We've read Trouble with Magic at my book club; it's time to read the sequel! A Pinch of Magic is a fun read, full of surprises. I read and reviewed the book some time ago, and I'm excited to be introducing it to my book clubbers. Here's what we'll do with it. Innovative Address One of the first things that made me chuckle as I read A Pinch of Magic was the Maha Guru's highly accurate address. And this leads us to our first activity. How would you write your address if you did it in a similar fashion?I love linking screen time with the world around us. Looking around them, I want the children to tell me: what tree is closest to them? What is the shape of tree near the gate? How tall is the tree at the end of the lane? Together, we'll create an innovative address for each one of us! Label Design We thoroughly enjoyed creating different kinds … [Read more...]
My Favourite Chapter Books from 2021
Thanks to my book clubs, I read so many chapter books and early middle grade books in 2021! Of the 30-40 I read, here are nine books that stood out to me. I've shared most of them with my enthusiastic young book clubbers, and the review link will take you to activities that you can do with the book. As there are so many books, I decided not to include those I reread last year, sticking only to those I read for the first time in 2021. Muggie Maggie This one is such a delight that I've held on to my copy of it, in the hope that one day soon, bookstores will let me know that it is back in stock and I can introduce it to my book clubbers.Maggie is determined not to learn cursive. Unfortunately, her teacher has other plans: sneaky, ingenious plans. I love fictional teachers like her! In some ways, Maggie reminds me of Dick King-Smith's Sophie. She has … [Read more...]
A Pinch of Magic
Asha Nehemiah's Trouble with Magic was the very first book we read at my very first reading programme. And I loved it. So, when I learned that after all these years, there was a sequel ...Writing a sequel to a lovely book is challenging, even more challenging than writing a new book--because there are expectations. But A Pinch of Magic lives up to them.Let's begin with the blurb. It made me frown. How was it possible to write a whole book about a spoon? And then, as I read the book, I smiled and chuckled. Because yes, that's what A Pinch of Magic is about. Aunt Malu's special pinching spoon is broken, and she needs another. The premise is just that simple. And in Asha Nehemiah's grand, humorous style, we dive into a story about a spoon.There's so much I love about the story! I love how similar the first line of A Pinch of Magic is to the first line of Trouble with Magic. We … [Read more...]