Payir - Request for books

Payir is a non-profit organisation started by one of our friends named Senthil Gopalan. After working for a few years in US, he returned back to his hometown and has started a series of projects in a village named Thenur, around 50 km from Trichy.
The mission of Payir is to facilitate in the transformation of Indian villages into socially stimulating, self-sustaining, growth-oriented communities. We believe that to achieve this transformation it is necessary to have a holistic approach, where all aspects of challenges in rural life are addressed.


One of the first projects was a Health Center, which was started a few years back. Now, he is looking at starting a Learning Center which will be transformed into a non-formal education center in years to come. Initially, we are planning to start a library and get the kids in and around his village to get into the reading habit.


Ranjani and I are involved and helping Senthil in starting a library and a Learning Center. For the same, we are planning to tie up with The HippoCampus. We started talking with them and getting suggestions on starting a library.


We also are planning to mobilise children's books for the library from friends and well wishers. It would be great if you, the readers of this blog, can contribute some good used or new children's books. We are looking for books that would help in reading English, Tamil; Story books, picture books are also most welcome. We are targetting books for the age group of 3-10.


If you are interested, you could send the books to -

Couriers and Shipments can be sent to:


Senthilkumar Gopalan

C/o Leela Gopalan

48 Ammamandapam Road,

Mambalachalai

Trichy 620 006

Tamil Nadu

Phone: 0431 2434789


Our Thenur address for all letters (only through Indian Postal Service)


Senthilkumar Gopalan

Payir Trust

Thenur village

(via) T. Kalathur

Kunnam Taluk

Perambalur District

Tamil Nadu 621 114

India



For Indians staying abroad, since the shipment of books might be costly, it would be of great help if you could bring along some books during one of your visits to India. Any small help is greatly appreciated. We are also looking at another option for people residing in US. If you are interested, do send me an email.

PandaMania in our household!

It's raining Pandas here! Well, that would be one to wish for, isn't it? Especially now that we know all about the dangers of extinction that the giant pandas face. Thanks to the growth in human population and the related destructions we cause in the environment that we share with so many species of plants and animals!

I am a firm believer in "it's never too early to talk to kids about environmental issues". I was both happy and sad the day K learned the meaning of the word "extinct". Happy for my daughter's linguistic adventures. Sad because I was left with no option but to explain to her the meaning based on stories from the real world as opposed to the fantasy ones we always make up. At two, she once asked me "What's a dream?" Now agreed, that's not an easy word to explain to a toddler, but still you can put all sorts of magical spin to the meaning, and make it fun. Definitely, the same thing does not apply to the word "extinct".

Real world issues are definitely not fun to introduce to little ones - particularly, when they deal with topics such as dangers they face in the outside world, or when it's some other creature that's endangered, like pandas for instance. That's where good books come in (although wouldn't be surprised if my daughter points to the paper and says, "too much paper in books is not good for the environment" :-))

Without digressing any further, let me share with you my panda picks.

1) Pi-shu the Little Panda by John Butler

• This is a story about a little panda named Pi-shu who is born in the most idyllic of settings - a bamboo forest and thrives so beautifully in the warmth and love showered by his mother, Fei-Fei. Growing up is not all that bad in the slippery slopes of Misty Mountain where young Pi-shu loves exploring the mountainside. Panda meets and understands early on he shares his home with so many different animals in the mountain region. However, one day, he ventures a little too far, and encounters humans. They are cutting down the forest and destroying the homes of the animals that live in the forest. Quickly, Panda realizes the danger and runs back to safety to be with his Mom, Fei-Fei. Fei-Fei senses danger seeing the look on her little one's face and they set out to find a new home.

