My Friend, the Sea

Dec 26, 2004 is one of the worst days in history of mankind. The earthquake triggered a series of devastating tsunamis that spread throughout the Indian Ocean, killing large numbers of people and inundating coastal communities across South and Southeast Asia, including parts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand. This is considered one of the worst natural disasters in known history.

Fishermen live near the sea and for them, on this day, it appears that their dear friend had suddenly turned extremely violent. The book My Friend, the Sea is a story of a fisher-boy who escapes the tsunami and it follows the feelings of this child as he tries to understand how his best friend, the sea, could turn so violent.

The book is presented from the point of view of this boy. It starts in an optimistic note as the boy talks about his friend - the Kadalamma, the Ocean Mother. The culture and life of the fisherfolk is tightly integrated with ocean and the initial pages explains their boat - Kattumaran (their boat that has not changed its design for almost 3000 years) , their food - kanji, that his father and grandfather prefer to eat in the middle of the sea and his life with family and friends.

Grandfather is the boy's hero as he claims in the beginning of the book - "his grandfather knows everything" (like every kid of his age would think of their grandfathers and grandmothers). So, he surprised and completely taken aback that even his grandfather was not able to hear the tsunami coming that day. He loses his father and many of his friends on the fateful day, but remains hopeful that they could probably still find their way back.

The book ends in an optimistic note too - he says that his school is going to reopen again and talks about his plans to go wave riding with his friends again. Inspite of the great devastation and personal lose, the boy does not lose hope and looks forward for his own kattumaram that his brother has promised him.

On a personal note(not related to the book), I realised how much of an effect the tsunami's tragedy had on Sooraj based on the following episode. Many months after the devastation, when we visited the beach, the moment he saw the waves from far, his first question was -- 'Amma, Appa, Is that tsunami?'. He had somehow intrinsically associated the waves with tsunami. Being born and brought in a city, books like these would probably help city children and parents understand nature and how it is intrinsic to the life of many non-city children (something that we as city dwellers have forgotten long back).

The book is written by Sandhya Rao and the photographs are by Karuna Sesh and Pervez Bhagat. The book is published by Tulika Books in association with Consulate General of Germany, Chennai. As the book excerpts claim - it tries to avoid the pictures of the devastation and tries to concentrate on optimism and longing of the fisherfolks for their dearest friend - the Sea. The publishers mention that the book is for 6+ years old, but, I feel it is a good book that we, as parents, could share with our 4 year olds too. This book is a followup of another book by Tulika Publishers called Suresh and the Sea.

If I were a lion

If I were a Lion
by Sarah Weeks
Illustrated by Heather M. Solomon

Ages : 3-6

Most of us have heard of time outs. Many of us have even tried them on our kids, perhaps even successfully. In my personal experience, time-outs never worked for me and my 3 and 1/2 year old boy, because he never sat still in the same place for the stipulated time. But he sure knows what a time-out means. Which is perhaps one of the biggest reasons he enjoyed this book!

The title of this book was what caught my attention when I spotted it on the library shelf. 'If I were a lion'.......really sparked my curiosity to find out more about why a little girl would want to be like a lion and what would she do if she were one.

The little girl in the picture is the one with the time-out. Her Mom just cannot take it anymore, and tells her she's on a time-out because she is just too w-i-l-d!

But our little protagonist here is highly indignant about being described such. She goes on to justify what wild really means by comparing herself to the animals that are r-e-a-l-l-y wild and their behavior and habits. In fact she is so convincing in her arguement that you have to give her full credit for the unjustness of her punishment.

Each page is filled with illustrations of the animal or wild being she compares to, to show what a true opposite she really is. The illustrations are done with a flourish and seem to flow riotuously throughout the page in a vibrant bundle of colours......the expressions on this little girl's face are so alive with spirit and fire that you identify with her each step of the way.

The cutest part for me were these little scribbles of wall art in crayons. There's a spattering of them in almost every page in a corner of the wall and you know just how naughty our little friend actually is. And yet.....yet you just want her and her Mamma to make up and be lovey again. Do we get the happy ending we hope for? There's only one way to find out.......so go a little wild on this one! :)

P.S - I just found out that the author, Sarah Weeks has written soooo many books and has a pretty cool blog and website. Check it out if you're interested!

A place to grow and Dear Juno

A place to grow
by Soyung Pak

Ages : 4-8


Keeping in the mind the essence and spirit of Saffron Tree's multi-cultural objective, I am reminded of this beautiful book that I had the opportunity to read a few months ago. It was an accidental find in the library shelves, and I was so entranced by it that I had reviewed it, albeit briefly, on my personal space, but it deserves more than a few lines....and Saffron Tree is just the place to do it.

When you turn over the cover of the book, the first thing you will read is this line...A family is like a seed. It needs a good, safe place to grow. This is the central thread in the book and it is skillfully interwoven by comparing the care a seed needs to flower and blossom, to that of a human being living in a country who also needs equal nurture.

A little girl is helping her father in tilling the garden and preparing the soil for planting. It is that time of the year when the earth is soft and the seeds flying in the wind, find thier gardens to grow in and finally land. Her father too has flown a long way to grow into a family. All seeds travel, says her Dad.

She asks him why. He tells her that a seed needs land to grow. And not just any land, but the kind that is good and warm and like a cozy home. Some lands are not of this kind and filled with too many guns and not enough love. So the seed flies with the wind.

She asks him why. He tells her that a seed needs sun to grow. But the sun doesn't shine on everything, and it doesn't shine where the shadows fall, which is what happens when there are enough dreams but not enough hope. So the seeds flies with the wind.

