I read When the World Went Dark one year after our first lockdown. And I wondered about including it at my book club. Grief is deeply personal. No one feels the way you feel. It almost feels unfair when people do.
Even so, we do want to talk about our grief. Additionally, with any book, we take away what we want to take away from it. The lockdown, online classes and the fear of the virus are so real that I want children to read this, a book about their lived reality, one that acknowledges that not all adventures happen outdoors when we are free to run about and play.
Book Discussion
For When the World Went Dark, the discussion will lead the way. Children will want to talk about lockdown, loss, online school and more; I am sure of it. When the cook of one of the children at my book club caught covid, the child was so horrified he could not stop talking about it. And in all these months, I’ve met just ONE child who likes online school more than physical school! With a book like this, the conversation will lead itself.
Detective Stories
Swara, who is almost nine years old, shares a special relationship with her Pitter Paati. They find clues and solve mysteries together, so much so that Pitter Paati calls her Little Miss Marple. Unfamiliar with Agatha Christie’s detective, Swara checks that PP does not mean Little Miss Muffet, and eventually settles with Little Miss Marble.
What famous detectives do we know? From Sherlock Holmes to Poirot, the Secret Seven to the A to Z Mysteries, let’s discover what detective stories have in common before we write our own!
Puzzles and Clues
Swara wants her Pitter Paati to send her a clue, any clue that will help her find her missing grandmother. Because she cannot believe that Paati is gone. The girl hunts for clues everywhere – in the lights flashing in the picture hanging on the wall, in socks, in everything.
Solving puzzles based on clues is immensely satisfying! I love logic and logical puzzles myself, so I provide participants with a set of clues based on which they have to solve small mysteries of their own!
Join a book club!
REGISTRATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED FOR THIS EDITION OF READ, WRITE, EXPLORE.
New batches begin every alternate month. If you would like to receive email notifications about my programmes, please fill this form. Alternatively, follow me on social media – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – for regular updates.
Leave a Reply