What is creative nonfiction? What makes it different from regular nonfiction? Award-winning author Mallika Ravikumar led us through the second guest session of the season, teaching students what makes creative nonfiction engaging. From techniques of writing–like showing instead of telling–to research methodology, Mallika helped students understand how to go about writing credible creative nonfiction. An […]
The Adventures of Mooli and the Bully on Wheels
We’re rereading The Adventures of Mooli and the Bully on Wheels at my book club! The book features characters some of my book clubbers have read about before. We’ve read both The Adventures of Mooli and the Sticker Trickster and The Adventures of Mooli and the Blue-Legged Alien. It’s time to meet Mooli again! Mooli […]
The Wall Friends Club
The Wall Friends Club has been shortlisted for the Crossword Book Award! And by the time this edition of Read, Write, Explore begins, I will know who the winner of the award is. I’m excited to be introducing this book of mine to young readers! In this book of mine, Anandi, a soon-to-be 10-year-old leaves a letter in […]
The Kingdom of Wrenly: Adventures in Flatfrost
Fantasy is almost always guaranteed to appeal to my book clubbers! And that’s why we’re reading two works of fantasy this time–The Vampire Boy and Adventures in Flatfrost. The latter is part of a well-loved series too, making it all the more exciting for my book clubbers. Just like when we read a couple of […]
The Great Indian Safari
I’ve read barely any nonfiction with my book club. Historical fiction, yes, but nonfiction? I can remember having read only Sita’s Chitwan. The theme of The Great Indian Safari by Arefa Tehsin is similar–wildlife. It’s a theme close to my heart, and I find myself using every opportunity I can to introduce books about it to […]
The Great Sneak-Out
The Great Sneak-Out is such a fun book that I knew I wanted to introduce it to my book club the moment I read it! Humour, silliness and sweetness come together to make this a perfect read for the early middle-grade reader. Siblings As this is the first book we will be reading at Read, Write, […]
Draw It In Style with Lavanya Karthik
We had nearly twenty participants during the first guest session of the season, an illustration workshop with Lavanya Karthik! Focusing particularly on her Dreamers series, Lavanya talked about her creative process, and how she chose various art styles for different books. The idea of the session was to get participants to work towards creating a self-portrait. To […]
Boo-Boo’s Adventures
We’ve read Boo-Boo Investigates and Boo-Boo the Eco-Warrior; we’re now all set to read Boo-Boo’s Adventures! My book clubbers particularly enjoy the Boo-Boo series because the chapters are like little standalone stories, which are fun and engaging. A friendly ghost and a kind human child make a charming pair! Good Deeds GGPa announces an award for the one who […]
Blame It on the Untz
Blame It on the Untz by Lavanya Karthik is such a fun book! From the crocodile of group work to music making and competition, there’s so much we can do with this book at my book club! Once more, it’s part of a series–POFFS. I don’t yet know whether I will read the others in the […]
The Timekeepers: Exploring Ancient Egypt
Time travel, adventures in history, and a gang of kids set to defeat a villain come together in The Timekeepers: Exploring Ancient Egypt. At the October-November 2025 edition of my book club for ages seven and eight, I’m excited to be introducing yet another fun series of books to children. Ancient Egypt, with its mummies, pyramids, […]
The Worst Witch and the Wishing Star
We read Jill Murphy’s The Worst Witch to the Rescue last year; I’m excited to read another book from the series. The Worst Witch and the Wishing Star brings together so many things children love that I’m sure we’ll enjoy it. For one, most of my book clubbers love reading about magic. Added to that, when we have […]
Ghosts, Thieves and Aha! Adventures
We’ll begin with another Silly Billy book next month! I hope there will be many more of these because it is a delightful series for young readers. With its full colour illustrations and its wacky, agenda-free stories, the series is a treat for early middle grade readers. We’ve read Jumble Sale and Agassi and the Great Cycle Race. […]
Left-Out Paru
A brand-new hOle book for a brand-new edition of my book club! Left-Out Paru is a book that struck a chord with me because even though I’m not left-handed, I’ve thought about lots of things designed for right-handed people. Scissors. Cameras. Desks. Here’s what we’ll do as we read this book by Bijal Vachharajani and Rajiv Eipe […]
Agalya in the Spotlight
I read Agalya in the Spotlight a couple of months ago, and I knew I would introduce it to my book club very soon. It’s a light, easy read, one that I’m sure my book clubbers will enjoy. I’ve read Misfit Madhu with two batches of Read, Write, Explore, and reading a book by an author we’re […]
The Bald Bandit
Who doesn’t love a good mystery story? I love the A to Z Mysteries because they’re exactly the right level for my book club. The characters are fun, the mysteries are engaging, and the fact that we have a whole series of twenty-six books to read makes The Bald Bandit an easy choice for me. Even though […]
The Hodgeheg
I love Dick King-Smith‘s work. There was a time when I read nothing except his books. I devoured story after story, the way children do when they get hooked on to an author. I remember just one book I didn’t enjoy – Godhanger. But everything else? I loved. And that’s why we’re rereading The Hodgeheg, one […]
The Adventures of Mooli and the Sticker Trickster
The very first book we read at my very first online reading programme was Trouble with Magic by Asha Nehemiah. We’ve read several of her books over time, and this time, we’re rereading The Adventures of Mooli and the Sticker Trickster. This isn’t the first of the Mooli series, but it works well as a standalone book! Mooli […]
Jumble Sale
Jumble Sale is such a delightful Silly Billy Book that I can’t wait to read it with my book club! Just like Agassi and the Great Cycle Race, which we read recently, it is a hilarious read that promises to cause much laughter as we read it together! Jumble Sale If your school organised a jumble sale, […]
Vincent Can’t Go
Another book that’s hot off the press is coming to my book club! Vincent Can’t Go is a charming story about a boy who isn’t allowed to go anywhere because his mother is too afraid. I enjoyed this sweet, simple story, and I’m sure my book clubbers will too! Interactive Game What are you allowed to do? […]
The Second Person Short Story
We haven’t ever worked on the second-person short story, which is what made this writing workshop particularly interesting for me! I love it when I get to work with something new at a guest session! Michelle D’costa conducted a detailed session, introducing the three narrative perspectives and focussing on the second person narrator. From common […]