energy, and action, which come together in the best … [Read more...]
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