Moin is back! But more importantly, the monster is baaaaack! (It even has a song about it.) With its quirky characters (most of whom we’ve met before in Moin and the Monster and Moin the Monster Songster), Moin and the Monkey Monster is a hilarious read. Through its pages, we can hear the monster’s terrible […]
Hey Sis! Hey Bro!
It’s been such a long time since I read a collection of short stories! Hey Sis! Hey Bro! by Deepa Agarwal was a fun read, bringing together a range of stories featuring brothers and sisters, or, as the subtitle says, celebrating the sibling bond. From mythology to historical fiction and realistic fiction, I enjoyed the […]
ZardoZi
ZardoZi by Debasmita Dasgupta is a gentle, deceptively simple book. In just a few words, accompanied by powerful pictures, it tells a rich story–one that, as the subtitle says, is stitched with love. ZardoZi begins with a dream. Zi feels like he has found a treasure, but he doesn’t know what it is. When he […]
Trouble in the Tea Gardens
When I started reading Trouble in the Tea Gardens by Mitali Perkins, I was struck by how similar several elements were to Tiger Boy. An intelligent small-town child capable of winning a scholarship to get a better education, a teacher with the child’s best interests at heart, a power-hungry, avaricious person in authority … I […]
The Impossible Pet
The Impossible Pet by Jane De Suza is such a fun book! I laughed out loud more than once as the hapless Tarun tries one thing after another to get a pet of his own–whether his parents like it or not. Just like when I read Puppy Trouble, what drew me first into the story […]
Top 3 Chapter Books – 2025
I read dozens of chapter books each year, both because publishers send me review copies and because of my book clubs. Somehow, though, only three books really stood out to me! I’ve introduced all three to my book clubbers (aged nine and ten), and perhaps it’s more significant that they enjoyed these books than that […]
The Mystery of the Disappearing Drone
A few months ago, when I read The Mystery of the Disappearing Drone, I knew I would eventually introduce this AKA Mystery to my book clubbers. Some of them have read The Mystery of the Missing Geometry Boxes with me; I look forward to introducing this one to them! Detective Notebook As we read The Mystery of the […]
A Boy Called Bat
What does it mean to be autistic? What exactly does the word inclusive mean? I think these are conversations we must keep having, and the earlier we have them with children, the more likely it is that they will be sensitive to neurodiversity, and the fact that we can look at things from other points […]
Tiger Boy
Sometimes, it takes a while to get to a book, even though you come across it everywhere. Tiger Boy by Mitali Perkins was like that for me. I knew it was set in the Sunderbans, and that it has sold over a lakh copies. I bought a copy, and yet, it sat unread on my shelf for […]
Sneaker Paati
Kittu is delighted to discover that he has a cool Paati, the kind he can boast about! She does headstands, and is even willing to teach him to do them! Soon enough, Kittu discovers that his Sneaker Paati, aka Shobha Attai, can do more than just headstands. Maybe she’ll be his new confidante and solve […]
The Wall Friends Club
The Wall Friends Club won the Crossword Book Award 2025! I’m so excited to be introducing this book of mine to young readers! In this book, Anandi, a soon-to-be 10-year-old leaves a letter in a gap in the wall for someone else to find. When Sriya finds the letter, they begin to write to each other […]
Frindle
We’re rereading Frindle at my book club! I read it quite a long time ago, and it’s EXACTLY my kind of book. Nick Allen isn’t really a troublemaker. He just likes to have fun. And where’s the harm in making up a new word? Pen. Quite a boring, mundane word. Why not call it a […]
The Great Sneak-Out
The Great Sneak-Out is such a fun book that I knew I wanted to introduce it to my book club the moment I read it! Humour, silliness and sweetness come together to make this a perfect read for the early middle-grade reader. Siblings As this is the first book we will be reading at Read, Write, […]
Banian Buddies
Banian Buddies is another lovely book by Vibha Batra! I love how she manages to bring a local flavour to each of her books, from Kolam Kanna to Pinkoo Shergill and now, Banian Buddies. The banyan tree on Banian Avenue is in danger—and it’s all Venky’s fault. He asked his Thatha to write a letter […]
The Great Sneak-Out
What an adorable book! The Great Sneak-Out is my favourite POFFS book because it’s such a perfect blend of ridiculous and heartwarming. The charm of the story begins with the dedication. The author Sanjana Kapur once hid her sister (the editor of this book, Aparna Kapur) under a table!? I would love to know more! […]
The Mystery of the Disappearing Drone
The AKA Detective Club is back with another mystery to solve! A couple of months ago, we read The Mystery of the Missing Geometry Boxes at my book club for ages 9 and 10, and most of my book clubbers enjoyed it. A series of mysteries is always fun, so we’re sure to read The […]
The Halloween Adventure and Other Stories
The World of Butterfingers works so well in the comic format! I’ve read just one book from the popular series by Khyrunnisa A before–Smash It, Butterfingers!–and it was an enjoyable read. This one, illustrated by Abhijeet Kini, is fun and engaging, reminding me of the Tinkle comics I read as a child. The Halloween Adventure […]
Blame It on the Untz
Blame It on the Untz by Lavanya Karthik is such a fun book! From the crocodile of group work to music making and competition, there’s so much we can do with this book at my book club! Once more, it’s part of a series–POFFS. I don’t yet know whether I will read the others in the […]
The Worst Witch and the Wishing Star
We read Jill Murphy’s The Worst Witch to the Rescue last year; I’m excited to read another book from the series. The Worst Witch and the Wishing Star brings together so many things children love that I’m sure we’ll enjoy it. For one, most of my book clubbers love reading about magic. Added to that, when we have […]
Ghosts, Thieves and Aha! Adventures
We’ll begin with another Silly Billy book next month! I hope there will be many more of these because it is a delightful series for young readers. With its full colour illustrations and its wacky, agenda-free stories, the series is a treat for early middle grade readers. We’ve read Jumble Sale and Agassi and the Great Cycle Race. […]