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 between. All kinds of special relationships blossom in the story, and the most precious one of all, to my mind, is the one between Bipathu and her neighbour, whom everyone calls Madama. Madama has strange notions about how the universe comes to help people, and much to her surprise, Bipathu realises that Madama isn’t entirely wrong. The universe takes multiple forms, though. Sometimes, it even takes the form of a wounded puppy, one that leads to the spark of another unusual relationship.From gender stereotypes to bullying and disability, Bipathu and a Very Big Dream addresses very … [Read more...]
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 familiar with is always fun! Fairy Tales Rapunzel is a well-known fairytale, one that children are familiar with also because of the movie Tangled. At my book club, we'll try to do a group activity in which characters from one familiar world meet characters from another. Where would they meet and what would they talk about? Exploring this promises to be fun! Performing A book club is never about just reading. I like to link the stories we read to all kinds of activities. Since Agalya in the Spotlight is all about drama, I will ask the children at … [Read more...]
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 of my favourites! It's a sweet story about one determined hedgehog who makes it his mission to find out how to cross a road safely. How do humans cross? Can't a hedgehog do the same? Here's what we'll do with this book at my book club. Slang The Hodgeheg begins with another hedgehog having 'copped it'. Later on, we have the phrase 'that's flat'.What do these phrases mean? The way in which words and phrases develop regional variations is fascinating. I remember reading the phrase 'I bet a monkey' while I was reading Georgette Heyer. I first … [Read more...]
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, what would you sneak into it? What do you think you could sell with no one noticing? And how audacious do you think you could get? Songs I can't think of Jumble Sale without thinking of Tinaz Toddywalla singing, "Just you wait, 'Enry 'Iggins, just you wait!" I don't know how many children at my book club will be familiar with the song, so we'll listen to it and perhaps make it a listening exercise too! Mysteries Is a missing bottlebrush an intriguing enough mystery to solve? Each edition of Read, Write, Explore comprises … [Read more...]
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 Absence of Squirrels is a fantastical, dystopian story about a perfect leader who wants only the best for her perfect island. Once, however, she was compared to a squirrel, and ever since then she's hated those creatures. And that's why, the tooth-shaped island of Thutta is made even more idyllic by a complete absence of squirrels. In fact, even saying the word "squirrel" leads to memory erasure brought to you by a hat that assures you that the Captain is everything that is perfect. You can trust her. She knows what's good for the island.Enter Katli--or a profusion of Katlis, … [Read more...]
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 very beginning. How could I not be when in the first chapter itself there’s a character called Varsha who loves dancing? Varsha makes no further appearance in the story, but the other characters more than make up.When class V A is to stage Rapunzel, Agalya is delighted. She loves the story, or more specifically, the movie Tangled. She’s determined to get the lead role, and she thinks the competition between her best friend and her will be simple, friendly rivalry.When she gets the role at the cost of her friendship, however, things start tumbling downhill. She must find courage within herself to keep going, … [Read more...]
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 would want more than one geometry box. And is there a reason why only Yuga geometry boxes are being stolen?The Mystery of the Missing Geometry Boxes is a lighthearted mystery, funny and engaging. I look forward to introducing it to my book club! Detective Club AKA stands for Aarav-Karthik-Asha, or Asha-Karthik-Aarav, depending on whom you ask. What would your detective club be called? Would you have a password and a secret code? Let's make one together! Geometry Boxes I enjoy linking reading with other activities! I'm not … [Read more...]
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 it would be a book I would introduce time and time again. So come June, we'll be rereading this delightful book at Read, Write, Explore!Leigh Botts writes to his favourite author, Boyd Henshaw, and in the beginning, he doesn't get a reply. Later, he gets a printed response, rather than a handwritten one, which is almost as disappointing. When he is in the sixth grade, however, he receives a proper letter, which he needs for his author report, and this is the beginning of a funny, moving series of letters he writes about himself, his school and family. As we read Leigh's letters, we get to know not … [Read more...]
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 other name - Joel.As Agassi and the Great Cycle Race is the first book we will be reading, we will do several name-related activities. If your parents had named you after their favourite sportspeople, what would your name be? If they had combined their names to create one for you, what options would they have had? And finally, I'd love to know what the stories behind their names are. What led to the choosing of their names? But, then ... We've played "Fortunately, Unfortunately" at several editions of my book club. It's time to do something different! When we play … [Read more...]
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, they didn't have to name him Agassi! He refuses to play tennis, and he much prefers to be called by his middle name, Joel.When he decides to take part in a cycle race, however, his quest for a cycle is a mixed blessing. A cycle loaned to him comes along with a parakeet that he must care for. But what should the parakeet be called but Steffi?With Joel, his neighbour Zeba, and the parakeet Steffi, we go hurtling on a hilarious adventure. Joel seems to attract accidents and drama, and the book takes us through a race, film-making, accidents, an antique cycle and a … [Read more...]