When I went for the White Owl Literature Festival in Nagaland a few months ago, I attended part of an event that the author Theyiesinuo Keditsu conducted on her book, Wrestling Day. She spoke about how traffic piles up on Wrestling Day. People park everywhere, and that’s something that’s perfectly acceptable on that one day because that’s just the way things are. Wrestling is huge; everyone wrestles.Before I could ask, someone else did, ‘Do women wrestle too?’ The answer was ‘yes’; she used to wrestle too!A couple of days later I watched two young boys wrestling in Khonoma. It was such a simple, fascinating affair! They engaged in three bouts, and what I especially loved was the way they dusted each other off after their match was over.All this made me all the more curious to read Wrestling Day, and it didn’t disappoint.Aneingu should be all set to wrestle, but he … [Read more...]
The Girl Who Played with Numbers – Shakuntala Devi
The Girl Who Played with Numbers by Lavanya Karthik is a lovely addition to her series of biographies for very young readers. A little note tells us that the illustrations in this book about Shakuntala Devi are inspired by the Mysore school of painting. While this isn’t my favourite style, I love the fact that the choice isn’t random.I also enjoyed the story, and the part I loved best was the childlike desire to stop studying and be allowed to play instead. Shakuntala Devi may have been a genius and a prodigy, but she was, after all, a child! I like that the story mentions it without dwelling on it.The Dreamers series is a delightful one, ideal for those looking for simple, illustrated biographical picture books. I look forward to seeing who the next dreamer in the series will be!TitleThe Girl Who Played with NumbersAuthor and illustratorLavanya KarthikTagsDreamers, Picture … [Read more...]
The Wish Fish
Would you believe in a fish that could grant wishes? Namita wants to, but ...The Wish Fish by Lesley D. Biswas and Aratrika Choudhury is a charming story set in a small village in the middle of a big mangrove forest. Namita's father is a fisherman, and Namita loves to help her father pick the fish out of the net.One day, however, he catches a fish that no one has ever seen before. Not even those who have been around for decades!No one, that is, until Namita takes the fish to her friend, who tells her it is a magical fish that can grant wishes. Namita has so many wishes, though! As she worries about what to wish for, she begins to think: if a fish could grant wishes, would it not make a wish for itself and be free, instead of trapped in a rice handi?A lovely, colourful book that deals with compassion and kindness, The Wish Fish spoke to the child in me. I think (hope!) I … [Read more...]
Gawa’s Bag of Good Regards
Lots of adults I know hated the question What do you want to be when you grow up?I know I loved it as a child. I had so many dreams, and I loved talking about them. Sometimes, I delude myself into believing I always wanted to be a writer, but an old, old diary tells me that I once wanted to be a doctor and an artist!Gawa's Bag of Good Regards by Anushka Ravishankar and Canato Jimo is the story of a child who doesn't know what he wants to be. But he does know what he wants to do. Unlike everyone else in his class, he doesn't even want simply to say what the teacher wants to hear. He beams instead and says that he wants to carry a bag of good regards and distribute them.Reading Gawa's Bag of Good Regards as an adult is different, of course, from reading it with a child. If I read it with a child, I can't help wondering what kinds of conversations we would have. What do you … [Read more...]
Mini’s Questions
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 than adults can answer, and soon enough, adults get fed up of answering their endless questions. But what if questions can help solve a mystery? Would parents sit up and take notice? Like the rest of the Mini series, Mini's Questions is a simple, early reader chapter book that brings pictures and text together in an engaging way! Questions Often, when I ask children if they have any questions, they have none. But what about if I give them a picture and a few guiding questions? Let's see what other questions they have! A curious mind leads to all … [Read more...]
Where Does It Hurt?
Where does it hurt? It's such a simple question. If I read it aloud, I find my voice getting softer, kinder, more patient. And that's what this Hook Book by Samina Mishra and Allen Shaw is about - softness, kindness and patience.Sometimes, pain is easy to explain, like when you eat something that makes your tummy hurt.Sometimes, it's in more than one place, like if you hit your mouth on the handlebar of a cycle. Yes, your mouth hurts, but more, you want to be comforted. And sometimes, pain is much more complicated, like when your head hurts with numbers or your heart aches with sadness.Where Does It Hurt? looks at all these kinds of pain. It encourages us to ask where it hurts and extend a tiny little bit of help. It makes us take the first step towards easing pain.As I read it, my heart skipped at the idea of a child's pain being caused by a mother-shaped hole. Would I … [Read more...]
Mini’s Books
Books about books are always a joy to read at my book club! We're reading In the Woof of Time at my reading programme for ages nine and ten and Mini's Books at the one for ages seven and eight.Anyone who grew up on Enid Blyton wanted to eat scones, crumpets and treacle. I was one of them, and so, this book is all the more believable. Mini wants to eat the food the Big Little Monsters in the books she reads eat. And through her summer holidays, she slowly learns more and more about these monsters--and discovers all the surprising consequences of reading books! Thanks to her stories, she makes a friend, becomes a detective, learns to entertain herself and even starts to cook! Monster Stories I love monster stories! The wonderful thing about monsters is that they can take any form whatsoever. They can be tiny or huge, friendly or ferocious. … [Read more...]
Puppy Trouble
Amit wants a puppy. He wants a puppy. He wants a puppy. He wants a puppy. But his parents refuse.For me, that was the hook. And thanks to my book clubs and the number of conversations we've had about wanting pets but not being allowed to get them, I know that this is practically universal.Puppy Trouble goes further, though, because a puppy does come into Amit's life. Unfortunately for him, however, everything isn't as exciting as he imagined it would be.A fun book that made me laugh at all the right moments, Puppy Trouble is another Hook Book that brings illustrations and text together perfectly. I love how this short story takes us through so many highs and lows - hope, disappointment, resentment ... It's a happy addition to a delightful set of books for young readers!TitlePuppy TroubleAuthorIllustratorBijal VachharajaniRajiv EipeTagsChapter Book, Hook Book, Animal … [Read more...]
What Happened to Grandpa
Books spark discussion. As a book club facilitator, I know only too well how a story can lead to conversations about fear, wonder, belonging and so much more. And that is why it's delightful to see an increasing number of books touch upon themes that help with difficult conversations.Several years ago, I read Where's Grandma?, a poignant picture book (though aimed at older readers) about a child's relationship with a grandparent diagnosed with Alzheimer's. With my book club three years ago, I read Flying with Grandpa, another book that explores a similar relationship. The conversation that followed was lovely!And now, I just finished reading What Happened to Grandpa, which I loved.Big themes in deceptively simple books always make for gorgeous reads, and this picture book by Nandini Nayar fits the bill perfectly. As a creative writing educator, I also often look at books … [Read more...]
I Won’t Wash My Hair
What an utterly delightful book! I love books that make my jaw drop on the very last page, and I Won't Wash My Hair by Aparna Kapur and Ogin Nayam does it perfectly. Like all the other Hook Books I've read, this one puts text and pictures together in the best way possible.Did you have an opinion about washing your hair as a child? If you didn't, it's possible that your hair was short. My hair came to my waist, and I remember how often my grandmother would tell me to wash it when I got back from school. I hated it. Except in the little intervals when I stayed with her because my parents were travelling, I managed to get through school washing my hair just once a week.And that's why Divya's mad, delightful story was even more of a treat. When her parents are away, why must she wash her hair? All kinds of interesting things turn up in it every day. And if her friends don't want to … [Read more...]