Have you read any books by Andrew Clements? I’ve read several, and each one of them has been such a good choice as a book club read! Perhaps it’s because Clements writes about school and even though some elements aren’t exactly relatable, there are so many that are! Plus, with books like Frindle and The Losers Club, […]
Mini’s Questions
We read Mini’s Books a while ago, and it was fun! As a couple of book clubbers who read it with me have already signed up for the February 2025 edition, I decided to read another book from the series. The familiarity of characters always makes for a fun reading experience! Children have more questions […]
Kushti Kid
Kushti Kid is another lovely book by Vibha Batra, one that I know my book club will enjoy! For me, the challenge when it comes to introducing books published by Scholastic India is that there’s no ebook available, which often means that I have to restrict my book clubbers to children living in India, or […]
Petu Pumpkin: Tooth Troubles
Another edition of my book club, another hOle book! We’ve read nineteen so far, and I’m running out of ones I think my book clubbers will enjoy! I read Petu Pumpkin: Tooth Troubles four years ago. It is fun and light, and we’ll have fun with it, especially as it’s the first book we will […]
The Art of Laughter
Every time I begin a new batch of my writing programme, it feels like the weeks fly by! This edition is nearly at an end, marked by our third and last guest session of the season. This session was conducted by Arundhati Venkatesh, author of a number of humorous books. My book clubbers have read […]
Paati vs UNCLE
We’re rereading Paati vs UNCLE by Meera Ganapathi at my book club! It is a delightful combination of funny and serious, action-driven and character-driven, making it a perfect book club read. Inju is all set for a quiet, boring holiday with his Paati. That’s just the way he likes it. Unfortunately, from the moment he gets […]
Leonora Bolt: Secret Inventor
I borrowed Leonora Bolt: The Great Gadget Games from a library recently, and my first thought was that the series would be perfect for my book club! A science-loving protagonist with imaginative, innovative ideas, a secret inventor, an unusual set of friends … it’s full of possibilities! And that’s why we’re going to be reading the first […]
Illustrating Picture Books with Ashok Rajagopalan
What an enriching session we had on illustrating picture books with Ashok Rajagopalan! “I didn’t know this, but I make an angry face when I’m drawing an angry face!” Ashok said. “If I want to draw a sad face, I make a sad face myself.” I remember seeing something about Disney doing the same thing. […]
Dungeon Tales II
We’re going to reread Dungeon Tales II by Venita Coelho at my book club! And thanks to the Neev Literature Festival, I have an autographed copy! Short stories work well with my book clubs, especially as we read just excerpts in class. Both volumes of Dungeon Tales were wonderfully received by the children, so I’m excited to read […]
The Talking T-Rex
We’ve read two books from the A to Z Mysteries by Ron Roy; we’re all set to read another! Before picking up The Talking T-Rex, I wondered whether it would be a scary book–that’s what the cover leads us to believe. But it’s not! We know from the very beginning that the T-rex is a machine; in […]
Just Harriet
Harriet isn’t your typical protagonist. She lies, she’s selfish, and she’s often sulky and bad-tempered. Even as I read Just Harriet, I mulled over whether to introduce it to my book club. We’ve read and loved two books by Elana K. Arnold – A Boy Called Bat and Bat and the End of Everything – but this one’s […]
Mini’s Books
Books about books are always a joy to read at my book club! We’re reading In the Woof of Time at my reading programme for ages nine and ten and Mini’s Books at the one for ages seven and eight. Anyone who grew up on Enid Blyton wanted to eat scones, crumpets and treacle. I was one of […]
In the Woof of Time
A book club mystery – of course I had to explore the possibility of introducing it to my book club! Samar and his friends find themselves in the middle of a spate of thefts – a dog, milk bottles, and even jewellery. They love reading mystery stories, so this they must investigate the mystery that […]
The Perfect Present
We’ve read two books from the Ready, Freddy series at my book club, and I’m happy to read another! While I cannot say I love the books, I see how well they suit a book club. They are easy to read, full of illustrations, and great conversation starters. The Perfect Present is a Christmas story. Freddy is making […]
The Worst Witch to the Rescue
I used to read The Worst Witch as a child! I had no idea whether I would still enjoy reading about the hapless Mildred Hubble, though. I picked up The Worst Witch to the Rescue without having decided whether to introduce it to my book club–and I loved it all over again! It’s funny, sweet and full […]
Sita’s Chitwan
Last year, I invited Vaishali Shroff to conduct a workshop for my writing programme on nonfiction. It was aptly called ‘Non-Boring Nonfiction‘. I rarely read nonfiction, and I don’t think I’ve ever read nonfiction with my book club. I find it easier to introduce nonfiction elements through books like A Cello on the Wall and A Giant Leap. […]
Peanut Has a Plan
We read Peanut Vs the Piano over two years ago at my book club, and it was such fun! I wrote a blog post about one of the activities we did as we read the book, and I look forward to repeating the activity with a fresh batch of book clubbers as we read Peanut Has a […]
The ABCs of Blogging
What an informative session we had with Anupama Dalmia! Anupama began by discussing what blogging is. From there, we went on to so much more – blog formats (including vlogs and micro-blogs), finding your niche, and starting your own free blog. She then introduced the children to SEO and the backend, showing them how easy […]
Character Design with Priyankar Gupta
Practice. What a difference practice makes! Right through yesterday’s guest session on character design, I marvelled at how swiftly Priyankar Gupta created his characters. Talking all the time, explaining what he was doing, he was able to draw not one, but six full forms in fifteen minutes! Characters, both human and non-human, are led by […]
Ottoline at Sea
As far as possible, I try to source books from independent bookstores for my book clubs. And so, when Eureka Books informed me that Ottoline Goes to School was out of stock with the publisher, I decided to read Ottoline at Sea with the June edition of my book club instead! It feels like a win-win for me because […]