She asks him why. He tells her that a seed needs rain to grow. The rain that fell on our seed came only now and then, and sometimes not at all., which is what it is like when there are too many workers and not enough work. So the seed flies with the wind.

Some seeds just make a short hop, while some seeds fly a long way till they find the garden that's just right for them. So the girl and her father sit thier garden, with the soft dirt underneath thier feet and the starry night above. And looking at them, you know that there grows a garden inside thier heart.

Whilst reading this to my 3 and 1/2 year old, I thought that perhaps it wasn't the most age appropriate book for him, to understand the subtle undercurrents that flows through thier conversation. But then again, children take home different things from thier reading experiences at different points of their growing hood. And as a parent, it might just be in our hands to add our own perceptions to thiers. After all, a lot of us too are familiar with being separated from our roots and from the people we love.....in some ways, this book may get us thinking about our own personal choices to be this far and why we continue to live with that choice.

So moved was I by this book that I was excited to discover the very first book written by Soyung Pak.

Dear Juno

by Soyung Pak

Ages : 4-8

Dear Juno is a very simple story about a little Korean boy who has just received a letter addressed to him from his grandmother in Korea. He is very excited to read the letter, but he cannot because it is written in their native language. And his parents are too busy just then to sit and read it to him. So what does he do? He decides to open it and see what's inside. To his surprise, he finds a few things besides the actual letter that helps him understand more about his grandmother and her life there, and also the possible contents of her letter to him. And thus he reads the letter on his own bridging the gap of distance that separates him and his grandmother.

And he composes a reply on his own too, but not with words. The letter is posted, and a few weeks later, he receives a package from his grandmother, who has understood his language and replies to him again. This time too....he understands perfectly without the medium of words and thus it goes on. A bond is forged and the ways and means to that are simple and sweet.

So are you curious on how the boy and his grandmother talk to each other? Pick up the book and delve right in!

A soother

OWL BABIES By Martin Waddell , illustrated by Patrick Benson







OWL BABIES is a picture book that deals with a very sensitive issue that every infant or toddler experiences early on. It is a book about the mental anguish that young ones undergo due to maternal separation and the constant reassurance they need - the belief and trust that every mother would unfailingly return to her young one.

The book zooms into a simple yet critical incident in the lives of three owlets. The setting is a sober conversation among three siblings upon discovering their mommy's disappearance one night. Waiting is painful. They hope and pray that their mother is out, only to find food, that she is safe and that she would definitely come back to them. The mommy hooter returns. Her unexpected yet expected return makes the owlets ecstatic!

I bought this book around the time my daughter started preschool (after staying at home for a good chunk of her early life) . I would always reassure her that I would pick her up later the same day. She never cried a tear but she would always reiterate my verbal assurance. I think we were able to relate to this book a lot and my daughter felt good about the restored confidence. Even after months, we still read it and enjoy the warmth when the mother owl takes in her babies under her wings.

The incident is uncomplicated and the story is simply written. The visual backdrop of a black tree hole and frightened owls may not be a common sight among the brightly hued, cheerfully written children's books. However, the vivid pictures will only draw you closer to the actual night. This is probably one of the many books based on this concept, but it is surely a very good book to be read to your little one who needs the reassurance.

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Seeing the last two reviews that my friends, Meera and Tharini have written celebrating two great authors - Margaret Wise Brown and Eric Carle, I am certainly motivated to write about another great author from the 20th century children's literature - Shel Silverstein.

The author and his creations are definitely out-of-the-box. Shel Silverstein is known for his books on funny poetry or giggle poetry as my daughter would call(we love making rhymes that sound funny - thanks to hours of listening to Raffi in the car!) The Giving Tree is a different kind of story. It is a moving story about the love a tree has for a little boy. The tree gives all it has to a little boy who simply manages to extract every little thing he can from the tree. You might end up tearing up at the end of the story.

The Giving Tree provides morals and lessons for readers of all ages at different levels. This book offers a deep environmental message -"You can be friends with a tree - but please give unselfish/unconditional love to nature "unlike" the little boy in the story!"

In our family, whenever we read "The Giving Tree" during bedtime, we make sure we sing this Tree song, which my older daughter loves!The tree song is a hit in our family and more or less of a family song now - My husband loves joining in, and we have sung it together so many times with our older daughter - one of the first songs she learned to sing by herself - I think she was two then - even before she learned her nursery rhymes!

It's by Mr.Rogers from Rogers' Neighborhood - a show on PBSKids PBS(public broadcasting service)!

Tree,Tree,Tree
Tree,Tree,Tree
Tree,Tree,Tree
Tree,Tree,Tree

We love you!
Yes,We do!
Yes,We do!
We love you!

Tree,Tree,Tree
Tree,Tree,Tree
Tree,Tree,Tree
Tree,Tree,Tree

(I have never "typed" so many trees in a row...that felt good - ( "planting" lots and lots of trees must feel even better, right?) This reminds me of a true environmentalist - the Kenyan Tree Woman - Mrs.Maathai who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her environmental work..Bravo!)

Find more about Mr.Roger's Neighborhood - one of the first shows I let my daughter watch on TV when she was close to two, aside from Sesame Street. I too enjoyed watching the show with her.

Here's the link Tree,Tree,Tree..Do listen to the Tree song with your kids, wherever you are in the world -
Tree,Tree,Tree

Thanks, and that's all for this week!! I am traveling the next couple of weeks, but I am sure will be tuning in from my travel destinations...

Meanwhile, a very happy new year to you all!