Ahimsa has been on my TBR list for a long time and finally, it was my first read of 2021. What a lovely, lovely book. When I started reading it, I was a little puzzled. We've studied about the independence struggle several times in school. We know about Gandhi, his fasts, the swadeshi and boycott movements and his call for ahimsa or non-violence. We know about freedom fighters having been imprisoned and about the Hindu-Muslim riots that erupted all over the country. There seemed to be nothing new in Ahimsa, nothing that would make readers everywhere to talk about the book for so long. And then, Ahimsa went on to be so much more. We do know about social reformists and about Gandhi moving from the word Untouchable to the word Harijan. Ahimsa goes deeper. Was Harijan an acceptable word to people who felt rejected by the god that supposedly created the caste system? Was change even … [Read more...]
Lucky Girl
Lucky Girl is a hilarious book. It's imaginative, wacky and full of surprises. Sumi is a lucky girl. With her pink bed, a window that overlooks the sea, soft toys and a chef for a mother, she must be a lucky girl, right? Wrong. As I chuckled my way through this hOle book written by Shabnam Minwalla and illustrated by Tanvi Bhat, I knew I had to work with it at my reading programme! Here are a few things I plan to do with the book. Funny recipes Pammi Gupta makes pumpkin peel muffins and furry leaf parathas for Sumi. Yuck! What kinds of things would you put together to make an imaginative meal? Would you eat the things you can see on the cover of the book? Once you know what the ingredients are, would you still eat them? Poetry Sumi takes part in a poetry writing competition organised by Fab Foods. Her friend Priya wants to write one kind of poem while she wants to … [Read more...]
My Year in Workshops – 2020
2020 was a tough year, such a tough year that it's become rather redundant to say it. Many of us had to step out of our comfort zones and do things differently.For me, of course, it was no different. For several years now, workshops have been my prime source of income. I've had my writers' club at St. Mary's School, teacher training sessions for Ratna Sagar, and the odd workshop here and there with libraries. When my fifth year at the Writers' Club came to an end in February last year (was it really not even a year ago?), I was all set for a short vacation, before getting to work again. April and June are often busy months at Ratna Sagar. I conduct teacher training sessions all over the country, and so, I usually find myself travelling and working right through these months with few breaks in the middle. In fact, I already had workshops scheduled for May and June, so I was making plans … [Read more...]
Top 14 Picture Books I Read in 2020
I read so many picture books each year that I'm sure I've missed out at least a few that I read and loved in 2020. Also, I find it difficult to review picture books in detail, so this is just a list, with links to earlier posts I wrote about the books, or, in the case of books I read on StoryWeaver, links to the books themselves. The Manasa Series I love meeting the same character again and again, so the Manasa series is special!Manasa Finds a RainbowA Hairy ProblemWho's That in the Mirror? Art is Everywhere Imaginative and fun - I love all three books in this series too!Art is Everywhere - Here, There and in Everyday ObjectsArt is Everywhere - Here, There and in FoodArt is Everywhere - Here, There and in Trash More Books on StoryWeaver This is a random assortment, including a wordless picture book and one book in Hindi!Ikru's First Day of … [Read more...]
Top Six Young Adult Books I Read in 2020
I've already shared two lists of books, but I think it's important to say - again - that reading levels differ widely, and in multiple ways. For instance, I know that as a child, my linguistic level (in English) was higher than that of some of my peers, but I often read books for children who were younger. I was still reading what was clearly children's literature, while friends of mine had 'graduated' to murder, romance and thrillers. A list of any kind must be taken with a pinch of salt, and this one is no different.With that out of the way, here are six young adult books I read and loved last year. Ben's parents want to conduct an experiment. They want to study different aspects of the same thing - his father is a behavioural scientist who is convinced that chimpanzees can learn a human language if the environment is conducive, and Ben's mother is writing a … [Read more...]
