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© Copyright 2013 - 2025
Varsha Seshan

Vincent Can’t Go

July 1, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Another book that’s hot off the press is coming to my book club! Vincent Can’t Go is a charming story about a boy who isn’t allowed to go anywhere because his mother is too afraid. I enjoyed this sweet, simple story, and I’m sure my book clubbers will too! Interactive Game What are you allowed to do? […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, Mariyam Fatima, online reading programme, online workshops for children, reading, Vincent Can't Go

Dum Dum to the Rescue & Yet More Adventures of Little Shambu

May 8, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Did you read Shikari Shambu? I did, and I loved each silly adventure. That’s why we’re reading yet another Little Shambu book at my book club. We read Strangus Derangus in April 2024, In the Bear’s Den in November 2024, and it’s time to read the last one–Dum Dum to the Rescue. I enjoyed all these stories […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, Dum Dum to the Rescue, online reading programme, online workshops for children, reading, Reena I Puri

The Mystery of the Missing Geometry Boxes

May 7, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Who doesn’t love a good mystery? When geometry boxes begin to go missing, the AKA Detective Club finally has a new mystery to solve! But things always go missing in schools, don’t they? What’s the big deal? When a pattern begins to emerge, however, the young detectives know that something is fishy. Surely, no one […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages nine and ten, online reading programme, online workshops for children, reading, Vidya V

Saving the Sun Dragon

May 6, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

We read Rise of the Earth Dragon, the first book in the Dragon Masters series, nearly four years ago! It was another of those books that set children off on a reading journey because there’s a whole series to devour. That’s why we’re reading Saving the Sun Dragon next month. It’s the perfect reading level; it’s imaginative, features […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, online reading programme, reading, Saving the Sun Dragon, Tracey West

Dear Mr. Henshaw

May 5, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I’ve said this dozens of times: I love epistolary novels. I made a video about a few favourites for World Post Day 2021, I love doing letter-writing activities at workshops, and I’ve written an epistolary novel of my own. When we read Dear Mr. Henshaw for the first time at my book club, I knew […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: Beverly Cleary, book club, bookish activities, books for ages nine and ten, Dear Mr Henshaw, epistolary, Middle Grade Book, online reading programme, reading, review

The Monster Hunters

May 1, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

We’re rereading The Monster Hunters by Parinita Shetty at my book club in June 2025! Abhay is convinced that his mother has eyes at the back of her head. She knows everything and sees everything. Yet, she does not seem to believe that there are monsters in every child’s room! Why can’t she see them? It’s […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, Chapter Book, hOle books, online reading programme, online workshops for children, Parinita Shetty, reading, reading workshop, The Monster Hunters

The Chocolate Touch

March 5, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling is an old book, unlike most of the others I select for my book clubs. Its copyright dates back to 1952! And that’s not the only thing that makes it different from the books I usually choose. Another important distinction is that it has a clear moral, something I […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, online reading programme, Patrick Skene Catling, reading, review, The Chocolate Touch

The Adventures of Mooli and the Blue-Legged Alien

March 3, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

We’ve read the other two Mooli books at my book club (although that was before my current book clubbers were old enough to join), and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed them! The Adventures of Mooli and the Blue-Legged Alien is just as much fun, or perhaps even more fun! A lovely combination of wacky adventures and a […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: Asha Nehemiah, book club, bookish activities, creative writing with children, online reading programme, online workshops for children, reading, The Adventures of Mooli and the Blue-Legged Alien

The Paradise Flycatcher

March 2, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

It’s impossible to write about The Paradise Flycatcher without mentioning the gorgeous illustrations. I felt the same way about The Golden Eagle, which we read at my book club some time ago. Krishna Bala Shenoi’s art work, right through the book, is stunning, and if for nothing else, I would have picked The Paradise Flycatcher for one of my […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages nine and ten, creative writing, Deepak Dalal, Feather Tales, online reading programme, reading, review, The Paradise Flycatcher

The Clockwala’s Clues

March 1, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

We’re going to read my hOle book, The Clockwala’s Clues at my book club in April 2025! I’ve done many author events based on the book, but they’ve all been in-person sessions. Looking forward to my first online session with the book.  Puzzles Jasmine and Sheba love puzzles. Do you? Can you solve a set of puzzles […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, online reading programme, reading, review, The Clockwalas Clues

