Varsha Seshan's Official Website

  • Home
  • Published Work
    • Books for Ages <5
    • Books for Ages 7-10
    • Books for Ages 10+
    • Reviews
    • Learning Resources
  • Workshops
    • Book Clubs
    • Creative Writing Programmes
    • School Visits
    • Workshops for Adults
  • About
    • About Me
    • Recognition
  • Blog
  • Contact

© Copyright 2013 - 2025
Varsha Seshan

Adventure on Wheels

January 19, 2022 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Adventure on Wheels is such a rollicking read! The book opens with two thieves stealing a van that belongs to an orphanage. The theft itself is simple enough, but when they discover three children hiding in the van, they’re up against more than they’d bargained for. At once heart-warming and hilarious, Adventure on Wheels is a fun […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: Adventure on Wheels, book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, Chapter Book, online reading programme, online workshops for children, Prashant Pinge, reading, review

My Year in Writing: 2021

January 16, 2022 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

The year 2020 was such a boost to me as a writer! With a poem published by OUP, a picture book, a chapter book, a middle-grade book and a collection of short stories, how could 2021 even hope to compete? Even so, with two publications, an award shortlist, a book going into reprint and tons of […]

Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: Chapter Book, How Big Is a Whale Shark, Karadi Tales, Neev Book Award 2021, Picture Book, Pratham Books, Storyweaver, The Best Idea of All, The Clockwalas Clues

My Father’s Dragon

January 15, 2022 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I rarely choose to read classics at my book club, and My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett is, without doubt, a classic. I’m waiting for those wide-eyed comments about it having been published in NINETEEN FORTY-EIGHT! But this is one of those classics that I’m convinced will be good fun to read with my book club. […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, Chapter Book, classic, My Father's Dragon, online reading programme, Ruth Stiles Gannett

The School is Alive!

January 11, 2022 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

This is the first time I will be reading a spooky book with my book club for ages seven and eight! One of the British Council reading challenge themes was Creepy House, so I’ve worked extensively with slightly scary stories for all age-groups, but because it was never one of my go-to genres as a […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, Chapter Book, online reading programme, reading, review, The School is Alive

Paati Goes Viral

January 9, 2022 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Paati Goes Viral by Prabhu Vishwanathan is such a sweet book! At my reading programme, I like to begin with a short book because it gives us the time to get to know one another and warm up. Also, when the book is short, we have more time for activities! Dhruv’s grandparents are excited about travelling, […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages nine and ten, Chapter Book, Paati Goes Viral

Peanut vs the Piano

January 7, 2022 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Peanut is such a lovely character! Peanut thought she enjoyed playing the piano. But with piano exams around the corner, piano practice is just one more thing added to an endless list of things she has to do when she would rather play outdoors. Soon, she begins to think of the piano as a big, […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, Chapter Book, hOle books, Peanut vs the Piano

A Very Naughty Dragon

November 23, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I love Paro Anand’s books, and when I learned that she had collaborated with a nine-year-old girl to write a book, I was intrigued. As a teacher and creative writing trainer, I’ve read many stories that children have written. Some are excellent, others not so much. A Very Naughty Dragon? I had to read it to […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: A Very Naughty Dragon, book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, Chapter Book, online reading programme, online workshops for children, Paro Anand, reading, reading workshops, review, Sarah Rose

Reva and Prisha

October 19, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

A chapter book featuring a family that has two mothers? Yes, please! The moment I saw that Funky Rainbow had Reva and Prisha by Shals Mahajan in stock, I emailed them. I ended up buying six other books too, but that’s another story. I loved this book! Like Timmi in Tangles, Reva and Prisha is […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: books for ages seven and eight, Chapter Book, reading, Reva and Prisha, review, Shals Mahajan

WeirDo

October 18, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

What’s the best kind of surprise? An unexpected book in the mail! Last week, I ordered books from KoolSkool and Funky Rainbow. The following day, I received a message saying that my shipment from Scholastic India was on its way. I was puzzled, but I let it go. I don’t know how things work.Except that […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: Anh Do, books for ages seven and eight, Chapter Book, graphic novel, reading, review, Scholastic India, WeirDo

