It’s impossible to write about The Paradise Flycatcher without mentioning the gorgeous illustrations. I felt the same way about The Golden Eagle, which we read at my book club some time ago. Krishna Bala Shenoi’s art work, right through the book, is stunning, and if for nothing else, I would have picked The Paradise Flycatcher for one of my reading programmes just for the pictures! (On an aside, I loved his work in Friends Behind Walls too, which I used at another reading programme.)
Mitalee is distraught. Shikar, aka Snowdrop, a white-headed squirrel, has disappeared! She knows Chintu and Arjun are behind this disappearance, but knowing that is not enough. She must save Snowdrop before something dreadful happens. The good thing is that she has help from a bunch of feathered friends – Bongo, Blackpie, Senora, Kabul … And the adventure begins.
Animal Stories
Animal stories are a delight. Like Barry Cunningham, publisher, Chicken House books says, there is a ‘special magic between children and creatures wild and (apparently) familiar’. I agree! The Paradise Flycatcher brings this magic alive, making it the perfect book to explore points of view. What does Shikar go through? We will take a look at narrative voice and perspective, examining how a story changes based on who tells it.
Form
A significant section of the book takes the form of chat messages that Maitreya and Mitalee exchange. This will serve as an introduction to different kinds of novels and different ways of telling a story. Can a book be written entirely in the form of letters exchanged? What challenges would we face if we wrote epistolary novels?
Themes
What themes do you think are universal? Kindness, bullying, adventure and friendship are themes that find their way into so many books. How can we write a truly new story when we find the same ideas everywhere?
Join a programme!
Leave a Reply