• This book is not about introducing panda facts. But, the messages the author, John Butler conveys is strong, yet not heavy-handed - 1) that hunting of pandas is prohibited, but what happens "when humans hunt their habitats" 2) One could also use the opportunity to discuss safety with little ones by pointing to how little panda, quite innocently, ran far away without realizing the dangers in the outside world. Therefore, it's safe to stay close to Mamma/Pappa when you play 3) The fact that he would introduce some exotic animals from little panda's view re-iterates the idea that explaining to little ones about the different animals and plants we share the world with is extremely important

•The prose flows gently, and nothing is overstated. The illustrations so amazing that we couldn't take our eyes off this book. To simply put it - an delightful read for all avid panda fans amongst us!

Last word: A gentle and touching way to introduce an endangered animal in an idyllic setting to little ones without scaring them about the real world they will grow up in. Felt elated and ecstatic to read Pi-shu, the little Panda - to my little panda, if I may!

2) Zen Shorts by Jon Muth (A Caldecott Honor book)

• This book is a collection of three Zen/Budhist stories for little ones and grown-ups alike. Stillwater, a panda, appears in the backyard of three siblings. The next few days, the children visit Stillwater, each separately. Panda shares with them Zen stories giving them thought-provoking material about their views on the world and about each other - two of them deal with forgiveness and helping others, and the other is about what's good luck and what's bad luck!
•The deeper messages in the three stories may not reach very young listeners and they may or may not understand the philosophical undercurrents in the stories - meanings might be more accessible for older children and grown-ups.
• Illustrations tie in with the "uncluttered philosophy" of Zen. Jon Muth employs two distinct styles - detailed watercolors depicting the real world, while the zen stories set in black lines and strokes on pastel pages. Visually soothing, the pictures depict realism and naturalism in a way that seem to convey to children to not be "overly-western", but look to the east for developing views/prespectives about the world.

Last word: Hopefully, Zen questions will linger in your little one's mind long after you have put the book down. It's yet another gentle book to introduce to your children.

3) Miss Panda in India by by Ambika Mathur Kamat

A fun little book about India in which Miss Panda in a cute,little outfit visits India to see her cousin, Mr. Bhaloo. Mr and Mrs. Bhaloo are Miss. Panda's tour guides. During their travel, they encounter a Bengal Tiger, the Taj Mahal, and even a snake charmer! One might say, well nothing new but it's all about the stereotypical things that most books highlight when it is about India. That being true, it doesn't hurt to explain to little ones that it's only a bite-sized portion of India!

Miss Panda is loveable and kids will instantly fall in love with her. The "Miss Panda" series was brought out to to teach children about different countries.

Last word: Illustrations are not that eye-catching, and the print and paper quality not that high. Amazon charges 11.95, and I actually made the mistake of buying the book at this price to add the book to our India collection without realizing it's one of those tiny little paper backs. It would a neat recommendation to your local library so everyone can enjoy this little treat!

Something to note: Interesting that in all of the above books, the author is also the illustrator.

Hope you enjoyed my panda picks!

Tikki Tikki Tembo

The name Tikki Tikki Tembo immediately brings to mind a rather funny and interesting story. As per the book, this picture book is based on a Chinese folk tale.


As the story goes - long, long ago - the Chinese used to keep long names for their first sons and a small or insignificant name to their second ones. In this story, the mother names her first son, take a deep breath - 'Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo'. The second son is named Chang. The rather long and windy name means - 'most wonderful thing in the whole world' and the small name Chang means 'nothing'.


One day, while the kids are playing, Chang falls into a well and his mother ask the 'Tikki Tikki Tembo...' son to go call the man with the ladder. The man comes as fast as he can, and slowly takes out Chang from the well. Chang gets well very soon, since help came fast and quick. After many months, now the first son - 'Tikki Tikki Tembo', falls into the well. The second son runs as fast as he can and tries to tell his mother that his elder brother has fallen into the well. Since, he is panting - he takes a long time to tell his brother long name and say that he has fallen into the well. The same problem arises when the second son runs to tell the man with the ladder. Both of them make the second son say his brother's full name before listening to him say what the problem is. Finally help arrives and Tikki Tikki Tembo is rescued; but, he takes many months to recover. After this near disaster incident, according to the legend, Chinese decided to name even their first sons with rather small and easy names.


