The Writers' Club at St. Mary's School meets only twice a week, so World Read Aloud Day sometimes becomes Writers' Club Read Aloud Day, but so what? I celebrated it for the first time last year and it was so much fun that I did it again this year. This time, children came forward and read work of their own, which was heart-warming. Others read out poetry, including a hilarious poem by Ruskin Bond. Still others read scenes that moved them - excerpts from Train to Pakistan, from Good Wives, and from Wonder. Yet, as the girls came forward to read, I realised that many had no idea what to pick. One child in class IV chose an excerpt from an abridged version of King Lear. She struggled with Goneril, Regan, Cordelia and Albany. Aged nine, who wouldn't? Another child chose to read a section from an encyclopedia. She read fact after fact, stumbling over all the figures … [Read more...]
Working with Librarians
During the first two weeks of the year, I made lists of books I loved, and more than once, I found myself writing about how reading levels differ so much that it is difficult to associate a level with an age. Thinking about all of this, I decided write about a reading programme I've been working with for a couple of years now. Two years ago, I was approached by Experiential Learning Solutions and asked whether I would design a reading programme that can be administered effectively by a group of librarians in municipal schools. As a CSR initiative, D-Mart had invested in eleven libraries for schools and eleven librarians, but they wanted to go beyond that. They wanted to ensure the success of their library programme in the form of children taking a step towards reading. What could we do to get children to read? How could we surmount huge obstacles, including the indifference of … [Read more...]
Big Books at the Writers’ Club
Aren't lit fests delightful? Last week, I was invited to St. Mary's School's first lit fest, and it was lovely. We walked into books like this one ... And we had a panel discussion where we spoke about stories, poems, writing, dancing and music. We then visited classrooms and saw the work the children had put together through the course of the year - book reviews, poetry, charts, models ... And we saw eight big books that the tenth standard girls had made for the prep school children. I saw those books and knew I had to share them with my Writers' Club, so I invited Remanika and Riya to talk to the girls and share their books with us. Here's one of our favourites - Mr Banana Climbs a Tree. Mr Banana wants to meet a lady bird, who lives on top of a tree. He begins to climb, but there are all kinds of obstacles - bats, a noisy crow and monkeys. The monkeys are the … [Read more...]
Our Own Voices
I just skimmed through yet another article about how, growing up, we associated 'white people doing white things' with 'people doing people things'. This is an idea that I have to confront all the time, for racism is everywhere. It has forms that we unwillingly perpetuate too. For instance, I have an Indian friend who is studying in the US, and she is not working on South Asian writers. This is something she repeatedly has to defend. "Why don't you work on your own culture?" everyone asks. In the beginning, this is a seemingly harmless question. In fact, it is a relevant question, even an important one, when we look at representation and diversity. Yet, very soon, this begins, insidiously, to translate into the idea that brown people must write about brown people. Must I write about my own culture? How is this a duty that I must fulfil while western writers may write fantasy … [Read more...]
Reading, Writing, Dancing
Two weeks ago, I asked the children at my Writers' Club whether they would like to make readers laugh or cry. Three girls said they wanted to make readers laugh. 12 said they wanted to make readers cry. When a few said they would like to do both, those who had already raised their hands dithered. Finally, though, most agreed that making readers cry was more important. This was both surprising and not. Funny books that sparkle with humour are wonderful. Yet, I do know that the books that stay with me are books that make me cry. The best ones do both. I then asked the children what makes them cry in books. These were difficult conversations, by the way, and I was warmed by how much the girls opened up. A 12-year-old is not always comfortable talking about crying in front of a 9-year-old. The fact that they did - and passionately - was lovely. They spoke of happy moments … [Read more...]
Bhusawal
About three years ago, I began working on an exciting project with the National Rail Museum in New Delhi. The idea was to create stories set in and around trains in India. It was challenging but fun. I dived into details of engines and their working in a way that I had never done before. Among other things, I needed to ensure that the story led naturally to the technical pages, while also being independent of them. In other words, a reader who was completely uninterested in technical details could still enjoy the story and cheerfully skip the technical pages. So, I launched into intensive research. What trains could I write about? What would my characters do? How would they go on an adventure while also discovering how an electric locomotive works? I set the first of the stories on the Duronto, a train with which I am very familiar. Among other things this is what I kept in my … [Read more...]
Special Events: AFCC 2018
Pop-up reading The pop-up reading at the Asian Festival of Children's Content is a fun event organised by Denise Tan of Closetful of Books. Authors who are willing to brave the chaos of the book fair read out a short excerpt of one of their books. Though I had not registered for this in advance, I jumped at the opportunity to read from Dragonflies, Jigsaws, and Seashells. It was a brand-new experience for me - reading from a book of mine that I was seeing for the first time! I read an excerpt from "A Drawing Lesson", the story of a colour-blind girl who triumphs in art class. Celebrating Our Stars An evening event, this was where all the shortlisted contestants were given certificates. I loved it! When I was shortlisted for SABA in 2016, the award ceremony was held on the day before the festival. This meant that right through the festival, I was one of those who … [Read more...]
Reflections: Days Two and Three at AFCC 2018
On day two, I attended a session called 'Rhyming Round Reading', which touched upon ideas that I use all the time at workshops on reading: rhyme. Focussing on a book titled Rhyming Round Singapore, the session had a lot to offer even to non-Singaporeans like me, primarily because of the concepts behind the book. How many of us have found nursery rhymes morbid? Think about Three Blind Mice and Humpty-Dumpty. Yet, like so many morbid fairy-tales, they have stood the test of time. Easy to sing, supported by elaborate gestures, these nursery rhymes have been taught for so many years that they're part of the bedrock of the education of so many children. Rhyming Round Singapore puts together familiar tunes and familiar ideas, rather than obscure images of Miss Muffet sitting on a tuffet, when most people don't even know what a tuffet is. It uses ideas that are familiar to Singaporean … [Read more...]
Reflections: Day One of AFCC 2018
AFCC 2018 was a bit of a whirlwind experience for me. For one, with work commitments that I could not break, I got to Singapore only on the day that the festival was to begin. So, sleep-deprived but fuelled by adrenalin, I arrived at the National Library Board after the keynote had begun. Exhaustion took its toll on me, though, so on days two and three, I was barely able to attend any sessions. Despite that, AFCC 2018 was wonderful, full of new ideas, energy and the urge to create more. I began AFCC 2018 with a session conducted by Australian author Pamela Rushby on making the perfect pitch. I hear so many stories about authors meeting editors and publishers at lit fests and then signing contracts for books. Learning how to pitch would definitely be useful. For me, there were two big takeaways. One, I discovered again how essential the word count of your novel is. It helps … [Read more...]
Back from AFCC 2018
Four years ago, I had not heard of the Asian Festival of Children's Content. I did not know that Singapore's National Library had 16 floors of books. And then, I was shortlisted for the Scholastic Asian Book Award 2016, which was momentous enough for me to buy a festival pass and attend my first AFCC. I didn't win the award, but that was the beginning of a new journey - one that has led to my first Scholastic publication, Dragonflies, Jigsaws, and Seashells (originally Dragonflies, Jigsaws and a Rainbow). Then, in 2017, I answered a call for papers and was invited to speak at the AFCC. I spoke at a panel on writing about us, as Asians, something that I have started coming across much more frequently. At the AFCC 2017, I experienced the energy of the festival once more, as I went from session to session, making the most of an event that brought writers, illustrators, editors and … [Read more...]
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