We've read The Very Glum Life of Tootoolu Toop before and I can't wait to read it again!I know it's longer than the books I usually choose, plus every batch of children is different, with mixed reading levels. Once more, I find myself asking, will it be too ambitious to read it in three classes with a bunch of children?The answer is still the same - possibly. Yet, there are so many things that draw me to the story that I am willing to take the chance again! It worked once; I know that for sure. Also, considering the number of children I meet who love fantasy, I think this will be a wonderful way to end the reading programme. Magic Stories about magic are fun to read and fun to write. What makes a magical world come alive? What magical words can we create?Even when I reviewed Tootoolu Toop, I mentioned how I love the influence of Indian languages on the … [Read more...]
An Alien in the Jam Factory
An Alien in the Jam Factory is such a fun read! A book that celebrates ideas is the best kind of book to read with children. The very first page is filled with doodles and ideas--like a jam slice, which is like a cheese slice that you can put straight into a sandwich. What else can we do as we read the book? Food Ideas Create your own wacky jam recipe! Scooter, the protagonist of An Alien in the Jam Factory, creates wasp-repelling jam, Brussels sprout jam, cherry bomb jam and more. What can we make? What kind of jam do the children at my book club think will be fun and delicious? Waiting to find out! Alien Creative writing is an integral part of my book club for ages nine and ten, so let's imagine aliens of our own. If an alien landed in your balcony, what would you do? What problems would you face and how would you solve them? Would you … [Read more...]
When the World Went Dark
I read When the World Went Dark one year after our first lockdown. And I wondered about including it at my book club. Grief is deeply personal. No one feels the way you feel. It almost feels unfair when people do.Even so, we do want to talk about our grief. Additionally, with any book, we take away what we want to take away from it. The lockdown, online classes and the fear of the virus are so real that I want children to read this, a book about their lived reality, one that acknowledges that not all adventures happen outdoors when we are free to run about and play. Book Discussion For When the World Went Dark, the discussion will lead the way. Children will want to talk about lockdown, loss, online school and more; I am sure of it. When the cook of one of the children at my book club caught covid, the child was so horrified he could not stop … [Read more...]
An Alien in the Jam Factory
There's something about book titles that can just grab your attention right away. An Alien in the Jam Factory is one of those.I often pick up books when I travel and when I was in Goa last month, I visited Literati for the first time. I browsed for quite a while before this book caught my attention, and I loved the premise.Scooter McLay is a genius. Thanks to his incredible inventions, McLay's jam is a phenomenal success. Whether it's wasp-repellent jam or the not-yet-very-successful Edible Jam Bubbles, each of Scooter's inventions sparkles. He has loving parents, he thoroughly enjoys inventing, and he's never going to let their rival Daffy Dodgy steal his secrets. It's all perfect. Except that he has no friends. No one is allowed into the top-secret factory. And for hygienic reasons, he cannot even have a pet.One day, however, an alien called Fizzbee crashes into the … [Read more...]
The Losers Club
We've loved books by Andrew Clements at my book club. Of course, Frindle is a favourite, but About Average was fun too. The Losers Club, which I read about a month ago, came as a recommendation from a parent, and it was quite a lovely choice. A book about books--what's not to love about it?All Alec wants to do is to get lost in his book. When he learns that he needs to be part of a club to be allowed to sit and read after school, he forms one, determined not to attract a crowd. He wants to read. That's it. Nothing more than that. He decides that the best way to ensure that no one wants to join his club is to call it the Losers Club.Things don't go to plan, though, and soon, it seems like everyone wants to be part of his club. As more tables are added and more enthusiastic young children join in, Alec needs to decide whether to be dictatorial and enforce his ideas, or listen to … [Read more...]
Unfair
I read Unfair quite some time ago, and what I loved most about it is how pacy it is. One chapter just rolls into the next, making it the perfect read for my book club. From discussing themes to exploring narrative voices and structure, there's so much I can do with a book like Unfair! Discrimination What does discrimination mean?At my writing programme last year, we worked on writing persuasive speeches, and I was stunned by the kinds of things children write. Two children - one boy and one girl - chose to write about gender equality, and both speeches were powerful in their own ways.Especially as my reading programme for ages nine and ten has an important creative writing element, we will begin with a discussion on discrimination, and move on to writing persuasive texts on the subject. Narrative Voices Unfair employs two narrative voices … [Read more...]
Earwig and the Witch
When I learned that Earwig and the Witch is a movie too, I debated a long time over whether to read it with my book club or not. Finally, I decided that whether the children I meet have watched the movie or not, we can read and enjoy the book together. In fact, those who've watched the movie will be able to compare book and movie, which is always an interesting exercise! Vocabulary Brainstorm Before we start reading Earwig and the Witch, we'll do a quick written activity on word association. What words come to mind when you think of the word 'orphanage'? How about 'adopted'? 'Witch'? 'Spells'? Once we have a few ideas, we'll get reading! Horror and Fantasy Horror is not a genre I work with often at my book club. In fact, it was after much hesitation that I introduced The School is Alive, and I've set aside several books that I know I would … [Read more...]
Kolam Kanna
October 2023 sees us reading another brand-new book, hot off the press! I read Kolam Kanna just about a month ago, and I loved it. What's not to love about a kolam-drawing child with friends who stand up for him? Here's what we'll do as we read this book. Kolam Have you read Susheela's Kolams? If we can, we will read the story together. But whether we can or not, we will try to make a kolam in class. I remember being fascinated by kolams because of the geometry and patterns. I was never good at drawing, but I loved the idea of creating a simple but quite fancy-looking kolam all based on a framework of dots.I've written about art integration before. It's an important part of learning! Themes All too often, book club discussions follow the … [Read more...]
Kolam Kanna
I've read two books by Vibha Batra in less than a month, and I've loved them both! So many things about Kolam Kanna were utterly delightful that this review deserves to be in bullet points, highlighting everything I loved about it.The name Bharathi! The moment I learned that Bharathi is a boy's name in the story, I could not help thinking of a little boy I met in Perani (near Puducherry) ten years ago. He won't be so little anymore, but I remember his bright eyes and his curiosity. His name? Tamilbarathi.( I liked him so much that he features in my story "Dragonflies and Tablets" in Dragonflies, Jigsaws and Seashells.) Vibha's descriptions and Jemma Jose's illustrations made me imagine Bharathi, the kolam kanna of the story, in the same way.Breaking Stereotypes A boy who likes drawing kolams? Yes, please. A girl who likes to play cricket? Yes, please. And ideas brought together in … [Read more...]
Gobi Goes Viral
Gopi compares everybody around him to a vegetable. His world comprises a capsicum, a carrot, a tomato, a sweet potato ... The problem, of course, is that the moment he talks about it, he becomes Gobi, or worse, Fool Gobi. Trying to tell the bullies in class that it isn’t Fool, but Phool doesn’t help. Being bullied, however, is not the only problem Gopi faces at Primrose Academy. Even though he has got admission thanks to the RTE act, the hidden charges—for school books and the like—are crippling. If he does not pay his dues by the end of the week, he has no choice but to leave.Like the best of children’s stories, this is where a friend comes in—one who does not save the day, but instead helps Gopi save the day. Gopi’s life is worlds apart from Pari’s, but as they get to know each other, they make a plan, one that may just end up working out very differently from what they … [Read more...]