Ahimsa by Supriya Kelkar left its mark on me. But Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame was something else altogether. I devoured the book. Each chapter made me read just one more chapter, as compelling as the previous one.Meera is an unlikely protagonist, one who seems a far cry from the typical feisty girl one expects at the centre of a story. The book begins with Meera up in a tree, trying to listen in while her father teaches village boys. She is not allowed there. In fact, she was once rapped on her knuckles for being where she was not permitted. As I read that part, I knew that Meera would be my fiery, determined, brave young protagonist. I was wrong. Meera is none of that. She does what she is told. She follows instructions. She knows she is supposed to obey. In some ways, she is like her mother, who speaks of women being as strong as fire and as fierce as flame, but cannot live … [Read more...]
Pinkoo Shergill – Pastry Chef
Two days ago, at my reading programme, we discussed portmanteau words - words created by combining existing words. The children came up with words like roli (a rose and a lily) and brellow (brown and yellow). I must introduce them to Pinkoo Shergill next, with his delightful portmanteau words! Fabtastic! Wowmazing! Spectaculous!Just like those three words there, the book Pinkoo Shergill - Pastry Chef sparkles with energy and life. I love it when there is a sense of urgency in a book. When characters run around, hide, keep secrets and rush, readers experience the same thrill - of something that must happen, and FAST! And when something must happen fast, we turn page after page, eager to know what will happen next.Pinkoo Shergill wants to be a pastry chef, but his Papaji wants him to become a shooting champ. Pinkoo knows that that that was his grandfather's unfulfilled dream, so … [Read more...]
Smash It, Butterfingers!
I love it when you can begin a series with absolutely any book! I have been eyeing the Butterfingers series for a long time, but I somehow never got around to any of them. And so, when I was asked if I would read and review the seventh one, Smash It, Butterfingers!, I agreed right away. What an enjoyable story it was!The book opens with Amar Kishen, aka Butterfingers, meeting P.V. Sindhu and Saina Nehwal - in a dream. With everyone's eyes on the Tokyo Olympics, it was the perfect time for me to read about a sports-mad boy, determined to play, and determined to win!Amar trips over a badminton racquet and sprains his arm. He is utterly delighted. He revels in the drama of being injured and is disappointed that his arm is not broken, just sprained. Feeling almost cheated, he convinces the doctor and his father to get him a fancy sling so that his injury looks more serious than it … [Read more...]
The Great Big Lion
I work with young writers all the time. Sure, not with children as young as Chryseis Knight when she wrote The Great Big Lion, but seven and eight-year-olds often send me stories and poems to read. Sometimes, especially with slightly older children - about the age of 11 or 12 - I am amazed at the scope of their ideas and world building. When it comes to younger ones, I love how uninhibited they are. At my writers' club, for instance, I am constantly struck by the fact that children aren't daunted by the idea of writing a poem or a story in ten minutes! The Great Big Lion reminded me of all these stories in so many ways. It's a simple, sweet story about two children and an animal.Tom and Lily hunt everywhere for their friend, a great big lion. This simple idea forms the framework of an appealing story for young children. I love the colours on the pages where the lion roars. I liked each … [Read more...]
Dreamers
Dreamers.What a beautiful title for a series of illustrated stories about children who dared to dream and then dared to live their dream. The first two books in the series are about light and song, and I found that quite lovely too.Richly illustrated with stark, contrasting colours, The Boy Who Played with Light and The Girl Who Loved to Sing are a visual treat.Shadows lurk everywhere, even as the young Satyajit Ray hunts for the light. He tries to draw them out; he runs from them; he watches them from corners. Until he discovers the magic of light and darkness and the beauty they create together.Satyajit Ray's story was lovely, but to be honest, I enjoyed Teejan Bai's story much more. Red, black and white come together to create powerful pictures, and I love the use of repetition. Jhunjhuni! Pagalpana! Teejan sings!'Teejan sings', especially, is such a powerful affirmation. How strange … [Read more...]
