I launched my online reading programme for ages seven and eight in December last year, which means that this is the sixth edition of the programme. Each time, I've focused on Indian books - books written by Indians, published in India or set in India - usually all three. On the whole, I've tried to avoid the big names in children's literature, mainly because one of the goals of the book club is to introduce children to books they might not otherwise read. Yet I have included well-known names - Roald Dahl and Dick King-Smith twice each, for instance! And so, this time, I'm introducing a book by Ruskin Bond, Cricket for the Crocodile. It's shorter than the books we usually read, but that should give us more time for bookish activities! Ranji is determined to be a Test cricketer, and his team comes from different parts of town. Sometimes, they even need to let the adults take … [Read more...]
Pinkoo Shergill – Pastry Chef
Two days ago, at my reading programme, we discussed portmanteau words - words created by combining existing words. The children came up with words like roli (a rose and a lily) and brellow (brown and yellow). I must introduce them to Pinkoo Shergill next, with his delightful portmanteau words! Fabtastic! Wowmazing! Spectaculous! Just like those three words there, the book Pinkoo Shergill - Pastry Chef sparkles with energy and life. I love it when there is a sense of urgency in a book. When characters run around, hide, keep secrets and rush, readers experience the same thrill - of something that must happen, and FAST! And when something must happen fast, we turn page after page, eager to know what will happen next. Pinkoo Shergill wants to be a pastry chef, but his Papaji wants him to become a shooting champ. Pinkoo knows that that that was his grandfather's unfulfilled dream, so … [Read more...]
Dreamers
Dreamers.What a beautiful title for a series of illustrated stories about children who dared to dream and then dared to live their dream. The first two books in the series are about light and song, and I found that quite lovely too.Richly illustrated with stark, contrasting colours, The Boy Who Played with Light and The Girl Who Loved to Sing are a visual treat.Shadows lurk everywhere, even as the young Satyajit Ray hunts for the light. He tries to draw them out; he runs from them; he watches them from corners. Until he discovers the magic of light and darkness and the beauty they create together.Satyajit Ray's story was lovely, but to be honest, I enjoyed Teejan Bai's story much more. Red, black and white come together to create powerful pictures, and I love the use of repetition. Jhunjhuni! Pagalpana! Teejan sings!'Teejan sings', especially, is such a powerful affirmation. How strange … [Read more...]
The Absolutely True Adventures of Daydreamer Dev
Daydreaming! Sigh. You can be what you want to be. You can do what you want to do.And Dev is the ace daydreamer. In The Absolutely True Adventures of Daydreamer Dev, the boy embarks on three adventures. He climbs Mount Everest, travels along the Amazon and then across the Sahara. Each adventure is real to him, and so, of course, he has no time to pay attention to mundane things like school and marks. In fact, even when he is being told off by his father, he's off on another flight of fancy.Dev's stories are full of possibility, and that's why I chose to include them in my reading programme. Imagination has no limits; let's see how far-fetched we can get! What could it be? Look at the cover of The Absolutely True Adventures of Daydreamer Dev. There he is, lying on a Kwality Carpets carpet and dreaming. A carpet can take you on an adventure, can't … [Read more...]
A Pinch of Magic
Asha Nehemiah's Trouble with Magic was the very first book we read at my very first reading programme. And I loved it. So, when I learned that after all these years, there was a sequel ... Writing a sequel to a lovely book is challenging, even more challenging than writing a new book--because there are expectations. But A Pinch of Magic lives up to them. Let's begin with the blurb. It made me frown. How was it possible to write a whole book about a spoon? And then, as I read the book, I smiled and chuckled. Because yes, that's what A Pinch of Magic is about. Aunt Malu's special pinching spoon is broken, and she needs another. The premise is just that simple. And in Asha Nehemiah's grand, humorous style, we dive into a story about a spoon. There's so much I love about the story! I love how similar the first line of A Pinch of Magic is to the first line of Trouble with Magic. We … [Read more...]
