Three years ago, when I read No. 9 on the Shade Card, I came across the concept of a shade card for the first time. As a child, conversations about skin colour bounced off me. People spoke of how one person was lighter or darker than another; they talked of having tanned too much after a trip to Goa; I knew people who wore socks no matter how hot it was just so that their feet wouldn't tan. None of these conversations pierced the bubble I lived in, much like Lina, one of the two protagonists of the story. Unlike Lina, however, there never came a time in my childhood when I had to come face to face with the fact that being fair was a real obsession, not something you could just roll your eyes at and forget all about.Lina loves drama. When she learns that the school production of the year is Romeo and Juliet, she's thrilled. Of course she'll audition for the part of Juliet! Unlike … [Read more...]
Rain Must Fall
Rain Must Fall by Nandita Basu is such a beautiful read! I devoured it in one sitting, and I loved it.Anya, Rumi's best friend, asks whom Rumi would like to go on a date with. Rumi makes the mistake of being honest and saying 'you'. After all, you can be truthful with your best friend, can't you? And it isn't really as if Rumi has a romantic interest in Anya; it was just a game. Wasn't it? Maybe not. Because gossip and cruel jokes begin on the school group. Soon, Rumi discovers that neither parents nor schoolmates can accept the idea of a non-binary individual. Schoolmates think it's a joke, and Rumi's parents think therapy is the "solution".Away from it all, in a small town, Rumi discovers and befriends a ghost, Rain. Both Rain and Rumi are trapped, alone and misunderstood. As human and ghost get to know each other better, Rain begins to remember snippets of his life, and … [Read more...]
January Reads
In December, I visited a books by weight sale, and I couldn't resist picking up seven books that were in near-mint condition! I couldn't finish one, but I read the other six, some of which I quite enjoyed, and others that I loved. Here they are, listed in an unusual way for me - from the one I enjoyed least to the one I enjoyed most. 3.5/5 Fan Fiction, Feminist, Ages 10+I enjoy reading spin-offs of classics. Off the top of my head, the ones that come to mind are Wide Sargasso Sea, Wishing for Tomorrow and Lilliput, though I'm sure there are many more that I've read and loved.Hook's Daughter was the first Peter Pan spin-off I've read! After I finished reading it, I learned that it is the first of a series of revenge stories by Heidi Schulz, but it works well as a standalone story too. Captain Hook doesn't … [Read more...]
Adventure on Wheels
Adventure on Wheels is such a rollicking read! The book opens with two thieves stealing a van that belongs to an orphanage. The theft itself is simple enough, but when they discover three children hiding in the van, they're up against more than they'd bargained for. At once heart-warming and hilarious, Adventure on Wheels is a fun book that I can't wait to share with my book club! Unlikely Heroes When we think about the main character in a story, what kind of character do we usually have in mind? Subbu and Golu are thieves! Can they be the heroes of the story? Or is there another story that helps us understand why these two are off to rob a toy store?At my book club, to begin an exploration of the idea of a back story, I will ask the children to come up with characters that seem negative, and then work on what makes them the way they … [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...]
My Favourite Young Adult Books from 2021
I didn't read very many young adult books in 2021, and several that I did read proved to be disappointing. With some, I know I was probably being unfair because I have high expectations of authors I've read and loved. I left a number of books unfinished; when there are so many books out there waiting to be read, why plough through books I have to push myself to read? Five YA books stood out to me, though, and I can't help seeing both how similar they are and how very different. Postbox Kashmir This is probably the first time a work of nonfiction features on a list of my top reads! Postbox Kashmir was not a quick read, no. However, for all readers, I think some books are just worth reading, however slowly you need to read them. With Postbox Kashmir, there was so much for me to process that I wanted to take my time over it. A balanced, objective story … [Read more...]
The School is Alive!
This is the first time I will be reading a spooky book with my book club for ages seven and eight! One of the British Council reading challenge themes was Creepy House, so I've worked extensively with slightly scary stories for all age-groups, but because it was never one of my go-to genres as a child, I took a while to bring myself around to the idea of introducing a scary book to the children I meet.Yet, The School is Alive is the perfect mixture of thrilling and comforting. When Sam Graves becomes the hall monitor at Eerie Elementary, he has no idea that the school is hungry to eat its students! Sam finds an unlikely ally in the caretaker Mr Nekobi, and together with his other friends, he's more than a match for his school!Here's what we'll do with the book at my reading programme. Creepy Alphabet This is an activity I never tire of … [Read more...]
My Favourite Middle-Grade Books from 2021
I didn't read as many middle-grade books as usual in 2021, something I hope to remedy in 2022. Of those that I read, however, these six stood out. The first two are early middle-grade books, while the other four are for more advanced readers. Roughly, I would set the age-group for all six as 9-12. As with my favourite chapter books, I've included only those that I read for the first time last year, not well-loved rereads! The Golden EagleThe Golden Eagle by Deepak Dalal is a gorgeous book, with stunning illustrations by Krishna Bala Shenoi and a thrilling story to keep us hooked. One of the children at my book club told me it is his favourite read so far!The white-headed squirrel Shikar wants to know about his parents, about where he came from and how he came to make friends with the birds. And so, Lovey and Dovey set out to tell him a story, the story of the golden … [Read more...]
My Favourite Chapter Books from 2021
Thanks to my book clubs, I read so many chapter books and early middle grade books in 2021! Of the 30-40 I read, here are nine books that stood out to me. I've shared most of them with my enthusiastic young book clubbers, and the review link will take you to activities that you can do with the book. As there are so many books, I decided not to include those I reread last year, sticking only to those I read for the first time in 2021. Muggie Maggie This one is such a delight that I've held on to my copy of it, in the hope that one day soon, bookstores will let me know that it is back in stock and I can introduce it to my book clubbers.Maggie is determined not to learn cursive. Unfortunately, her teacher has other plans: sneaky, ingenious plans. I love fictional teachers like her! In some ways, Maggie reminds me of Dick King-Smith's Sophie. She has … [Read more...]
White Socks Only
White Socks Only is a stunning piece of literature and art, a charming book about a curious child eager to find out whether something she's heard is true. I revisited this book purely for the purpose of teaching it, and there's just so much to explore! Of course, the obvious choices would be to visit the themes of racism and segregation. But as a creative writing trainer, there's much more.The book opens with the young narrator wanting a story, and not just any story, her favourite story. And she knows just how to get her grandma to tell that story - by asking if she may go to town alone. She knows what the response will be - she may not go until she can do some good there. But she also knows that this will lead to the story of the time her grandmother sneaked out, went to town--and unwittingly did some good there.Without revealing why her grandmother went to town and what … [Read more...]