Muggie Maggie

October 2, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I promised to write about the books that I don’t end up using at my reading programmes because they aren’t easily available – and Muggie Maggie is at the top of the list. I’ve read barely anything by Beverly Cleary. She was somehow one of those famous authors whom I never encountered as a child. […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: Beverly Cleary, Chapter Book, Muggie Maggie, reading, review

Granny Ting Ting

October 1, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Let’s be honest. I picked this book up because of the name. Granny Ting Ting. I didn’t know anything about the book. I read the title and looked at the cover image–and bought the book. Every two months, I buy a set of chapter books. I love that I do this for work! I need […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: books for ages seven and eight, Chapter Book, Granny Ting Ting, Patrice Lawrence, reading, review

Rattu & Poorie’s Adventures in History: 1857

September 17, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

A book about a pair of sisters, where the protagonist is the younger sister … of course I was intrigued! Additionally, historical fiction has attracted me for a while, and I have come across very little in the genre for seven and eight-year-olds. Rattu & Poorie’s Adventures in History: 1857, shortlisted for the Neev Book Award […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, books for ages seven and eight, Chapter Book, online reading programme, Parvati Sharma, Rattu & Poorie's Adventures in History 1857, reading, reading workshop, review

Rise of the Earth Dragon (Dragon Masters #1)

September 14, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I love introducing children to book series. It’s heartwarming to see children come back to a subsequent edition of my reading programme bursting with excitement because they’re reading the next book of a series to which I introduced them! It’s happened with the hOle books, Amelia Bedelia, the A to Z Mysteries, Moin and the […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, Chapter Book, Dragon Masters, online reading programme, reading, reading workshop, review, Rise of the Earth Dragon, Tracey West

No Nonsense Nandhini

September 13, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

What do you do when circumstances force you to let go of your dream? You create another dream. And another. And another. Hold on to your sense of humour and don’t give up.At least, that’s Nandhini’s way. No Nonsense Nandhini, shortlisted for the Neev Book Award for Junior Readers 2021, is a book about resilience, […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: Aparna Karthikeyan, Chapter Book, Karadi Tales, No Nonsense Nandhini, PARI, reading, review

Cricket for the Crocodile

September 11, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

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 […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, Chapter Book, Cricket for the Crocodile, online reading programme, online workshops for children, reading, reading workshop, review, Ruskin Bond

A Big Splash

September 10, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Dhivya loves swimming.But when her brother nearly drowns, she isn’t allowed to swim in the lake anymore. Dhivya enjoys playing cricket with her friends.But they don’t seem to want to play with her anymore. Now what? A Big Splash is a sensitively told story about a thirteen-year-old who blossoms not just into a champion swimmer, […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: A Big Spash, Chapter Book, Karadi Tales, Nivedha Ganesh, PARI, reading, review

The Vampire Boy

September 8, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

The Vampire Boy by Sharanya Deepak is another delightful hOle book – quirky and unique. The government has decided that all children – including young vampires – must go to school. What is Kristofer to do? He knows he will be shunned, but off he goes, only to meet with curiosity and bullying. In a way […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, books for ages seven and eight, Chapter Book, hOle books, online reading programme, reading, reading workshop, review, Sharanya Deepak, The Vampire Boy

House of Uncommons

August 31, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

We all know about the House of Commons. What could the House of Uncommons be? I didn’t want to read up about the book to find out, so I picked it up and dived right in. The book started slowly, and I frowned as I read about Krishnan travelling with his Chikkappa to Snehagao. I […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: Chapter Book, House of Uncommons, Karadi Tales, PARI, reading, review, Vishaka George

Pinkoo Shergill – Pastry Chef

August 7, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

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 […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: books for ages nine and ten, books for ages seven and eight, Chapter Book, Pinkoo Shergill Pastry Chef, reading, review, Vibha Batra

A Pinch of Magic

June 25, 2021 by Varsha Seshan 2 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: A Pinch of Magic, Asha Nehemiah, books for ages seven and eight, Chapter Book, hOle books, reading, review

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • Next Page »