At the first of today's workshops at the British Library, children in the age-group 5-7 brought their favourite toys to talk about. There were two little creatures called Sita and Gita. A boy made up a story about how squeaky Sita and jingly Gita walked into his room while he was asleep. He was frightened, but understood when he woke up. There was a Lego space-shuttle. A girl made up a story about how the shuttle went to a place where aliens experimented on humans. There was a pink-roofed house with Lego girls. The house was, of course, haunted. The theme is Creepy House. And there was Croco - a crocodile whose teeth were yellow because no one ever brushed his teeth. What a delightful hour I had! … [Read more...]
British Library Workshop
The Illustrator of The Story-Catcher
I did not put up pictures from The Story-Catcher because the copyright isn't mine, but I found this on Rishi Bhardwaj's site and could not help sharing it. … [Read more...]
The Tales of Beedle the Bard
Hermione Granger translates so well! I love her translations from the original runes. And of course, Albus Dumbledore's notes reveal his genius and insight, providing valuable information about interpretations of beloved fairy tales. J.K. Rowling, though, talks down to us Muggle readers, underestimating our knowledge of the magical world. … [Read more...]
Now
As usual, I judged a book by its cover and picked it up. An orange book, with two silhouetted figures - an old man and a child gazing at flames in the distance. Now promised to be more powerful than it was, or perhaps it just did not happen to me at the right time. The ideas there could have been deeply moving. A child grappling with guilt that does not have a foundation, similar to The Worry Tree I read not so long ago. An old man haunted by memories of the past, of the holocaust and the loss of loved ones. A child trying to be proud of the fact that her parents have sacrificed their lives to help people in Africa... but realising that more than pride, she feels rejection, over and over again. Now could have been more powerful, but left me with a sense of incompleteness. I wanted to be more moved. … [Read more...]
Collections
I once met a lady who collected Santa Clauses. She had over a thousand Santa Clauses, over half of which she had made using anything, from oil-cans to coconuts. She painted Santa Claus on glass bottles, or made a crochet Santa around a plastic bottle. She used the cover of a cheese-tin, a shankha, cane nets, ceramic pots, stones, rope, clay, everything, to make different kinds of Santas in different postures. My sister used to collect tissue paper. Wherever we went, she picked up a tissue paper. It became something she enjoyed so much that people started sending tissue paper from different places to her. I remember once a close friend of my father's even sent her a courier package full of tissue. As a child, I recognised it as a need to work towards a goal, a single-minded determination. I started collecting pencil-shavings. I collected one and put it in a small self-sealing bag. I … [Read more...]
Oxford Bookstore 2002
We know we belong to the previous generation when we complain about the way children waste time. "How much we used to play!" A friend and I lamented about how students at school spend more time at their laptops than at anything else. They are a generation growing up with email and Facebook; they're attached to their laptops all the time. "We used to be on the ground, playing in the sun." "Tree to tree, wall to wall..." "Hundreds of things. Right until the time we left school." I fell silent. During my last two years of school, I really don't remember playing much. What did I do, then? I wondered. And then, I remembered. I wrote a book. On the 29th of August, 2002, just after I finished my tenth standard, I received this mail - We are delighted to let you know that you have been shortlisted for the E-Author Version 2.0 contest this year. We will be announcing the top three … [Read more...]
I love book-sales!
I never buy books. Never. I have too many books at home that I have not read. But what can I do when I find 70% (yes, SEVENTY PER CENT) off on a Michael Morpurgo collection? The Landmark sale is here! … [Read more...]
War Horse
There's something about Michael Morpurgo that haunts me. I remember being blown away by Kensuke's Kingdom. I've read and reread so many of his books. Running Wild, The White Horse of Zennor, Adolphus Tips, and of course War Horse. They come to mind immediately. This was not the first time I read War Horse.I was not in a mood to read anything soppy. In fact, I began reading War Horse when I was in a rather cynical mood. I'm not quite sure why. Despite that, towards the end of the book I found myself smiling because I did not want to cry. I closed the book, closed my eyes and sighed that particular sigh that only a beautiful book can pull out from the depths of your being. I can't imagine how the movie would be. How can a movie capture the mind of a horse? I don't think I will ever watch the movie. I've already decided that the book is better. … [Read more...]
Day One: Colour your Thoughts
At the British Library workshop for the 5-7 age-group today, I read out a story about a black dog. Mr Hope is afraid of the black dog because it's as big as a tiger. Mrs Hope is afraid of the black dog because it is as big as an elephant. Adeline Hope is afraid of the black dog because it's as big as a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Maurice Hope is afraid of the black dog because it is as big as Big Jeffy. "What do you think Big Jeffy is?" I asked. "I think it's a very very very very very very very very very very very big alien," responded one six-year-old. We discussed what an alien is. We discussed whether or not aliens are friendly, whether or not aliens are like humans, whether or not aliens are monsters, and whether or not aliens have LASER guns. But we all agreed to the suggestion that Big Jeffy was an alien. One of the children, when it came to colouring her thoughts, drew a big, … [Read more...]
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