Boo-Boo the Eco-Warrior

January 7, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I don’t like horror stories, but what about stories featuring a friendly, helpful ghost? Boo-Boo the Eco-Warrior is one of those! Written almost like a series of short stories, this book by Tanushree Podder is a child-friendly read, made all the more engaging by the use of varied font sizes and, of course, pictures. Boo-Boo the ghost, […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: Boo-Boo the Eco-Warrior, book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, online reading programme, online workshops for children, reading, Tanushree Podder

Misfit Madhu

January 6, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

We’re rereading Misfit Madhu at my book club! It was a favourite when I read it two years ago, although it’s longer and slightly more complex than the books we usually read. I’m waiting to read it again! Madhu makes an app that goes viral. At first, she can’t quite believe it, but soon, she […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages nine and ten, Divya Anand, Misfit Madhu, online reading programme

Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom

January 5, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom opens with the oracle at Delphi predicting the fall of the Titans. The future is misty and the oracle’s glasses are foggy, so she can’t quite tell what will happen. What lies ahead? Dancers? Oh, no. Danger. Danger lies ahead. On that humorous note, we begin the story of […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, Chapter Book, Joan Holub, online reading programme, online workshops for children, reading, review, Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom

Trouble-Maker

January 4, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Have you read any books by Andrew Clements? I’ve read several, and each one of them has been such a good choice as a book club read! Perhaps it’s because Clements writes about school and even though some elements aren’t exactly relatable, there are so many that are! Plus, with books like Frindle and The Losers Club, […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Andrew Clements, book club, bookish activities, books for ages nine and ten, online reading programme, online workshops for children, Trouble-Maker

Mini’s Questions

January 3, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

We read Mini’s Books a while ago, and it was fun! As a couple of book clubbers who read it with me have already signed up for the February 2025 edition, I decided to read another book from the series. The familiarity of characters always makes for a fun reading experience! Children have more questions […]

Filed Under: Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages five and six, books for ages seven and eight, Mini's Questions, Nandini Nayar, online reading programme, online workshops for children, reading

Kushti Kid

January 2, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Kushti Kid is another lovely book by Vibha Batra, one that I know my book club will enjoy! For me, the challenge when it comes to introducing books published by Scholastic India is that there’s no ebook available, which often means that I have to restrict my book clubbers to children living in India, or […]

Filed Under: Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages nine and ten, Kushti Kid, online workshops for children, Vibha Batra

Petu Pumpkin: Tooth Troubles

January 1, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Another edition of my book club, another hOle book! We’ve read nineteen so far, and I’m running out of ones I think my book clubbers will enjoy! I read Petu Pumpkin: Tooth Troubles four years ago. It is fun and light, and we’ll have fun with it, especially as it’s the first book we will […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Arundhati Venkatesh, book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, online reading programme, online workshops for children, Petu Pumpkin: Tooth Troubles

In the Bear’s Den

November 7, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Little Shambu is such fun! I read In the Bear’s Den and Other Adventures of Little Shambu some time ago, and at my book club, we read the first book in the Little Shambu series earlier this year. Short stories are fun! I’m looking forward to reading more of this young animal lover’s adventures with my book […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, In the Bear's Den and More Adventures of Little Shambu, online reading programme, reading, Reena I Puri

Paati vs UNCLE

November 6, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

We’re rereading Paati vs UNCLE by Meera Ganapathi at my book club! It is a delightful combination of funny and serious, action-driven and character-driven, making it a perfect book club read. Inju is all set for a quiet, boring holiday with his Paati. That’s just the way he likes it. Unfortunately, from the moment he gets […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages nine and ten, Meera Ganapathi, online reading programme, online workshops for children, Paati vs UNCLE, reading, review

The Magic Finger

November 5, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I typically shy away from very well-known books at my book club because I feel that children will come across these books through schools and bookshops anyway. But I’ve always loved Roald Dahl’s work, and what is a book club for if not to spark the joy of reading? We’ve read Fantastic Mr Fox and Esio Trot. Next […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, online reading programme, reading, Roald Dahl, The Magic Finger

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