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Day Two: Exploring the World of Stories
Two more children joined the reading workshop at Friends Library today! With seven children in the cosy children’s section of Friends Library, Day Two of the reading workshop was a day of learning. We spoke about the publishing process and copyright. We designed book covers. We shared myths from around the world. And we had […]
Day One: Exploring the World of Stories
As of yesterday, I had no registrations for my reading workshop. I decided to go to Friends Library anyway. Three children came. And then one more. And one more. And one more promises to come tomorrow – all in all, it was delightful. Among other things, we played Pass the Story – a cross between Pictionary […]
Exploring the World of Stories: A Reading Workshop for Children
Summer holidays! Time for yet another reading workshop! I’m moving to another library now – Friends Library, Salunke Vihar Road Mark the dates: 19th May – 23rd May 2014 Age-group: 8-12 years Time: 10 am – 11:30 am Registration fee: Rs. 750 Join the fun! Let’s explore the world of stories!
Biskitwali
My dance teacher regularly gives the Salvation Army children food and biscuits, so everyone there, from the workers to the watchman’s son, knows her. The little ones have given her a name, too – ‘Biskitwali’. The most endearing feature of the epithet is that no offence is intended , and none is taken. Yesterday, I […]
The Macmillan Book Review Contest
Write a review; win a prize! And guess which book is on the list for the Macmillan Book Review Contest? You can write as many reviews as you want from the list. If you’re in the 7th, 8th or 9th standard, do write a review of The Story-Catcher! Write a review before the 30th of June and […]
Parents and Kids Choice Awards
Second runner-up for the Parents and Kids Choice Awards among Indian books for the age-group 10-15! I’m thrilled!
Last Day to Vote
Somehow, seeing my book cover on Rivokids’s shortlist for the Parents Kids Choice Awards makes it all the more real. Thank you, those who voted. And thank you, all those who shared the link. Those who didn’t, would you do it now please? Voting closes today!
Read before you vote!
If you have not yet read The Story-Catcher and that is holding you back from voting, click here to read some excerpts. Rivokids says: Votes are streaming in! Make sure you Vote. Every Vote counts. Vote now!
Parents Kids Choice Awards
I’m thrilled to be shortlisted for the Parents Kids Choice Awards! Those who have already voted, thank you, and please spread the word (before the 6th of May). Those who have not, please do vote! Here is how – 1) Click on this link – http://www.rivokids.com/pkca 2) Go to I want to vote for Age group: […]
Goodbye Gurukul
I had decided what I would write about today, but was moved to tears more than once by everything students and colleagues from Vishwashanti Gurukul said to me, wrote to me and gave me. One student said, “I used to hate Shakespeare, but you made me fall in love with Macbeth.” Another confessed, “I have […]
Fun 4 Kids
It’s workshop season! The Cultural Centre, Pune, is a new space in Mundhwa for different activities and programmes. “Fun 4 Kids” is a venture into a range of activities for children. I will be facilitating the ‘Literature’ activities with reading and writing workshops once a month. The poster says it all!
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
“How about watching The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe?” a friend’s mother suggested when I was about eleven. I giggled. “What a funny name! What is that?” “You mean you haven’t read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe?” Eyes wide open in amazement. And that is how I came to watch the old BBC movie […]
The Red Dress
As a child, I did not like anything about anything awkward. I did not like dirt (even though I asked my father where the Famous Five went to the loo and how they had baths when they went camping). I did not find ‘dirty’ humour funny, even humour aimed at children. I liked politeness and […]
Hello? Is Anybody There?
If you go to the moon, you would go up. But when you reach the moon, you land. You go down. And if you are on the moon and you look up, you will see the earth. That means that somewhere between here and the moon, up becomes down and down becomes up. I started […]
Parents and Kids Choice Awards – Last Day to Nominate
For once, I’m taking on the role of marketing my work! If you like The Story-Catcher, do nominate it for the Parents and Kids Choice Awards! Because this is one award that does not depend on sales, publicity or distribution.
International Children’s Book Day
Yes, today is International Children’s Book Day, a time for me to look back at all the wonderful children’s books I’ve read this year!
Kung Fu Panda 2
There’s nothing like a happy movie to raise your spirits when you have a cold and feel like doing nothing. And Kung Fu Panda 2 was as delightful as the first! Inner peace. I like inner peace.
Toro! Toro!
Is it true that the most moving books must be placed during wartime? How strange that the moments of greatest human kindness come during the cruelest of times! Toro! Toro! is not like the other Morpurgos that I have read, insomuch that it is not about the second world war at all. Yet, it is about […]
Winding Up – Creepy House Reading Challenge
Today, I will be part of the award distribution, the final get-together of all the participants of the Creepy House Reading Challenge at the British Library, Pune. Four workshops over the course of two months with children aged anywhere between 5 and 13. What fun it was! We’ll talk about what we learned, how we […]