I learned one new word when I read Left-Out Paru, and I learned another when I read Blame It on the Untz! Untz. What a delightful word! And just like so many books I’ve read by Lavanya Karthik, Blame It on the Untz is such a fun book! Adi is excellent at the keyboard. And […]
Willodeen
Screechers. Hummingbears. Peacock snails. I’m always amazed when writers seem to effortlessly bring a fantastical world to life, and Katherine Applegate is a master at it. I came across it first in Crenshaw (one of the top 5 chapter books I read in 2020); Willodeen left me awestruck. Willodeen plays out in a world very much like […]
The Upside Down River: Hannah’s Story
Sometimes, you read a charming story, almost old-fashioned in its telling, and you don’t quite know why you like it so much. My Father’s Dragon was a book like that; The Upside Down River – Hannah’s Journey was another. When I picked up the book, I didn’t know that it was the sequel to a […]
If Elephants Could Talk
Temple elephants. I’ve always hated the fact that they exist. I remember during a dance tour once, when everyone lined up to be blessed by the elephant. I stayed away. And like Meenakshi in If Elephants Could Talk, I didn’t say a thing. I didn’t know how to form my words or what to say. […]
Gossamer
What a gorgeous book! Gossamer by Lois Lowry is delicately woven, pulling at your heart strings as it takes you through a tapestry of dreams, sorrow, love and wonder. Littlest isn’t sure what she is. Is she a dog? But she doesn’t have a tail! Is she human? Her instructor Fastidious never answers her questions. […]
Bipathu and a Very Big Dream
Bipathu often has the same dream. A dream where she, her Ikka Saad, and Hrithik Roshan are playing football. But dreams don’t come true, do they? Especially not very big dreams like this one? As we read the story, we find out! Bipathu and a Very Big Dream is about dreams, reality, and everything in […]
Agalya in the Spotlight
I read Agalya in the Spotlight a couple of months ago, and I knew I would introduce it to my book club very soon. It’s a light, easy read, one that I’m sure my book clubbers will enjoy. I’ve read Misfit Madhu with two batches of Read, Write, Explore, and reading a book by an author we’re […]
The Hodgeheg
I love Dick King-Smith‘s work. There was a time when I read nothing except his books. I devoured story after story, the way children do when they get hooked on to an author. I remember just one book I didn’t enjoy – Godhanger. But everything else? I loved. And that’s why we’re rereading The Hodgeheg, one […]
Jumble Sale
Jumble Sale is such a delightful Silly Billy Book that I can’t wait to read it with my book club! Just like Agassi and the Great Cycle Race, which we read recently, it is a hilarious read that promises to cause much laughter as we read it together! Jumble Sale If your school organised a jumble sale, […]
An Absence of Squirrels
A couple of years ago, I finally read The Giver, a book that students at my writing programme recommended to me time and again when we were studying dystopia, mythopoeia, fantasy … almost anything, in fact. And that’s the book that kept coming to mind as I read Aparna Kapur’s An Absence of Squirrels. An […]
Agalya in the Spotlight
When I learned that Divya Anand had a new book out, I knew I had to read it. I loved Misfit Madhu. I’ve read it with my book club twice, and the children enjoyed it each time! Agalya in the Spotlight is just as breezy a read. I was invested in the characters from the […]
The Mystery of the Missing Geometry Boxes
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 […]
Dear Mr. Henshaw
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 […]
Agassi and the Great Cycle Race
Agassi and the Great Cycle Race is a brand-new book that I’m eager to introduce to my book club. I read it not very long ago, and it’s such a rollicking read that I’m sure it will be fun! What’s in a name? Agassi hates his name. In fact, he prefers to be called by his […]
Agassi and the Great Cycle Race
Agassi and the Great Cycle Race by Khyrunnisa A. and illustrated by Saumya Oberoi is another fun Silly Billy book! The cover image encapsulates the madness of the book perfectly: a parakeet sitting on an inverted saucepan worn by a boy riding a cycle! Agassi hates his name. Just because his parents are tennis fans, […]
Jumble Sale
Shabnam Minwalla’s Jumble Sale is another delightful Silly Billy Book, a lighthearted mystery, which begins with a missing bottlebrush. Who could have stolen it? An evil crow? A ghost? Or a thin woman with a beaky nose? Jumble Sale takes us through a hilarious whodunnit featuring mischievous children Dina and Dorab Sethna, hapless parents, and […]
Ghosts, Thieves and Aha! Adventures
I love the idea of a Silly Billy Book! That’s what the series is called, and that’s what drew me to Ghosts, Thieves and Aha! Adventures by Asha Nehemiah in the first place. With its full colour illustrations, the series is a great addition to books that bridge an awkward gap between age-groups and reading […]
The Hunt for the Nightingale
Gone to a better place. Passed away. Moved on. Passed on. We have so many euphemisms to help us talk about death. But what if, sometimes, you need to hear the harsh truth, unembellished? Anxious, socially awkward Jasper Wilde puts all his faith in just one person–his sister Rosie. Rosie never breaks promises. She sits […]
The Letter with the Golden Stamp
The Letter with the Golden Stamp by Onjali Q. Raúf is such a heartwarming story! As a lover of letters (psst: my first novel in letters, The Wall Friends Club, is just out!), I was drawn to the idea of a story about a special letter right away. With an enterprising protagonist at the centre, […]
Nimmi’s Bizuper Birthday
Some time ago, we read Nimmi’s Dreadtastic Detective Days, and although it is longer than most of the other books I choose for Read, Write, Explore, we enjoyed it. It’s funny and engaging, and there’s so much we can do with the book! Nimmi’s Bizuper Birthday is no different. Like in Lucky Girl, Nimmi finds herself […]