I never came across Kate DiCamillo’s work as a child. I haven’t read so many of her more famous books—not The Tale of Desperaux or Mercy Watson or any of those. I did read Because of Winn-Dixie with my book club, though, and we loved it! And now, I read Beverly, Right Here, another book […]
Bipathu and a Very Big Dream
Bipathu often has the same dream. A dream where she, her Ikka Saad, and Hrithik Roshan are playing football. But dreams don’t come true, do they? Especially not very big dreams like this one? As we read the story, we find out! Bipathu and a Very Big Dream is about dreams, reality, and everything in […]
Ammini Against the Storm
Ammini Against the Storm is a reflection of the world we live in, a world where the urban rich are immune to the raging storms that destroy the lives of the poor. Ammini’s parents work hard to send her to a private school so that she can rise above her circumstances and be something other […]
The Trickster
When Katha asked me whether I would be willing to review their upcoming release, The Trickster, I thought about it. I am not usually a fan of retellings. Additionally, I don’t post negative reviews; I review only books I enjoy. I decided I would take the chance, though, and I am glad I did! The […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 Space We’re In
Have you ever read a review that describes a book as being “full of heart”? Katya Balen’s The Space We’re In is exactly that–a book full of heart. It bursts with love and emotion, raw and authentic. And the voice? Perfect. Ten-year-old Frank sometimes resents his brother Max. Max has changed everything with his humming […]
Circus Mirandus
I remember the first time I came across the idea that you have to believe in magic for it to be real. I remember my skin tingling, and a kind of excited joy making my hair stand on end. That’s the mood Circus Mirandus creates, although I’m no longer a child reading about magic for […]
The White Lotus
The White Lotus by Aditi Krishnakumar is a gripping work of historical fiction that, like the best kinds of stories, stays with you and makes you think. Layered and sensitive, it is perfectly paced, immersing you in the life and times of a village in south India in the early 20th century. Fourteen-year-old Arali is […]
An Absence of Squirrels
A couple of years ago, I finally read The Giver, a book that students at my writing programme recommended to me time and again when we were studying dystopia, mythopoeia, fantasy … almost anything, in fact. And that’s the book that kept coming to mind as I read Aparna Kapur’s An Absence of Squirrels. An […]
Vincent Can’t Go
We all know what it’s like not to be allowed to go somewhere we really want to go. Birthday party. Sleepover. Movie. Dinner. In Vincent’s case, though, it’s been months since he’s been allowed anywhere. Ever since his father was sent to America, his mother doesn’t allow him to do tiny things he used to […]
I Am Quiet: A Story for the Introvert in All of Us
How could I not read a book with a title like this? Anyone who knows me knows that I’m happiest in my own company. If I spend time with people, I need to unwind; I need my quiet time. Yet, as a child, I was noisy and talkative, unlike Emile, the protagonist of I Am […]
Agalya in the Spotlight
When I learned that Divya Anand had a new book out, I knew I had to read it. I loved Misfit Madhu. I’ve read it with my book club twice, and the children enjoyed it each time! Agalya in the Spotlight is just as breezy a read. I was invested in the characters from the […]
Manvinder’s Medu Vada
Manvinder’s Medu Vada by Riddhi Maniar Doda and Vinayak Varma had me chuckling at each page! I could completely identify with Manvinder, who refuses to eat something that doesn’t look like it’s supposed to look! As a child, I had a problem with the same food–vadas. How could it be a real vada if it […]
Everything Changes And That’s Ok
How do you read picture books? Do you pause as you turn each page, just to admire the pictures? Or do you race through the story and then come back to the pictures to take them in slowly? For me, it depends on the book, but with Everything Changes And That’s Ok, I found myself […]
Unplugged
Jett is rich, spoiled, and used to getting his own way. When he takes his mischief-making too far, however, his father packs him off to a place called Oasis where he must live a life completely screen-free. Jett is incredulous. What kind of place is this, where mobile phones are surrendered before you enter? Who […]