Half Brother
About a year ago, I read Kenneth Oppel's The Boundless. I did enjoy it, but it wasn't a book that wowed me. I read it, quite liked it and moved on. That's why Half Brother was not high on my list of books to read. I knew I would read it, but it sat on my shelf for a bit, while I read other books, including Nomad's Land and To Night Owl from Dogfish. And then, Half Brother made me sob the way only the best books can. Just like Pig Heart Boy, it raises all kinds of questions - about experiments on animals and human selfishness. Thirteen-year-old Ben's father is a behavioural scientist. He is convinced that chimps, being closest to humans, can be taught to use language to communicate. And he's determined to prove it. Ben's mother, who is doing her thesis on cross-fostering, is delighted with the experiment. They bring home and eight-day old chimpanzee, whom they call Zan, and begin … [Read more...]
To Night Owl From Dogfish
I love epistolary novels. I think I've always loved them; they intrigue me. Off the top of my head, I think about Dear Mrs Naidu, Ketchup Clouds, Daddy Long-Legs and The Night Diary, though I'm sure I'll think of several more by the time I finish writing this blog post. To Night Owl from Dogfish is right up there with the best of them. It's crazy, full of laugh-out-loud humour, and poignant (yes, I did cry over it). Dogfish, aka Bett, loves snooping on her father. She checks his email and discovers that he is in a relationship with Avery's father, Sam Bloom. In fact, the relationship is so serious that they want their daughters to get to know each other. Bett writes to Night Owl, aka Avery. It's a crisis. They don't want two families to become one! They're happy by themselves and determined to cast a spoke in their fathers' wheels. In the way of stories - and real life - … [Read more...]
The Sheep-Pig
A few months ago, one of my publishers, Mango Books, began a series of posts on social media about books authors read when they were young. The book I chose was The Sheep-Pig, a delightful chapter book by a favourite writer, Dick King-Smith. Dick King-Smith's stories are a treat. I loved The Sheep-Pig, the sequel Ace and so many more - Saddlebottom, A Mouse Called Wolf, The Hodgeheg ... Every time I went to the library, I would look out for his books, hoping to discover at least one more book I hadn't read. Why is this book part of my reading programme? Obviously, the first reason is that I love it. Here's what I said to Mango Books about it. "The Sheep-Pig is a delightful story, and I'm so glad I read it as a child! The book left me with the feeling that anything is possible. More than that, I loved the idea that kindness and courtesy can help you achieve … [Read more...]
Shrinking Vanita
Shrinking Vanita is a delightful read, full of laughter, madness and the unshakeable belief that children can and will save the world! With a little help, of course. From a puppy called Giggles and a bag full of fridge magnets. Three days to go before a gigantic killer asteroid will end life on Earth! Everyone is in a panic. Everyone, that is, but Vanita, who has things to do. Such as saving the planet. - from the blurb of Shrinking Vanita Isn't that a wonderful premise? Shrinking Vanita delivers what it promises - a feisty protagonist, a mixture of science and madness and a joyous aha! moment. Oh, and the book won the Peek a Book children's choice award, so it's child-approved. Like every other book we've read at my book club, I chose this one because it's full of possibility! What if? I love doing activities around the question 'what if?' … [Read more...]
Nomad’s Land
Last evening, I spoke to the friend who gave me Nomad's Land for my birthday."Are you okay?" she asked. "You sound like you have a cold."I promised her I was fine. "But I just sobbed over Nomad's Land." How does one review a book as beautiful as Nomad's Land? It's one of those books that you just have to put aside once in a while to take the time out to feel, even though you're itching to know what happens next. It's poetic and lyrical, and silly and sweet. It made me cry. It made me smile and roll my eyes because teens and pre-teens will be teens and pre-teens. The book begins with a confession, where author Paro Anand tells the reader that she has deliberately tampered with the historical timeline to set the story in the 2000s and make it more relevant to youngsters today. The exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits took place in the late 80s and early 90s, but the story pushes these … [Read more...]
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