It is a funny story and Sooraj and I had a great time saying 'Tikki Tikki Tembo's full name in rhyme. So, on first look this looks like a great book for kids to introduce them to other cultures and their wonderful stories.


Alas, that does not turn out to be true. Although, the book claims that it is based on Chinese folklore, based on various comments in Child Lit archives, this turns out to be false. Most of them have mentioned that there is no such Chinese fable. In fact, there seems to be Japanese fable based on a similar theme. To confuse Chinese to Japanese shows the ignorance or lack of research being done on the part of the author. Also, as many comments in the discussion (follow the link) mention the name 'Tikki Tikki Tembo' does not sound like a Chinese name at all. It sounds more like a name concocted to make sure that the story is interesting and keeps the children happy. The book says the meaning of the word Chang means 'nothing' - which seems to wrong as a quick google search would show you. This is definitely insulting to millions of Changs/Zhengs out there in the world.


Fact is that I am not sure if I should take what the book says is true or what the discussion archives says is true. I tend to go with the discussion archives and consider the origin of this fable to be Chinese as falsehood. If you plan to buy this book, make sure that you do not pass on wrong information about the Chinese origin of this tale.

Flour Power

WHAT SHALL I MAKE?

Story by Nandini Nayar
Ilustrations by Proiti Roy

Read alone: 6+
Read aloud: 3+

Simple and playful, two words that sum up yet another production from Tulika. Neeraj is a small boy, self-questioning what shall I make?, with a rotund piece of roti dough squeezed between his palms. His creative juices in full flow, he shapes the ductile dough to give birth to lively creatures. His mother joins the fun. A snake at first, then a mouse, anatomically close to perfection, with a pair of eyes, a body and a tail. Then a cat that soon morphs into a fierce lion. All seem realistic and fully animated in the creator's eyes. Neeraj is quick to deform the scary lion back into its initial state and start afresh with a small soft ball of dough. This time, he flattens it and generously rolls it into a neat circle. His mother then proceeds to toast it on the tava, completing the culinary procedure. The grand finale is when a round hot puffy chapati lands on his soft palms, ready to be eaten!

The book is more than a book - a down-to-earth culinary project for small children; the making of a chapati, a favorite that has withstood the wrath of time in the Indian household. Ample scope for turning kitchen interference from small children into wholesome fun! Needless to say, a play doh equivalent, the dough is like a blank canvas. It triggers creativity in little minds and acts as medium to help them give shape and life to their favorite objects and scenes.

For those who have not yet had a chance to discover the hidden power of chapati dough, the idea is fresh, hot and totally Indian!

ish by Peter H Reynolds

Pic Source : Amazon



This book has been sitting on our book shelf for a long time now, beckoning me to do a review of it each time I pick it up. So beautiful is the book, that I want to do full justice to it in this review ! We will first go into the story before I explain the highlights of the book.


Ramon is a young boy who loves to draw. He is so passionate about drawing that he draws at all odd times, anything and everything that he sights. One day as he is drawing a vase of flowers, his elder brother ridicules him by laughing at the not so perfect drawing. Something snaps inside Ramon. He feels totally crushed. In the following days, whatever Ramon draws he is not satisfied and he crumples and throws away his drawings. His brother's taunts continue to haunt him. He is unable to love and enjoy what he is doing. One fine day he decides to give up drawing for good because he thinks his drawings are not perfect. As he crumples up the sheet and throws it away, he catches his sister grabbing it and running away. He chases his sister to her room and there to his amazement, he see the wall full of his crumpled drawings ! He is speechless and the his sister points to the drawing of vase and tells him that it is her favourite ! He grumbles that it was MEANT to be a vase, but it doe not really look like one. Then his sister says those golden words " Well...it looks Vase-ish" ! He looks deeply at that drawing and agrees with his sister. Suddenly a whole new world seems to open up for him ! He feels convinced that it is okay for the drawings to be a little imperfect.


