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Varsha Seshan

Susie Will Not Speak

September 1, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Susie Will Not Speak by Shruthi Rao was one of the first hOle books I read, and it remains one of my favourites. Jahan and Susie leap out of the pages – sparkling characters that make the story what it is. Susie has a lisp. How can she say even her own name without proclaiming […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, hOle books, online book club, online reading programme, reading, review, Shruthi Rao, Susie Will Not Speak

A Melody in Mysore

August 13, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

With Independence Day just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to read A Melody in Mysore by Shruthi Rao, a new addition to the Songs of Freedom series. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed most of the books in the series, some more than others. Set in different parts of the country in the first half of […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: A Melody in Mysore, books for tweens, historical fiction, Middle Grade, reading, review, Shruthi Rao, Songs of Freedom

Manya Learns to Roar

May 10, 2023 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Manya Learns to Roar by Shruthi Rao is the first book I’m repeating at my book club. We read it at the very first edition of my reading programme, when I tentatively started out in 2020, wondering if I would be able to sustain an online book club for children. All those who read it with […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, Manya Learns to Roar, online reading programme, reading, Shruthi Rao

My Favourite Chapter Books from 2022

January 3, 2023 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Each year, I read dozens of chapter books for my book clubs. Despite that–or perhaps because of that–there were just three that I fell in love with in 2022. That is not to say I didn’t like the books I read; I did. I enjoyed most of them thoroughly. Yet, as I looked back at […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: Chapter Book, Chris Riddell, Malhar in the Middle, Meera Ganapathi, Ottoline Goes to School, Paati vs UNCLE, reading, review, Shruthi Rao

Top Five Chapter Books I Read in 2020

January 1, 2021 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

At the beginning of each year, I make a list of books I read and loved in the previous year, and I always begin with the same disclaimer – these books were not necessarily published in 2020. They came my way in 2020, and so I read them. One thing that I’m doing differently this […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Asha Nehemiah, Crenshaw, Katherine Applegate, Manjula Padmanabhan, Manya Learns to Roar, Shrinking Vanita, Shruthi Rao, Susie Will Not Speak, Trouble with Magic

Online Reading Programme

November 13, 2020 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I’ve been working with the British Library’s reading challenge for a long time. I’ve worked with a range of themes – Circus Stars, Mythical Maze, Record Breakers, The Big Friendly Read, Animal Agents … And I’ve enjoyed each one. I love the range of books the British Library has, and the reading challenge collection is […]

Filed Under: Books, Workshops Tagged With: Asha Nehemiah, Dick King-Smith, Manjula Padmanabhan, Manya Learns to Roar, reading, reading programme, reading workshop, Shrinking Vanita, Shruthi Rao, The Sheep-Pig, Trouble with Magic

Three hOle Books

January 29, 2020 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Who doesn’t love a hole in a book? I love the idea of the hole, and I do wish it were possible to make the holes part of every illustration! I’m sure the illustrator would probably find that rather restrictive, but even so, I delighted in each picture that used the hole in some way. […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Arthi Sonthalia, Arundhati Venkatesh, Big Bully and M-Me, hOle books, Petu Pumpkin: Tooth Troubles, reading, review, Shruthi Rao, Susie Will Not Speak