War is a difficult subject to introduce to children, and I'm often unsure of whether it should be introduced at all. Yet, most children are exposed to so much media and are aware of so much that is happening around them that I think stories of hope are important. Yes, history is full of war. But in the darkest of times, love and kindness do triumph.A Cello on the Wall is part of the One Day Elsewhere series I read nearly a year ago. The series explores important events in history through the eyes of a child, and A Cello on the Wall is about the fall of the Berlin Wall. Young Charlie - named after Checkpoint Charlie - cannot imagine a time when the wall did not exist. But he is part of the momentous fall of the wall, the day when east and west Berlin come together again.At my book club, as we read Charlie's story, here's what we will … [Read more...]
The Shy Supergirl
When I launched my book club in December 2020, I began with a hOle book, Trouble with Magic by Asha Nehemiah, and somehow, that became a tradition. During each edition of my book club, the first book we read is a hOle book. This time, it's Shabnam Minwalla's The Shy Supergirl.The Shy Supergirl is such a lovely, lovely book! It captured my heart from the very first paragraph. Nina Merchant is a supergirl. She isn't strange; she's special. What's her superpower? That she can look at a person and tell what kind of person they actually are - nice or nasty, evil or kind. That's why she shrieks when she sees her father's boss, but loves the schoolbus driver, Singhji, who seems to be rather scary looking.This superpower comes in handy when there's a theft at Venus Towers! Who stole Mrs Khanna's priceless silver owl? Was it Nina's best friend Buggy's cunning cousins? Or Mrs Khanna's nephew … [Read more...]
Two Hook Books
Somewhere between picture books and chapter books are the Hook Books, and books for this age-group are so important! One step up from the 'Read It Yourself' series, they are slightly more complex than picture books, but still have full-colour illustrations right through.I remember reading hundreds--well, dozens--of Noddy books at an age when I could have read books like this. I loved Noddy because of the familiarity of a series. Characters I know, settings I love - these appealed to me, like they appeal to most children.The Hook Books aren't a series in quite the same way. Like the hOle books, they're clubbed together in terms of readership, rather than characters and setting. I finally got around to reading a couple of them - The Sweet Shop Wars and A Birthday Present for Aaji. I LOVED the illustrations in both books! I've always enjoyed Rajiv Eipe's work - Ammachi is one of my … [Read more...]
Ritu Weds Chandni
I've been wanting to read Ritu Weds Chandni ever since I saw posts by Yali Books two years ago. It seemed like such an important book - a picture book about two women getting married!When I started reading it, however, I did so without reading the blurb. The book opens with little Ayesha getting ready to dance at her cousin's baraat. She seems so happy; her family seems so happy. I wondered ... Would this be a simplistic story glossing over homophobia? Would Ayesha just be a bystander enjoying a wedding?But I was not disappointed. I loved the book, and I smiled as little Ayesha learns what it is to be an ally, saving her Ritu Didi's wedding.There were so many little things that I could not help noticing about the book. Lots of writers spend ages thinking of names for their characters--I know I do! Names have so many connotations, and I love that the characters here have … [Read more...]
The Best At It
Rahul Kapoor wants to be the best at it. The best at what? Honestly, anything. Football, acting ... anything except Maths. He doesn't want to fit into the stereotype of the nerdy American Indian. In fact, he wants as little to do with his Indianness as possible. For instance, he doesn't want to be part of the International Bazaar that his mother's friends, the Auntie Squad, are organising. And he'd like to be a little less brown. Oh, and he finds his father's Bollywood music more than a little embarrassing.The Best At It was a gentle, lovely book. Yes, I did cringe more than once, but isn't adolescence full of cringeworthy moments? Unerringly, The Best At It goes to the heart of each moment, embarrassing or sad, wildly happy or confusing. And that - the authenticity of tone on each page - is what drew me to the story. Who are we? Who do we want to be? How can we fit in? Even when … [Read more...]