With this new found lightness, he easily starts drawing again, without worrying overly about the outcome.He rejoices in the very act of drawing - his love ! We get a glimpse of his ish-drawings through the lovely illustrations in the book.


This book is one of Sooraj's top favourites ! The reasons being- the sentences are few and very simple,illustrations are lovely and funny at the same time. For example When the author says "Ramon loved to draw anywhere", it shows a picture of Ramon in the rest room with his sketch pad! When I ask Sooraj to name the ish-drawings, he starts off - Tree ish, house ish
and then he will say chappathi-ish for a drawing which the author has mentioned as "afternoon ish" !!! I do not correct him. Children are so imaginative at times, that it really amazes me !!


I too love this book for the same reasons as mentioned above. Additionally I noticed that this book had a significant impact on our son Sooraj when we started reading it a few months back. Sooraj is the kind of child who likes to get all his drawings and alphabets proper and perfect. When things do not turn out so good, he easily gets upset. On numerous occassions, we have told him that it was okay if the colours smudged out of the drawings or if the alphabets were slightly wobbly and it was still good. But he would not be convinced and look crest fallen for quite some time. Now this book has started getting the point across to him !! So now when he writes his alphabets and suddenly becomes anxious that one of the "G"s has not come out perfect, I tell him "Well.... it does look G -ish" and then he grins and continues :-). A marked improvement I would say :-).


The book also shows how ridiculing or discouragement, has a profound impact on children. At the same time when someone thinks the world of a child's talent and skills, their self esteem and self confidence simply sky-rocket!


I am sure this book would be something which you and your child will enjoy!

Flyaway Katie

Flyaway Katie
by Polly Dunbar

Ages : 3-6

A gray gray day is what it is. And your spirits are low. And you really need a lifter! What do you do? Well if you are lost on ideas, perhaps you need a helping hand. How about I tell you the story of little Katie, who was also feeling quite gray. So gray...that there is no colour in her at all. And the birds in the picture on her wall look sooo much more interesting and happy than she does.

But wait! She just had an idea! And I think it involves some green. A green hat, I mean. She just found herself a bright green hat and she put it on. She looks nice and feels a little better, but still...the gray won't go away. :(

Hmmmm

....that's the sound of another idea cooking up in her head. And this time, it involves yellow. Bright, fluorescent, sunshiny yellow! The yellow of the tights that she pulls on to add more colour into her life. And she pulls them on soo high, it comes right up to her nose. She's a funny sight, this Katie is. Feel like a smile now, do you? Well, I wouldn't blame you. Colour has a way of doing that to people. Look at Katie. She's feeling brighter already...but not bright enough.

Time for another colour, you think? Well, you're right! And blue has arrived, in the form of her pretty shiny shoes. And now, she's finally into the swing of things. No stopping her now, no siree! A pink dress it is...her best pink dress...and she's getting brighter!

Next, she's painting her lips a shiny shiny red. And her face a blue to match her shoes. Oooops! She must look a sight. Just put together all those colours you have seen so far. And then add orange to it. Yup, orange! Because she just painted orange stripes on her arms!!! And pink's cousin was not to be left out either, for she painted her fingertips purple!

Phew!! I think she's finally done. It was getting dizzying, wasn't it? But you forgot all about your grays, didn't you? Katie's now standing still so the paint can dry. And then....slowly, slowly...something happens. A light flittery fluttery something.

What's that? What happened to her you ask? Well...take a look at that painting on her wall. Yes, that painting with the birds. The happy birds. Look closer. Do you see a familiar green, yellow, blue, pink, red, orange, purple somebody in there? Well...there's your answer. For Katie just figured out a way to be part of that picture she always fancied. Tweet tweet tweet tweet...all the birds said when they saw her. And that's where she stayed all afternoon...rollicking around, until it was time to fly home...for her bath. Now now, don't raise your eyebrows at that colour filled watery mess on the bathroom floor. After all, she just helped you drive your grays away!

