A story told from the point of view of a Cocker Spaniel--what's not to love about it? As a book club read, Lucky, It's Summer! is perfect in so many ways. The lightheartedness of the story, the repetition, the in-built activities--everything about this book by Nalini Sorensen and Shamika Chaves promises to be fun! Besides, for many children who are part of my book club, it will be the summer holidays as we read the book, so what better time to enjoy it together? Speech Bubbles I often work with role-play at my book clubs and while some children instinctively understand how punctuation works for dialogue, others don't. An activity where children have to write what characters say in little speech bubbles is perfect for this. What exactly does each character say? Can we put the words into the appropriate speech bubbles? Point of … [Read more...]
Ottoline Goes to School
We read Ottoline and the Yellow Cat at my book club last year, and it was such fun. I enjoy silliness of this kind so much that the book was on my list of favourite chapter books from 2023.And Ottoline Goes to School, which I read in 2022, was one of my favourites from that year. I'm waiting to read it with my book club! Picture Postcards We've made picture postcards at my book club before and it is so much fun! I remember doing it when we read The Absolutely True Adventures of Daydreamer Dev. I sent my book clubbers postcards after that too, which was part of the fun.Since there are so many letters and postcards in Ottoline Goes to School, we'll make one of our own! Unusual Subjects At the Alice B. School for the Differently Gifted, there are some very unusual subjects, like Giggling Studies and Weeping Workshop. What other funny, … [Read more...]
A Giant Leap
I read and reviewed A Giant Leap three years ago. Since then, I've been thinking about introducing it to my book club, but it's shorter than the books I usually select, making me wonder whether it would be too simple a read. Yet, so much draws me to the book, from the childlike perspective to the exploration of a landmark event, that I decided we would read together. Here's what we'll do with it! Gravity I know that gravity as a concept is one that children study much later, but a lot of them have visited upside-down "museums". What do they think will be most difficult to do in a place without gravity? What do they think will be most fun? Moon Stories There are so many more stories about the moon! Who is the man on the moon? Is there a rabbit on the moon? Does a monster eat the moon every month?We'll explore a couple of stories, … [Read more...]
Ostrich Girl
I love introducing children to brand-new books, hot off the press! I read Ostrich Girl written by Lesley D Biswas and illustrated by Anupama Ajinkya Apte, and I loved the possibilities of exploring this book with my book club! Here's what we'll do as we read. Sounds The Secret Songsters imitate bird calls to fool tourists into believing that there are lots of birds on Henry Island. That's the perfect opportunity for us to explore bird calls! I will ask the children to imitate any birds they know, and then I'll play a few bird calls for them to identify. Bird Trivia Children love trivia! I look forward to asking the children to talk to me about birds they know, after which we will talk about a few unusual birds---including the ostrich, the roadrunner, the penguin, the drongo, and more! We'll also look at pictures of all the … [Read more...]
What Happened to Grandpa
Books spark discussion. As a book club facilitator, I know only too well how a story can lead to conversations about fear, wonder, belonging and so much more. And that is why it's delightful to see an increasing number of books touch upon themes that help with difficult conversations.Several years ago, I read Where's Grandma?, a poignant picture book (though aimed at older readers) about a child's relationship with a grandparent diagnosed with Alzheimer's. With my book club three years ago, I read Flying with Grandpa, another book that explores a similar relationship. The conversation that followed was lovely!And now, I just finished reading What Happened to Grandpa, which I loved.Big themes in deceptively simple books always make for gorgeous reads, and this picture book by Nandini Nayar fits the bill perfectly. As a creative writing educator, I also often look at books … [Read more...]
Ostrich Girl
How well can you imitate bird calls? I used to (and sometimes still do!) imitate cuckoos, parakeets, bulbuls, and lapwings. But would you mistake me for a bird? Probably not.However, on Henry Island, the Secret Songsters must accurately imitate birds so that tourists don't complain that the island is now devoid of birdsong. Unfortunately, Ritu can never get it right. The other songsters make fun of her, but worst of all, one day, she gets mistaken for an ostrich!Ritu needs to show the curious tourist an ostrich ... or confess that she was the ostrich, reveal the identity of the Secret Songsters, and be responsible for the end of tourism on Henry Island. Or perhaps she can find a third solution altogether, one that could lead to the best possible results.Ostrich Girl is a slim chapter book that touches upon a range of big themes, including the environment and the ethics of … [Read more...]
Strangus Derangus
Strangus Derangus & Other Adventures of Little Shambu is another book that I enjoyed hot off the press. It's a collection of short stories, perfect for my book club because we can read three full stories together in class, leaving the other three for the children to read on their own. Role Play There's nothing like role play to help children understand how dialogue and all its complicated rules work! When we read The Reading Race and Yikes! Bikes!, I realised that although children love role play, many of them take a little time to figure out who's saying what. By the end of it, though, everyone enjoys it tremendously.Strangus Derangus & Other Adventures of Little Shambu is dialogue-rich, making it perfect for an activity of this sort! Exhibition In the story "Strangus Derangus", Little Shambu sets up an exhibition of interesting … [Read more...]
By Royal Appointment
Although I did read several books by Jeffrey Archer when I was in college, I never grew to be a fan the way so many of my friends were. Yet, I thoroughly enjoyed By Royal Appointment--rendered even more delightful by Priya Kuriyan's illustrations. By Royal Appointment There's nothing like listening to the author read out a part of the book, and Jeffrey Archer has shared a 6-minute excerpt on his website, which we will listen to together. We will then try to design a "By Royal Appointment" seal, the one that we think will be found on every product tested by the King and Queen of Littleland. Echo and Narcissus The best part of reading a short book is that we have the time to explore so much else! Queen Echo of Littleland is a zany character, but she gives us the excuse to explore the word echo and the story that led to the creation of the word. … [Read more...]
Dhara’s Revolution
It's always a joy to read my books with my book clubs! I've read The Prophecy of Rasphora and Dragonflies, Jigsaws and Seashells, in addition to my story in Flipped: Mystery Stories and Sci-Fi Stories.I can't wait to read Dhara's Revolution, a book that has received much love from readers, in addition to having been shortlisted for the AG BLF Prize for Children's Fiction! Revolutionary Ideas If you want to create change, what would you do? Some of you may want to have the right to choose what uniform they wear. Others may want more screentime. What do you want? What is something that you want to do that you aren’t allowed to do? A book discussion is a great way to delve into a story! Let’s Vote! Election fever has gripped Dhara’s school, Sarvaloka Public School. Let’s read an excerpt from the book and then cast our votes. What team do you … [Read more...]
When Jiya Met Urmila
I read Shabnam Minwalla's When Jiya Met Urmila at least two years ago. I can't believe I didn't review it on my blog! I think I was probably waiting to use it at my book club, which didn't happen for several reasons. I think we'd read too many books by the same writer--Lucky Girl, The Shy Supergirl and Nimmi's Dreadtastic Detective Days. Whatever the reason, I'm so glad I noticed the book on my shelf again when I was choosing my books for the April edition of my book club! Peek and Seek Just like Miss Nutty (aka Miss Rati), we'll play Peek and Seek at the book club. Maybe I won't ask the children to find a snail or a shoe flower. But I already have a list of things that we'll try to find before our time runs out. Super Similes As I reread When Jiya Met Urmila, I loved all the unexpected ways in which Shabnam Minwalla uses words. It is foolish … [Read more...]