Nida Finds a Way
I stare at my laptop screen, wondering how to write about Nida Finds a Way. It's such an important book. A book that makes me oh-so-curious about how a child would respond. What would children say that this story is about? Would they giggle and keep reading on and on to see how Nida balances her love for her anxious father and her need to climb trees, ride cycles and live? Children read what they want to read in stories, and I am always amazed by that. So, would children read Nida Finds a Way as a story about Shaheen Bagh? I somehow doubt it, and that's the reason why I think the book is so precious. As a child, I would have laughed at over-protective Abba, his NONONO, YESYESYES and his twitching beard. I would have been bothered to distraction about the illustration on page 24 where Abba's left arm is injured instead of his right. And I would have loved how Nida manages to sneak out … [Read more...]
Esio Trot
Who doesn't love Esio Trot? Teg reggib, esio trot, teg reggib!There was a time when I knew the book so well that I could say the whole chant that Mr Hoppy tells Mrs Silver to deliver to little Alfie. Have you come across the tweet about how children's books should not be given star ratings but 'again' ratings based on how many times a child asks to read the book?By that reckoning, Esio Trot is very high up on my list!It's one of those perfect transition books - neither a short story nor a chapter book. Neither a picture book nor a book with just words. That makes it ideal for my reading programme for seven and eight-year-olds! Backward Games A book club is all about having fun with books. It's about celebrating the joy of reading. And that's why one of the things we're going to do is talk backwards, just for a bit. Plan what you want to say and write … [Read more...]
Maya Saves the Day
Earlier this month, we read Maya in a Mess at my reading programme, and one child volunteered, "I've read the book that comes before Maya in a Mess.""Did you like it?" I asked.She nodded. "I read it four times."Now, if that isn't endorsement, I don't know what is! I enjoyed Maya Saves the Day thoroughly too! What I loved most about it is that it is told entirely from the point of view of a child who is a bundle of contradictions. On the one hand, she has all kinds of fears. She's scared of crows, whooshing mango trees and dark places. On the other hand, she's completely secure - when she's separated from her parents at a mall, she does not become afraid. Instead, she's angry with her parents for being so careless as to get lost. Maya is a very special combination of humour, solemnity and madness. In the same way as she cries MAYDAY! in Maya in a Mess, we find a confident girl here … [Read more...]
Book Uncle and Me
I discovered verse novels quite recently. I began by reading a few for young adults and then I slowly went down the age ladder. I love them. I love how much they say with such few words. Would I have enjoyed verse novels as a child? I have no way of telling, for I was such a mix. I liked things that were familiar, so it is possible that I would have rejected them out of hand as weird. On the other hand, I was never a fan of long paragraphs, so I don't know. I do know, though, that I want to introduce young readers to this form, and Book Uncle and Me is ideal. Yasmin has a mission. She wants to read a book a day for the rest of her life, and she has accomplished this for over a year thanks to Book Uncle, who not only runs a free lending library but also recommends the best books. One day, however, Yasmin discovers that Book Uncle is packing up. He's been told he needs a permit to … [Read more...]
The Absent Author
The Absent Author. The Bald Bandit. The Haunted Hotel. The Zombie Zone. Isn't this the kind of series you could see any child longing to collect?Book series are special and that's why, for each reading programme, I try to introduce at least one. They're sure shot ways of getting children hooked to reading! During my first reading programme, I introduced the hOle books with Trouble with Magic. During the second, it was the Amelia Bedelia series. Now, it's the A to Z Mysteries.Dink invites his favourite author, Wallis Wallace, to Green Lawn, and joy of joys! He receives a note from the author accepting the invitation! Unless he's kidnapped, Wallis Wallace promises to come to the Book Nook and meet Dink and his friends. When he doesn't show up, Dink has a mystery on his hands - the mystery of the absent author!Meticulously, Dink, Josh and Ruth go through Wallis Wallace's itinerary, trying … [Read more...]