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 to Parijat Retirement Colony where his grandmother lives, he realises that it's going to be an exciting, adventurous holiday, not a quiet, boring one. It isn't what he wanted, but when his Paati is upset and angry, what can he do except take charge? Making Posters Inju makes a poster inviting people to join PAATI - People's Association Against Thieves International. Someone else puts up a poster about a missing parrot, Gangaram.Posters are always fun to make! What if you want to get people to adopt kittens in your society? And … [Read more...]
Leonora Bolt: Secret Inventor
I borrowed Leonora Bolt: The Great Gadget Games from a library recently, and my first thought was that the series would be perfect for my book club!A science-loving protagonist with imaginative, innovative ideas, a secret inventor, an unusual set of friends ... it's full of possibilities! And that's why we're going to be reading the first book from the series, Leonora Bolt: Secret Inventor at my book club next month. Friendship Leonora Bolt's friends include an otter, a cook, a sea captain and a boy who washes up on the island. This will be our prompt to write about an unusual friendship we'd love to have. If you could befriend anyone, whom would you befriend and why? How do you think you could help each other? Inventions If you are on an island in the middle of nowhere, but you were the smartest person in the world, what would … [Read more...]
Birds on the Brain
Uma Krishnaswami's Birds on the Brain is such a lovely book! I've read Book Uncle and Me with my book club, and I just revisited the post I wrote about it. Three years ago, I wrote about having discovered verse novels "quite recently" and now I have two verse novels of my own!In Birds on the Brain, we meet lots of familiar characters, and although I love verse novels, I enjoyed this book more than the first. The characters, particularly the protagonist Reeni, are wonderfully relatable. Reeni, for instance, is a balance of self-centred and selfless. She has birds on her brain and it takes her a while to notice that not everyone is motivated by the same things. Yet, she makes an effort. She doesn't want to lose her friend Anil and she does want to help the istri lady. But how?This endearing story shows us just how she can catch two birds with one phone, to use her words, much kinder than … [Read more...]
The Wishkeeper’s Apprentice
What a charming book! Hopeful, whimsical and ever so sweet, The Wishkeeper's Apprentice is a book I loved as an adult and would have enjoyed as a child. Rupus Beewinkle is an overworked wishkeeper. He needs an apprentice because there are so many wish snags, and he simply isn't able to keep up. Unfortunately, the council refuses his request, and Rupus Beewinkle needs to take things into his own hands. Enter Felix, who is increasingly upset because his sister Rebecca is now too busy to spend time with him. If only Rebecca would love him the way she used to ... What better way to unite a wishkeeper and a wish-maker than a wish? Felix becomes Rupus's apprentice, and when he unwittingly reveals Rupus's address to the wishsnatcher, he must act before it is too late. The Wishkeeper's Apprentice is a magical story about family and love, with eccentric characters and an unusual … [Read more...]
Leonora Bolt: The Great Gadget Games
I love it when I come across books that I can read with my book club! I've been reading about Leonora Bolt for a while, but The Great Gadget Games is the first one I've read in the series. Clearly, earlier in the series, Leonora Bolt was in the clutches of her evil uncle Luther. She's escaped and is now determined to save her parents too. The best way to do so is to take part in the great gadget games her uncle has organised. She is a super-inventor after all! From wild inventions to wacky ideas, Leonora Bolt: The Great Gadget Games is an explosion of imaginative escapades. Leonora, however, is more than just an inventor. As the story proceeds, I love how she knows how important it is to win, but realises that the best way forward is through teamwork. She isn't afraid to ask for help when she needs it, and she doesn't give up even when it seems as if it is too late to save her … [Read more...]
Pax, Journey Home
I haven't read Pax, but I picked up Pax, Journey Home from Kahaani Box. It's a lovely book, but I have a warning - don't read the blurb! I don't often read the blurb before I read a book, and so often when I do, I regret it! A huge chunk of what is mentioned in the blurb happens in the last twenty pages of the book, and I would have loved to discover it through the book rather than before I started reading! Pax, Journey Home is the story of a boy and a fox, both of whom have suffered immense losses. The boy Peter is determined never to love again, never to find family and never to get attached. The fox Pax, on the other hand, is quick to forgive and quick to make friends. As the story unfolds, we walk two parallel journeys of healing. Pax and Peter walk side by side, never meeting, but forever aware of each other. And in their own ways, they trust, love, and find home. I … [Read more...]
Gooney Bird Greene
Gooney Bird Greene was the second book I read from Kahaani Box, and it's a fun story by an author whose work I admire. Lois Lowry has written such a range of books! I've read Number the Stars (one of my favourite reads from 2020), The Giver and Gathering Blue that I remember, and I have no idea if I've read others! Even though I'm not a fan of precocious protagonists, I usually find something to admire about stories featuring them. In Gooney Bird Greene, I loved the wordplay. Gooney Bird insists that she tells only true stories, yet her stories feature magic carpets, a cat being consumed by a cow, and diamond earrings from the Prince! The joy of the book is in all her revelations. Clever wordplay makes for great storytelling, and Gooney Bird is a storyteller who holds her audience in the palm of her hand. A humorous read that keeps us longing for more stories, just like the … [Read more...]
Dear Sister
I've missed libraries so much ever since the British Library shut down! On a recent visit to Bangalore, I visited Kahaani Box, and I made a decision to join on the spur of the moment. There's nothing like receiving a parcel of books I'm very unlikely to have read otherwise! Neha from Kahaani Box recommended Dear Sister to me, so it was the first book I picked up. For one, I take librarian recommendations very seriously. For another, she and I both have a sister, and that was one of the reasons for the recommendation. And it was such a gorgeous read! The first thing to love about Dear Sister is the way it is designed. It looks like letters written by a child who is growing up! Some letters are in pencil; others are in pen. We can see sections that have been erased, but where the marks of earlier words remain. And of course, the pictures and doodles. As the writer of the … [Read more...]
Dungeon Tales II
We're going to reread Dungeon Tales II by Venita Coelho at my book club! And thanks to the Neev Literature Festival, I have an autographed copy!Short stories work well with my book clubs, especially as we read just excerpts in class. Both volumes of Dungeon Tales were wonderfully received by the children, so I'm excited to read three more stories from this volume! Roman Numerals I loved Roman numerals as a child, and I always waited for the chance to use them. Letters that are actually numbers? Fascinating!We'll look at numbers, why the introduction of zero was important, and see how difficult it is to add XCIV and VI, for instance, while 94 + 6 is as easy as it gets! Structure Stories within a story within a story - I love the idea! What unique structures have writers played with? Is it possible for us to write a story using chat … [Read more...]
Just Harriet
Harriet isn't your typical protagonist. She lies, she's selfish, and she's often sulky and bad-tempered. Even as I read Just Harriet, I mulled over whether to introduce it to my book club. We've read and loved two books by Elana K. Arnold - A Boy Called Bat and Bat and the End of Everything - but this one's quite different. The protagonist is younger; she's just finished third grade. More, she behaves a lot younger; she's not the sophisticated child we often see around us. But doesn't that make her more real?The answer, to my mind, was yes. And that's why we're reading Just Harriet at my book club for ages nine at ten next month. Names Harriet is named after the protagonist of Harriet the Spy, but whenever grown-ups make the link, she's quick to say that she's "just Harriet". Names are important to all of us! What does your name mean? Who … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- …
- 13
- Next Page »