Born Behind Bars
Just like Fish in a Tree and Counting by 7s, I got around to reading Born Behind Bars by Padma Venkatraman thanks to the NLF Reading Challenge. There's just so much lovely literature out there just waiting to be read!I was a little sceptical about reading Born Behind Bars, though. I'm not a fan of very dark, upsetting middle-grade literature. For instance, even though I found One for the Murphys gripping, it was too much for me. It's emotional, well-told, powerful - but there's just too much darkness there. I like heart-wrenching stories, but not that heart-wrenching.And the premise of Born Behind Bars felt similar. A child born in prison and let out alone because he's too old to stay in jail with his mother? I wouldn't normally pick up a book if that was all I knew about it. Yet, during the conversation with the author, more than once, I got a sense of hope, of positivity. … [Read more...]
That Year at Manikoil
I couldn't have read That Year at Manikoil on a better day if I'd planned it. I don't even remember how long ago I bought my copy, but it was today, Independence Day, that I sat down with it. And it was only when I was close to finishing it that I realised what an apt day it was to have read a book from the Songs of Freedom series.That Year at Manikoil is a rich, beautifully told story. Like The Chowpatty Cooking Club, it traces the story of young girls in the 1940s. World War II continues to rage on, and the protagonist Raji is confused. Why does her Thatha entertain British guests? Is he a coward? Why is her brother Gopu Anna fighting a war for the British? And a question that bothers her right through: what is her part in the struggle for independence? I love how authentic Raji's voice is. She wants to do something meaningful, but it is all too easy to get tempted by more … [Read more...]
Love That Dog
Last month, I had the opportunity to pitch a middle-grade verse novel to an editor, and as these things sometimes happen, the pitch turned into a conversation. We spoke about One and The Weight of Water (I prefer the first; the editor I was talking to prefers the second). I had not yet read Clap When You Land, or I would have mentioned it. And then she asked me if I had read Love That Dog. I hadn't, but I thought I'd see if I could find it. I did--and I loved it!The book begins in a surprising way. I read on. I was just on page three or four of the book, and I was already laughing. I remember my reaction to William Carlos Williams's 'The Red Wheelbarrow'. And the protagonist Jack has the same reaction! Why does so much depend on a little red wheelbarrow? What? What does the poem even mean?And slowly, from lightheartedness to emotion, we move with Jack, and understand just how … [Read more...]
Clap When You Land
A YA verse novel told from two points of view? Yes, please. And one with a secret at its core? Always. Clap When You Land was a stunning read, one that made my heart ache even as I rejoiced with all the women in the story who emerged triumphant, and stronger than ever.Yahaira, who lives in New York City, knows her father's secret. But she thinks she needs to keep it from her mother.And Camino, who lives in the Dominican Republic, knows nothing. She does not know that her father does not live in the United States only for work. He has a family there - another wife and another daughter.When he dies in an air crash, all the secrets come tumbling out. How can Camino accept a sister, who monopolised her father right through the year? How can she come to terms with the huge wealth divide between her father's two families? And worst of all, how is it that she is the only one who never … [Read more...]
Ivy + Bean
Every so often, at my book club, I choose a popular, internationally loved book. We've read The Rise of the Earth Dragon, The Absent Author, The Sheep-Pig ... and now, we'll read Ivy + Bean.The enemies to friends trope is always fun. Ivy and Bean never meant to like each other. In fact, Bean is quite sure she has enough friends. She doesn't need another one, especially not someone who seems as nice as Ivy. She knows only too well that nice = boring. But when Bean decides to play a trick on her sister, she realises that Ivy is not as nice as she seems. And that's a good thing.Funny, silly and full of action, Ivy and Bean is perfect to read with a bunch of seven- and eight-year-olds! Predicting a story Before we start reading the book, I'll show the children a video trailer and ask them to imagine what the story is about. I know that some of the children … [Read more...]