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 several – Bookasura (which we’re reading again in December 2024), Koobandhee, Petu Pumpkin: Freedom Fighter, Petu Pumpkin: Tiffin Thief and Petu Pumpkin: Cheater Peter. Step by step, Arundhati led us through the writing of a humorous story. To begin with, if you want to write humour, you must enjoy reading funny stuff. This is something I say often---if you don't read, you cannot write. I don't restrict my definition of reading to fiction, though. We consume content in all kinds of ways, including memes and blog posts! Secondly, the core of humour is truth, something that I completely … [Read more...]
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 to Parijat Retirement Colony where his grandmother lives, he realises that it's going to be an exciting, adventurous holiday, not a quiet, boring one. It isn't what he wanted, but when his Paati is upset and angry, what can he do except take charge? Making Posters Inju makes a poster inviting people to join PAATI - People's Association Against Thieves International. Someone else puts up a poster about a missing parrot, Gangaram.Posters are always fun to make! What if you want to get people to adopt kittens in your society? And … [Read more...]
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 book from the series, Leonora Bolt: Secret Inventor at my book club next month. Friendship Leonora Bolt's friends include an otter, a cook, a sea captain and a boy who washes up on the island. This will be our prompt to write about an unusual friendship we'd love to have. If you could befriend anyone, whom would you befriend and why? How do you think you could help each other? Inventions If you are on an island in the middle of nowhere, but you were the smartest person in the world, what would … [Read more...]
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. Is it something all artists do? Today's focus was creating emotions in picture books. Among the most interesting things for me was the fact that the reader’s emotion can be quite different from what the character is feeling. Sometimes, a character is angry, or confused, but the reader laughs. This laughter is deliberate, and the illustrator must portray the character's emotion in such a way that the reader feels compelled to laugh. Using a series of drawing exercises, we worked on drawing emotion and then heightening these emotions, first through the face itself and then through body … [Read more...]
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 three more stories from this volume! Roman Numerals I loved Roman numerals as a child, and I always waited for the chance to use them. Letters that are actually numbers? Fascinating!We'll look at numbers, why the introduction of zero was important, and see how difficult it is to add XCIV and VI, for instance, while 94 + 6 is as easy as it gets! Structure Stories within a story within a story - I love the idea! What unique structures have writers played with? Is it possible for us to write a story using chat … [Read more...]
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 fact, we first see it before it is assembled. The mystery revolves around the T-rex, yes, but it's about who stole money from the T-rex's belly. It isn't about a T-rex going rogue! And the simplicity of the story makes it a perfect book club read. Inventions A talking t-rex is an exciting invention! If you could invent anything at all, what would you create and why? How would it work? Alliteration 'Alliteration' is a word that I introduce to my book club over and over again because it's such fun to play with! The Talking T-Rex. The Canary Caper. … [Read more...]
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 quite different. The protagonist is younger; she's just finished third grade. More, she behaves a lot younger; she's not the sophisticated child we often see around us. But doesn't that make her more real?The answer, to my mind, was yes. And that's why we're reading Just Harriet at my book club for ages nine at ten next month. Names Harriet is named after the protagonist of Harriet the Spy, but whenever grown-ups make the link, she's quick to say that she's "just Harriet". Names are important to all of us! What does your name mean? Who … [Read more...]
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 them, and so, this book is all the more believable. Mini wants to eat the food the Big Little Monsters in the books she reads eat. And through her summer holidays, she slowly learns more and more about these monsters--and discovers all the surprising consequences of reading books! Thanks to her stories, she makes a friend, becomes a detective, learns to entertain herself and even starts to cook! Monster Stories I love monster stories! The wonderful thing about monsters is that they can take any form whatsoever. They can be tiny or huge, friendly or ferocious. … [Read more...]
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 surrounds them! Will they do it in the woof of time? Clues and Puzzles As we read In the Woof of Time, we'll engage in a little code-making and code-breaking of our own. Detective stories and cryptograms go together! Alibis and Red Herrings A lot of words and phrases are associated with detective stories alone. As we read In the Woof of Time, we'll do a vocabulary quiz, testing how many of these words are familiar to us. Creating a Detective Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, the Five Find-Outers and Dog ... So … [Read more...]
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 a list of everything he wants for Christmas. His list is endless, but predictably, the story leads us towards an understanding of the spirit of Christmas. Book Activities The Ready, Freddy series is full of readymade activities - finding the hidden fin in each picture, a word puzzle, and a craft activity too! Festivals I remember a book club session some time ago when a child told us all about Onam! A book about Christmas will be the prompt for the children to talk about their favourite festivals--which ones they celebrate, … [Read more...]
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