Magic potions. Superpowers. Word games. Adjectives, homophones, homonyms, mazes. Codes, recitation, performance. What fun my first reading programme was! The first book we read together was Trouble with Magic by Asha Nehemiah. A reading programme involves more than simply reading the book, though, so we used our imaginations. What would we get if we put different […]
Amelia Bedelia Means Business
Amelia Bedelia. The name just asks you to read it aloud. And what a character Amelia is! As with the very best fictional characters (I’m thinking of Anne Shirley, Pippi Longstocking and the like), Amelia’s personality leaps out of the pages. She makes you chuckle at her sheer optimism, at her zest and her drive. […]
Hungry to Read
If there was one thing that could push you to read, what would that be? How would you get someone who doesn’t like reading to read? When Arjun’s teacher announces a competition in school, Arjun is thrilled – until he learns that it is a reading competition. He is no reader; he likes logic, facts […]
Lucky Girl
Lucky Girl is a hilarious book. It’s imaginative, wacky and full of surprises. Sumi is a lucky girl. With her pink bed, a window that overlooks the sea, soft toys and a chef for a mother, she must be a lucky girl, right? Wrong. As I chuckled my way through this hOle book written by […]
Online Reading Programme – Second Edition!
Registrations are now closed for this reading programme. I was just about halfway through my first reading programme when parents started reaching out to me to check if there will be other batches. Even when I launched the first one, I knew I would continue the programme if enough people expressed interest. And so, here […]
My Year in Workshops – 2020
2020 was a tough year, such a tough year that it’s become rather redundant to say it. Many of us had to step out of our comfort zones and do things differently. For me, of course, it was no different. For several years now, workshops have been my prime source of income. I’ve had my […]
Creating Memorable Characters with Sophie
And just like that, the third and last guest session for the current batches of my online writing programme is over. It doesn’t feel like very long ago that I announced the programme, wondering whether there would be enough participants. I did not promise guest sessions because I knew it would depend on the response […]
Workshop Anecdotes
So many little things happen during workshops! That’s what makes them so much fun. For instance, my reading programme began on Tuesday and I started with Asha Nehemiah’s Trouble with Magic. We spoke about all the wonderful things we’d invent because, in some ways, science and magic are pretty much the same thing. One child […]
Creating Memorable Characters
Both batches of my online creative writing programme began in October. Two months out of three have flown by, and I can’t quite believe that I’ve had eight sessions with each batch. We’ve had two wonderful guest sessions too – one with author Nalini Sorensen and one with Dr. Sreeja Nag. It’s time to announce […]
Science Stories with Sreeja
What a whirlwind weekend I’ve had! With the Scholastic Writing Awards ceremony, a guest session at my online creative writing programme, and a weekend workshop for the ten winners of the Scholastic Writing Awards, the weekend has flown by in the best possible way! As with every guest session, yesterday was special. I’ve invited Sreeja […]
Trouble with Magic
The name itself makes my eyes sparkle. Trouble with magic? That sounds promising! And it is. I giggled my way through the book, chuckling at the hapless Aunt Malu and charmed by the enterprising Veena. Aunt Malu should have known better, but … therein lies the tale! Why is this book part of my reading […]
The Sheep-Pig
A few months ago, one of my publishers, Mango Books, began a series of posts on social media about books authors read when they were young. The book I chose was The Sheep-Pig, a delightful chapter book by a favourite writer, Dick King-Smith. Dick King-Smith’s stories are a treat. I loved The Sheep-Pig, the sequel […]
Shrinking Vanita
Shrinking Vanita is a delightful read, full of laughter, madness and the unshakeable belief that children can and will save the world! With a little help, of course. From a puppy called Giggles and a bag full of fridge magnets. Three days to go before a gigantic killer asteroid will end life on Earth! Everyone […]
Reflections – Part 2
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the first series of reflections, written by children from my first batch of the creative writing programme. The idea of a reflective statement is something that I came to appreciate when I was teaching the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. While I was teaching, however, many students hated […]
A Few More Writing Activities
A few days ago, I posted five writing activities that I created last month; here are a few more. I find that short activities of this sort are wonderful ways both to get started and to wind down. Finishing a workshop with some sort of activity leaves participants feeling energized, rather than exhausted. Quick ones […]
Five Writing Activities for Children (and Adults!)
As I was preparing to launch my online creative writing programme, I posted one writing activity per day on social media, and I loved the responses I received. Writing activities can be so much fun, and not just for children. They work just as well for adults who want to sit down and start writing […]
Stories of Space Robots and Rockets
A couple of weeks ago, I found myself thinking – an online writing programme is not a lit fest. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to invite people who would be able to do something entirely new? What could I do to bring in a new kind of story? And here was my answer: How can I […]
Writing Stories with Nalini Sorensen
Guest sessions are full of fun! Yesterday, I went on not one, but several writing journeys with children’s book author Nalini Sorensen. What did I take back from my journeys? Several things, actually! For one, I love Nalini’s phrase ‘story eyes’. Just like Nalini, the question I hear most often is ‘where do you get […]
Online Reading Programme
I’ve been working with the British Library’s reading challenge for a long time. I’ve worked with a range of themes – Circus Stars, Mythical Maze, Record Breakers, The Big Friendly Read, Animal Agents … And I’ve enjoyed each one. I love the range of books the British Library has, and the reading challenge collection is […]
Reflections – Part 1
During the course of any creative writing programme I conduct, about two or three times, I ask children to stop and reflect on everything they’ve felt and everything they’ve done during their sessions with me. Now that we’re one month into my online programme, it was time. And as usual, I could not stop smiling […]