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 find out.I did, and I loved it. It starts slowly, with a lot of repetition that I associate with books for much younger children, but as I read on, I enjoyed it more and more. I love the place where it sits in terms of a story - between picture books and chapter books, full of colourful illustrations, but with enough text to make the story more than a book for very young readers.Draco is a Komodo dragon, determined to show his father that he can hunt. Surely he can catch a Timor deer! No, it's too fast.A civet cat? No again.A butterfly? Nope.But Draco doesn't give up. He tries again … [Read more...]
Reva and Prisha
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 a collection of little tales featuring the same characters. I loved the simplicity and madness of the stories. The story about eating drumstick particularly struck a chord with me because my little cousin (20 years ago) insisted that her drumstick had bones! The logical way in which Reva and Prisha understand things is delightful too. For instance, they overhear a teacher saying that stripes are slimming. Does that mean that if they wear enough stripes, they'll turn invisible? I adore the idea! My favourite tale, however, is 'Octopus Children'. If Amma finds it exhausting to wash the hands and … [Read more...]
WeirDo
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 I do.I know that Funky Rainbow sends books by speed post. And a few minutes later, I got a message saying my shipment from KoolSkool was on its way. So what was Scholastic sending me?A brand-new book for review! Joy!WeirDo is a hilarious graphic novel featuring a boy whose parents have a dubious sense of humour. Weir's parents could have chosen any name in the world. But what did they choose? Weir.And what's Weir's last name? Yes, it's Do. And in case there's any confusion about it, Do rhymes with go not to.I'm not a big fan of humour that employs disgust to function, so … [Read more...]
Muggie Maggie
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. It was when she died that I made a conscious effort to look for her books, pick them up, and read them. And when I read chapter books, of course, it is always with the ulterior motive of introducing them to my book clubs.I loved Muggie Maggie. It is such a delightful book! Maggie is determined not to learn cursive writing, but Mrs Leeper, her class teacher, has other plans. She comes up with an ingenious plan, playing on Maggie's curiosity, to make Maggie learn her letters. Maggie's stubbornness, Mrs Leeper's seemingly innocent support of it and the telling of the story were all … [Read more...]
Granny Ting Ting
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 to choose appropriate books for my reading programmes, so I need to read a range of books, right? To be honest, most books I read do become part of my book club. A handful don't - usually because they aren't easily available (more about that in another post, hopefully).Sometimes, though, as with Granny Ting Ting, there's another reason I don't choose certain books, and that is, that I am not equipped to lead a discussion on the book. Yes, I enjoyed Granny Ting Ting thoroughly. I like the characters and the exposure to a cultural milieu that I know little about. I love the competition between Shayla and Michael … [Read more...]
Rattu & Poorie’s Adventures in History: 1857
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 for Emerging Readers 2020, is quite engaging, providing glimpses of three major events that comprised an uprising that all of us study in school - the revolt of 1857.The links between Rattu's life in modern India and historical events are interestingly created. Rattu wishes for a soldier with a sword and encounters Rani Lakshmibai and Jhalkari Bai, who encourage her to play a game of make-believe based on the siege of Jhansi. When bullies steal the sisters' ice-creams, whom should they encounter but Azimullah Khan and Nana Sahib, who teach them how to deal … [Read more...]
Rise of the Earth Dragon (Dragon Masters #1)
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 Monster ... More often than I can count!And the Dragon Masters is a fun, exciting series too! Rise of the Earth Dragon is the first of the series, the book where Drake discovers that he is a Dragon Master. But-but-but dragons don't exist! They do? But what if he can't connect with his dragon at all?Rise of the Earth Dragon is a lovely story about new experiences, making friends, adventure and magic!Here's what we will do with it at my book club.Diary of a Dragon Master What if you were a Dragon Master? Write about your dragon! What is its name? What … [Read more...]
No Nonsense Nandhini
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, about never glossing over the fact that life is hard, and about having the power and flexibility to change routes when life throws obstacles in your path.Nandhini is a powerhouse of energy and determination, plus she is full of fun and mischief. As a child, she dreams of being a Collector. She is a good student and studies hard at school, but a week before her board exams, she falls off a guava tree and injures herself so badly that she has to skip her exams. That's just the first of many things that go wrong. When she appears for her exams the following year, she is … [Read more...]
Cricket for the Crocodile
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...]
A Big Splash
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, but into a sensitive human being. I love flawed protagonists, and Dhivya is exactly that - driven and passionate, but rather careless when it comes to letting her temper fly.Like all the other books in the PARI series, A Big Splash begins in a small village. The village tank is the only place where Dhivya is permitted to swim, and so, naturally, she has little to do with the world of competitive swimming. When she finds out about a district competition, however, she jumps at the opportunity. Swimming is everything to her, and here's her chance to … [Read more...]