Karma Meets a Zombie
Karma Meets a Zombie is probably the most ambitious book I've chosen for my reading programme for ages nine and ten. I read Karma Fights a Monster some time ago and I loved it. I even wrote about it in an essay on monsters and stereotypes because I was struck by how unusual the monster is.Karma Meets a Zombie is a different kind of unusual. For instance, is the monster necessarily the antagonist? What makes someone a monster? And what does a monster hunter do, really?There are several reasons I call it an ambitious read for my book club. For one, no pictures! It's the first book we're reading together that has no inside illustrations.Two, I haven't touched upon horror as a theme at all so far, especially as I didn't read much horror as a child. (I did read a few Goosebumps because I won five of those for ... something. Now that I come to think of it, I … [Read more...]
The Absolutely True Adventures of Daydreamer Dev
Daydreaming! Sigh. You can be what you want to be. You can do what you want to do.And Dev is the ace daydreamer. In The Absolutely True Adventures of Daydreamer Dev, the boy embarks on three adventures. He climbs Mount Everest, travels along the Amazon and then across the Sahara. Each adventure is real to him, and so, of course, he has no time to pay attention to mundane things like school and marks. In fact, even when he is being told off by his father, he's off on another flight of fancy.Dev's stories are full of possibility, and that's why I chose to include them in my reading programme. Imagination has no limits; let's see how far-fetched we can get! What could it be? Look at the cover of The Absolutely True Adventures of Daydreamer Dev. There he is, lying on a Kwality Carpets carpet and dreaming. A carpet can take you on an adventure, can't … [Read more...]
A Pinch of Magic
Asha Nehemiah's Trouble with Magic was the very first book we read at my very first reading programme. And I loved it. So, when I learned that after all these years, there was a sequel ...Writing a sequel to a lovely book is challenging, even more challenging than writing a new book--because there are expectations. But A Pinch of Magic lives up to them.Let's begin with the blurb. It made me frown. How was it possible to write a whole book about a spoon? And then, as I read the book, I smiled and chuckled. Because yes, that's what A Pinch of Magic is about. Aunt Malu's special pinching spoon is broken, and she needs another. The premise is just that simple. And in Asha Nehemiah's grand, humorous style, we dive into a story about a spoon.There's so much I love about the story! I love how similar the first line of A Pinch of Magic is to the first line of Trouble with Magic. We … [Read more...]
Nida Finds a Way
I stare at my laptop screen, wondering how to write about Nida Finds a Way. It's such an important book. A book that makes me oh-so-curious about how a child would respond. What would children say that this story is about? Would they giggle and keep reading on and on to see how Nida balances her love for her anxious father and her need to climb trees, ride cycles and live?Children read what they want to read in stories, and I am always amazed by that. So, would children read Nida Finds a Way as a story about Shaheen Bagh? I somehow doubt it, and that's the reason why I think the book is so precious. As a child, I would have laughed at over-protective Abba, his NONONO, YESYESYES and his twitching beard. I would have been bothered to distraction about the illustration on page 24 where Abba's left arm is injured instead of his right. And I would have loved how Nida manages to sneak out … [Read more...]
Five Picture Books I Recently Loved
Once more, I've been so busy with so many things that I haven't had the time to read much or write. Each day, I spend such a large chunk of time planning what to do during my reading and writing sessions that I end up unwinding by doing something that rests my eyes, instead of taxing them some more! But picture books are an exception, aren't they? One Ted Falls Out of BedOne Ted Falls Out of Bed by Julia Donaldson and Anna Currey is a book about numbers written in a way that only Julia Donaldson can carry off. I am not usually a fan of books that also teach you something, but this one is such an imaginative adventure that I loved it! One teddy bear, two eyes, three mice ... This midnight escapade is lovely from start to end. Sadiq Wants to StitchI've wanted to read Sadiq Wants to Stitch written by Mamta Nainy and illustrated by Niloufer Wadia for a while … [Read more...]