Intrigued by the title of the series 'Before They Became Famous', I picked up Caroline Corby's  Pocahontas. Just to make things clear, I haven't watched the movie. In fact, I know nothing about the movie except the song "Colours of the Wind". The book I read was lovely. 'Pocahontas' means 'curious, lively, inquisitive', and this was one of those historical novels in which the character came alive. Each character was real to me. There were no detailed explanations to teach me about the customs and livelihood, but there were enough clues to help me find my way, and that made the experience of the novel that much more exciting. A young girl, oscillating between disgrace and honour, is a character that is inspiring, to say the least. Pocahontas, before she became famous, seems to have been exactly like that, at least in Caroline Corby's imagination! … [Read more...]

An unusual book, No Such Thing as Dragons puzzled me. I think the promise that the book cover held (yes, I always judge a book by its cover) led me to expect more. I found that the characters had so much potential, and the plot could have been much more exciting, considering the lovely seed of the story. Since there is no such thing as dragons, the dragon-hunter knows that the best person to keep his secrets is a mute boy. The dragon-hunter has grand stories of courage and bravery, which he spreads from town to town as he goes through Christendom ridding the world of dragons. Sold for a purse of gold, the mute boy Ansel is told over and over again by his new master that there is not such thing as dragons. A town they go to has a different story to tell, though. Packed with surprises, No Such Thing as Dragons is a story that keeps you running at the same pace as the narrative. Yet, I am … [Read more...]

Neverland. I remember my father reading out bits and pieces of Peter Pan to me. And I remember having an enormous book, probably as big as I was myself, with beautiful pictures of Neverland, Wendy and dreadful Tinker Bell whom I disliked so much, even though she was so pretty. Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg took me straight back to that vision of Neverland. It helps that the book in my hands was one of those where I could have spent hours just looking at the pictures and smelling the pages. With its thick glossy paper, and several double pages of vivid, detailed pictures, the story came alive. Like so many tales from Disney, Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg was filled with emotions that are essentially, beautifully human. I enjoyed the tale of adventure and sacrifice. I got so absorbed in the story after a while that I finished the book and then turned back to look at the … [Read more...]