The first two days of the Asian Festival of Children' Content were the highlights for me, but sessions here and there stood out too. On the first day of the teachers' congress, I attended a lovely session on reading and empathy conducted by Maria Alessandrino. More than the first half of the session, I thoroughly enjoyed the second half, where we went through all kinds of books that build empathy in the reader. I have a whole new list of books that I am waiting to get my hands on. I ended up buying just one of the books Maria recommended - Where's Grandma? - and I loved it!Here are a few others I want to read ... ... I could go on and on and on!Another session I loved was Elaine Fong's talk on reading in the digital age. Much of what she said does not apply to me in my reading programmes because we don't have a public library system in … [Read more...]
Reflections: Day Two at AFCC 2017
This is probably the only time in my life when I signed a contract, committing to playing Illustrationary, the AFCC version of Pictionary, at a certain date and time. But when have I not enjoyed a game of Pictionary? I'm getting ahead of myself, though, because the highlight of the day was my book launch!This charming little place called My Treehouse was where I launched Bholu and the Smart Card, the fifth in my series of railway adventures for young readers.I began with a Connect the Dots activity, which everyone loved, much to my delight. I enjoyed it too, and was thrilled to see people from so many different countries come together there. Indonesia, Australia, Kenya, Singapore ... It was so exciting! The challenge, though, was that I had a slot at the same time as the launch of the winning Scholastic picture books, so I did not have as large an audience … [Read more...]
Reflections: Day One at AFCC 2017
When I went for the Asian Festival of Children's Content last year, I wondered when - and whether - I would go again. Yes, it was a wonderful experience, but Singapore ... Again ... Expensive, and all that. But my paper 'Writing about Us' was accepted through the call for entries and then, how could I not go?I began by attending a lively session on taking self-promotion back by Amy Ng. I particularly enjoyed the section on how not to write a query letter (and was mightily relieved to find that I've never written one of those!). She spoke about fairly familiar ideas, though, so it was more about reinforcement than learning something new. The big take-away was important, as always - don't network for the sake of networking! That's when it feels icky and forced!Petra Nagyová Džerengová's session on death, divorce and other difficult topics was lovely too. What struck … [Read more...]
The Lit Bug Fest 2017
Do you see all the red marks? That's what I attended at the Lit Bug Fest yesterday!The first event of the day was a play written by a young girl and performed by Pushkar Rangmanch. A sweet story, performed with enthusiasm!A few months ago, I invited Leela Gour Broome to address the Writers' Club at St. Mary's. Yesterday, I watched how she told a story to children of varied ages. I also watched Kakoli Bagchi tell a story for the first time. With lovely little puppets, they brought Mrs Broome's story Red Kite Adventure to life! After that, she told the story of a shiny red ball that travels the globe ... I enjoyed the story as much as the children did!My event was next on the agenda, and I loved it! I did have a wide range of children there, and I'm afraid the older children weren't as involved as the younger ones, but all in all, it was such … [Read more...]
Reading Camp
A new set of children and a new set of activities ...I was invited to conduct a reading camp for children in a society, and I enjoyed myself thoroughly! From word search puzzles to skits and storytelling, we packed as much as we could into eight hours. As always, the children were an enthusiastic bunch, willing to do everything together, without once complaining that they were bored or that reading was dull. … [Read more...]
The Lit Bug Fest
How many of us are familiar with Bholu the guard-elephant, mascot of the Indian Railways? Join me on an exploration of a series of railway adventures that will take us on thrilling train journeys all over India. Every story is accompanied by a unique activity – ranging from jigsaw puzzles and colouring books for young children, to building your own steam locomotive for older children. Listen to a story at the Lit Bug Fest, and discover the wonder of the railways!" slug="The-Lit-Bug-Fest-29-Apr-2017" order_by="sortorder" order_direction="ASC" returns="included" maximum_entity_count="500"]The Lit Bug Fest is just around the corner, and I'm delighted to be part of it. With my series of railway adventures, I hope to have and exciting session with children of all ages. … [Read more...]
The month ahead
There's so much around the corner!This month, apart from all the regular workshops, I'm going to be part of The Lit Bug Fest!The Lit Bug Fest is a children's literary fest to be held on the 29th of April at Persistent Systems, Bhageerath, Senapati Bapat Road. It is an all-day event, and I'm looking forward to it!In May, I have wonderful things in store for me too. I'm going to be speaking at the Asian Festival of Children's Content, Singapore.The first one on the list is Pictionary by another name. I can't quite believe that I'm going to Singapore to officially play Pictionary. The second is a panel discussion, which I'm looking forward to ... We're going to be talking about diversity and inclusiveness, and the challenges we face while writing in Asia - in English or in other languages.I'm also going to be doing an official international launch for the first … [Read more...]
Book Launch at Atta Galatta
Launching my railway adventures for children in a city in which I know very few children was bound to be a challenge, but it was such fun!The event began with a college friend who came to show her support - and she made my day. I hadn't met her for a decade, making her presence even more special.As children started trickling in, we began to explore the series of railway advenures through the audio books and activity kits. The joy of each of the railway books is that it is sold both as a book and as part of a kit, making for wonderful activities with children at events like this!And of course, for any writer, people who want to buy your book and get it signed just warm your heart! … [Read more...]
Reading Workshop and Book Launch in Bengaluru
I have two events coming up in Bengaluru this week - a book launch tomorrow, and a reading workshop on Saturday. I hope to see you there! Book Launch at Atta Galatta, Koramangala, Bengaluru Date: 9th March 2017 Time: 5:30 pm Open to all! Reading Workshop at Kids Collective, Jayanagar, Bengaluru Date: 11th March 2017 Time: 11 am to 1 pm Age-group: 8-12 Workshop fee: Rs 500 per child … [Read more...]
Writing Workshops at Gurukul School
The British Library invited me to conduct writing workshops for the fourth and fifth standard students of Gurukul School, and what fun it was!A student of mine introduced me to a lovely activity that I improvised for the fourth standard. I handed out sheets of paper to groups of children, and asked them to write six characters.Here's what they wrote:I find the denture, toothbrush and fork the most interesting characters of all!Then, I asked them to write six settings.I like Crystaly! I wonder where it is.Then, I asked them to write actions. Here's what we got:Each child comes forward and rolls the die three times. The die rolls determine the character, setting and action. All that remains is to write the story. It was delightful! … [Read more...]