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...]
Kittu’s Very Mad Day
I remember meeting Harshikaa Udasi, author of Kittu’s Terrible Horrible No Good Very Mad Day at a lit fest several years ago. I had read her book already, but unfortunately, I had a Kindle edition, so I couldn't go up to her and get my copy signed. I told her that, and then, casually, a few days later, she texted me and asked me for my address. I sent it to her, and in a few days, I had a parcel at my door--my very own signed copy of the book!It's time to introduce this zany book to my book clubbers. Kittu is a more difficult read than the others in this time's selection, but I'm quite certain that won't make it any less enjoyable. Being Lost In the opening scene of Kittu’s Terrible Horrible No Good Very Mad, Kittu is lost. Unlike most other children who are lost, however, he seems to think of it as some sort of adventure. This is the perfect … [Read more...]
Unfair
I read Unfair quite some time ago, and what I loved most about it is how pacy it is. One chapter just rolls into the next, making it the perfect read for my book club. From discussing themes to exploring narrative voices and structure, there's so much I can do with a book like Unfair! Discrimination What does discrimination mean?At my writing programme last year, we worked on writing persuasive speeches, and I was stunned by the kinds of things children write. Two children - one boy and one girl - chose to write about gender equality, and both speeches were powerful in their own ways.Especially as my reading programme for ages nine and ten has an important creative writing element, we will begin with a discussion on discrimination, and move on to writing persuasive texts on the subject. Narrative Voices Unfair employs two narrative voices … [Read more...]
Earwig and the Witch
When I learned that Earwig and the Witch is a movie too, I debated a long time over whether to read it with my book club or not. Finally, I decided that whether the children I meet have watched the movie or not, we can read and enjoy the book together. In fact, those who've watched the movie will be able to compare book and movie, which is always an interesting exercise! Vocabulary Brainstorm Before we start reading Earwig and the Witch, we'll do a quick written activity on word association. What words come to mind when you think of the word 'orphanage'? How about 'adopted'? 'Witch'? 'Spells'? Once we have a few ideas, we'll get reading! Horror and Fantasy Horror is not a genre I work with often at my book club. In fact, it was after much hesitation that I introduced The School is Alive, and I've set aside several books that I know I would … [Read more...]
Kolam Kanna
October 2023 sees us reading another brand-new book, hot off the press! I read Kolam Kanna just about a month ago, and I loved it. What's not to love about a kolam-drawing child with friends who stand up for him? Here's what we'll do as we read this book. Kolam Have you read Susheela's Kolams? If we can, we will read the story together. But whether we can or not, we will try to make a kolam in class. I remember being fascinated by kolams because of the geometry and patterns. I was never good at drawing, but I loved the idea of creating a simple but quite fancy-looking kolam all based on a framework of dots.I've written about art integration before. It's an important part of learning! Themes All too often, book club discussions follow the … [Read more...]
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