The name itself makes my eyes sparkle. Trouble with magic? That sounds promising! And it is. I giggled my way through the book, chuckling at the hapless Aunt Malu and charmed by the enterprising Veena. Aunt Malu should have known better, but ... therein lies the tale! Trouble with Magic was the very first book we read at the very first edition of my book club over five years ago! We're rereading it next month! Inventions What would you invent if you could invent anything in the world? Do you think that invention of yours is scientific or magical?Children at my workshops have invented all kinds of things from time machines to superfast shoes and robots that do their homework for them. Aunt Malu is a delightful mix of magician and scientist - neither real nor fantastic - and so, she provides the perfect balance for children who want both … [Read more...]
The Vampire Boy
The Vampire Boy by Sharanya Deepak is another delightful hOle book - quirky and unique. We'll be rereading it at my book club in December 2025!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 that is perfect for this age-group, humour underlines everything that happens to Kristofer. Soon, he makes friends with not just Bo, but also Bran, the class bully. Together, they go to school, they go on a camp, and they even catch a chicken thief!I'm waiting to reread it with my book clubbers. Here's what I plan to do with it. Book Discussion Kristofer is a vampire who hates blood!As this is the first book we will be reading together, a good way to begin is with a discussion on what makes us … [Read more...]
Friends Behind Walls
Inu and Putti are not allowed to play with each other. But what can they possibly do when everyone else in Shanti Park seems to have been born at the age of 30? They have no one to play with except each other!Soon they discover that they actually like each other and want to be friends, so they need an answer to the Most Important Question: why are their families fighting?They go to one person after another, searching for answers (or answers-shanswers, as Putti's father would say). Mr Om Namaha, Dr Solanki and the Tekdichi Mhatari - who can answer their question?Friends Behind Walls is such a gorgeous book that I simply had to include it in my reading programme! Here's some of what we will do. Word Games Putti loves words and so do I. He breaks words up and comments on how nonsensical they are. Legend = lej+end, but it has nothing to do … [Read more...]
The Monster Hunters
We're rereading The Monster Hunters by Parinita Shetty at my book club in June 2025!Abhay is convinced that his mother has eyes at the back of her head. She knows everything and sees everything. Yet, she does not seem to believe that there are monsters in every child's room! Why can't she see them?It's time for Abhay and Nitya to get to work. They must find the monsters. In fact, they decide they will go one step further. For a school project where they have to narrate a real-life story, they will hunt down a monster and talk about the experience.I love books with driven characters, determined to prove something against all odds, and Abhay and Nitya are perfect. The book had me chuckling, shaking my head, but rooting for the characters anyway - and what more could I ask for from a book? Monster Games I love monster games! The wonderful thing … [Read more...]
Bookasura
Some books demand to be read at reading programmes. Lucky Girl, with its exploration of poetry. Chitti's Travelling Book Box with its message of spreading the love for reading. Book Uncle and Me, with the need to save a lending library.And Bookasura, with its book-eating asura. And that's why we're rereading this one at my book club!Bala loves books. He devours them. Not literally, of course. The problem, however, is his baby sister Meera, who actually likes to eat books. When Bala meets Bookasura, a book-eating demon, he sees a strong resemblance between Meera and the asura. What can he do to defeat Bookasura? What weapon does he have to destroy this book-loving monster?Bookasura is a fun, funny book about a boy fighting a villain who is bigger and stronger. He uses the skills he has - his stories and his wit. Imaginative and thrilling, I know this is the perfect book to read next with … [Read more...]
Why I Think Online Workshops Are More Effective than Offline Ones
A Little History I started conducting reading and writing workshops for children in 2013 at the British Library, Pune. It was fun, and the library space was exciting. Both as standalone events and as part of the library's larger Reading Challenges, it seemed to me that libraries were ideal for workshops of the kind I liked to conduct.Soon, I contacted other libraries and conducted sessions elsewhere too - at Just Books, Atta Galatta, The Story Station ... Sometimes, the response was excellent, overwhelming. At other times, no one showed up.As someone starting out, this was, naturally, demotivating! But I kept at it ... for reasons I won't get into right now. The Current Scenario Since 2020, I've been teaching primarily online. And in some ways, teaching online is the same. For instance, right now, four of my six batches are sold out! All my batches have enough participants … [Read more...]
The Very Glum Life of Tootoolu Toop
We've read The Very Glum Life of Tootoolu Toop before and I can't wait to read it again!I know it's longer than the books I usually choose, plus every batch of children is different, with mixed reading levels. Once more, I find myself asking, will it be too ambitious to read it in three classes with a bunch of children?The answer is still the same - possibly. Yet, there are so many things that draw me to the story that I am willing to take the chance again! It worked once; I know that for sure. Also, considering the number of children I meet who love fantasy, I think this will be a wonderful way to end the reading programme. Magic Stories about magic are fun to read and fun to write. What makes a magical world come alive? What magical words can we create?Even when I reviewed Tootoolu Toop, I mentioned how I love the influence of Indian languages on the … [Read more...]
Moin and the Monster
I'm rereading Moin and the Monster with my book club! I read it in June 2021, and all those who read it with me are now too old to be part of Read, Write, Explore, so it's time to introduce it to a fresh batch of children.At my last creative writing programme, one of the children wrote a story about a pink 2D zombie the size of a pineapple coming to life. I immediately thought of Moin and the monster! How could I not? And I knew I had to read the book again. Rhyme Everyone loves rhyme. For me, the biggest problem with poetry that children write and send me is forced rhyme without a sense of rhythm. Sure, sometimes it works. Maybe. But most often, it does not.When do we use rhyme and why? What kind of poems would you like to write? What kinds of poems do you read?Beginning with a discussion, I hope to write a little poetry together. Surprising … [Read more...]
About Average
I read Frindle some time ago and loved it. I considered using it for my online reading programme, but it's so well known that I figured that many children would have read it, or at least heard of it, already. How about something by the same author, but less known? And that's how I stumbled upon About Average by Andrew Clements.Jordan is about average in every way, or so it seems to her. She isn't short or tall. She isn't pretty or ugly. Her grades are average too. Soon, she will graduate from elementary school, but she still hasn't discovered what she is good at. It seems, somehow, that she isn't good at anything! She's average, and that's all there is to that.But then, with her orderliness, her niceness and her simple attention to detail, she discovers during a crisis that maybe, just maybe, she isn't about average. In fact, simply because of her ordinary, … [Read more...]
Manolita
In many ways, Manolita is a simple, old-fashioned tale. For a generation that's immersed in mythology - from the retelling of Indian myths to all the popular books that have their foundation in Greek mythology - I think a story about a selkie set in the modern world is perfect!Jaya makes friends easily, so it comes as no surprise that she befriends a stranger in Oregon. Of course, her new friend Manolita has to be perfectly human ... right? Even if she doesn't quite understand the phrase 'exchanging numbers', and she likes to eat her fish raw ...?The entire series of books that Karadi Tales has released under the Minmini Reads imprint is remarkable in many ways. Often, books of this length are for younger children, but a chapter book like this for slightly older readers works so well! It's a quick read, wholly satisfying and perfect as a conversation starter. Here's what we'll do … [Read more...]