Well, now that you know all about Katie, here are some other tidbits that I wanted to share. I had borrowed this book a long time ago and enjoyed reading it so much that I always remembered it. Its such a simple, whimsical, fashionably minimalistic story about a little girl with tons of imagination. Winkie enjoyed our second innings with it too. Especially, since he had a painting on the wall that he kept looking at imagining his own little self flying right into it...and suddenly it all became very real to him, and he was riveted. Also, the book was simple enough for him, as a beginner reader, to read it by himself with some help from me on a few words.

The book is authored and illustrated by Polly Dunbar. It was her first picture book and in her own words...

"Flyaway Katie is about the ability we all have to change our mood and make ourselves feel happier. All you need is a bit of creativity and a lick of paint!"

Do check out her website. Its equally whimsical, funny and a spunky way to display a bio. It will also give you a fair idea about how the book has been illustrated. In my words, I would call it fun, frivolous and downright funky. Right from the very first page, which houses the title and publication information...there is a picture of an exotic looking bird, one of the birds from the painting in fact, looking inside a mirror. Only, this bird is gray. But its reflection is all in colour. Very cute! And the bird has left behind a set of footprints, which are also in colour. And I have attempted to replicate those footprints use it as a little divider up there.

So, whenever you are feeling blue errrr...gray...I hope you will remember Katie and her colour filled afternoon!

Regina's Big Mistake

Regina's big mistake by Marissa Moss

Every school goer, especially in the 4-8 age group, will be able to relate to the incident in this wonderful book by Marissa Moss, author and illustrator. Regina's big mistake, the title kindles interest - who is Regina, what was her mistake and why big?

The scene is an art class. Students are given stationery and asked to draw a jungle or a rain forest. Nervous, Regina draws a blank (pun unintended!). She sits there stumped, while her classmates are busy translating their ideas into art. The feeling of diffidence and the reluctance to try something, similar to what Regina goes through, is something that every child experiences at different junctures as part of school-going, be it art, writing or performing.

Regina tries to draw a flower, makes a geometric mistake and destroys her paper in frustration. That's definitely not the end of the story. She is given another blank paper. Another opportunity to start afresh but not enough optimism, especially considering the fact that her neighbor's papers are already blossoming with wonderful artwork of flora and fauna. With only a few minutes left, the pressure mounts.

Gathering a whole lot of courage, she makes a small start. Baby steps, a tree. A lion. Her mates blame her of plagiarism. But she silences them giving her own signature touches to the images. A thirsty lion, a lake for it, and some flowers - a perfect jungle. As a final touch, she attempts to draw a sun. But as fate would have it, she makes another mistake. A wobbly circle resulting in an imperfect sun. A colossal mistake in little Regina's world! But her impromtu creativity steps in. A moon, she calls it, without the slightest hesitation! She creates a backdrop of a beautiful night sky for her jungle. The uniqueness of her picture wins her teacher's heart.

Children often encounter such tight spots in their daily lives in school and at play. They often experience lack of confidence in expressing their creativity. Even a trivial situation can be a huge challenge for the small mind that is filled with apprehensions and fears. This incident not only unravels the trauma, but proceeds to tell us how important it is to try and create something out of what we have. It also imparts a valuable lesson that mistakes are OK, that mistakes can be fixed and that mistakes can lead to more creative discoveries.

The language is simple and the illustrations are casual and very friendly. The crayon creations are realistic and appealing. A good book for those early years at school.

The personal touch - my preschooler loves this book and is always rooting for Regina. You can often catch me alluding to the story when she is quick to give up on something. And this afternoon, she told me that when she tries an A and it ends up wobbly she is going to call it an M. "Close enough", I said!