No More Monsters for Me!

What happens when you break a rule and keep it as a secret? Well, it becomes the monster in the basement which grows and grows until you have to get rid of it. Here is a book for early readers which deals with this in a fun way.

NO MORE MONSTERS FOR ME
Written by Peggy Parish.
Illustrated by Marc Simont.
Published by HarperTrophy.
Ages : 4-8yrs.
This book is from the I Can Read series, and is categorised under Level 1- Beginning Reading.

Image: Courtesy Amazon.

A very angry Minneapolis Simpkin storms out of the house. Mom has said NO to a pet. So she goes for a long walk, and comes across a baby monster who needs help. This gives her an idea. Mom has not said no for a monster!

So Minneapolis Simpkin takes the monster home and puts it in the basement.

She asks her Mom about monsters. About what they may eat. About where they live. About where they may be found.

But the monster won't remain hidden. It makes a lot of noise. It tries to get out of the basement and come upstairs where Minneapolis is having supper with her mother. It eats all of the apples and potatoes stored in the basement. And it grows and grows until it is huge. But it is still Minneapolis' monster.

Mom thinks it is a new game but wonders why her daughter is so jumpy all of a sudden and keeps running off everytime the monster creates another ruckus in the basement. She does not know that the monster is very real for Minneapolis.

So now Mom begins to have doubts because of Minneapolis' jumpiness.

"Minn," she said, "you were in the basement."
I nodded my head.
"Did you bring home an animal?"
I nodded my head again.
"Minneapolis Simpkin!" yelled Mom. "I said NO PETS!"
"It is not a pet!" I yelled back.
"Then what is it?" yelled Mom.
I did not mean to.
I did not want to. But I started bawling.
"It is a monster!" I bawled.
I waited for Mom to yell. But she didn't.
"Oh, Minn," she said. "You really need a pet, don't you?"
"Yes," I bawled.

So Mom makes a deal with Minneapolis. She gets rid of her monster and Mom gets her a pet. But the monster is now so big that it is difficult to get him out of the basement. How she gets rid of it, and what happens next makes up the rest of the story.

I revisited this book with A and she was in giggles reading it. Both because the text by her favourite Peggy Parish, author of the Amelia Bedelia series (of which she owns the entire collection, re-read countless number of times) is giggle-worthy. And because she now can readily identify with the innocently secretive Minneapolis Simpkin who has a secret but cannot hide it from her mother as it gets too big for her to handle.

Illustrations by Marc Simont are in dark colours suitable for a monster story, yet heartwarming. A google-search for this book also revealed that it has been a part of various teacher plans for first-graders. Worth a read.

1000 Times NO As Told By Mr.Warburton

Title: 1000 Times No
Author/Illustrator: Mr.Warburton
Publisher: Laura Geringer Books, An imprint of Harper Collins Publishers
Ages: 3+

At some point of time, all parents would have witnessed their child telling no. After the NO, comes the power struggles and the temper tantrums. It is an universal phenomenon and experts console parents saying that they are witnessing the terrible twos and that it shall pass .....in to tremendously terrifying threes, frightening fours, frustrating fives, shocking six..... my amma swears that I am going through a tiresome thirty three phase right now and is waiting with all toes and fingers crossed for ‘my phase’ to get over. The phases are a complicated play of wanting to establish an identity and earning respect and approval. The best thing for a parent to do is to step back and realize that they are not alone. The very thought that zillions of parents, irrespective of time or culture are going through the same thing at the same time gives immense strength and patience.

This is the gist of the book beautifully conceptualized and illustrated by Mr.Warburton. Little Noah is sitting wearing his diaper and playing. In comes mommy and says that it is time to leave. Even before she explains where, Noah says no, not once not twice, but a 1000 times.

no..NO...reverse-no-on, grumpy-mad-gritting his teeth-NO, cool-come-on-make-me-NO, big-72-point-bold-no, No-way-jose, nooope. He proceeds to say no in russian, greek, hindi, old norse, chinese, inuit, tagalog, sign language etc. Little Noah is so innovative that he says no in creative ways such as using the carrots and peas his dinner plate to spell out no!, as skywriting, he texts no, morse code(dah dit dah dah dah -. ---).

If you think it is hilarious, you must look at Noah’s face when his mom shrugs her shoulders and says, ‘Ok, fine. If you don’t want to go to the PLAYGROUND, you can stay here.’ :)

Found the whole book as an animation here.

The World of Trees

Author : Ruskin Bond

Illustrator : Kollol Majumder

Publisher : National Book Trust of India

These days quite a few Ruskin Bond books are being read in the house - for/by the elder kid and also for ourselves ! I will elaborate that statement a little further down in this post.

The World of Trees is a beautiful book that I chanced upon at the NBT book shop in Bangalore. NBT publishes some really wonderful books content wise , though only a few of them have visually appealing illustrations to go with them. This is one such gem which attracts you the moment you set your eyes on it.

As the title suggests, it is a book about the trees of India. Each chapter deals with one tree but a few chapters in the end, combine a few trees of a particular geography or genre. It is only in the hands of a master story teller like Ruskin Bond that even facts become so fascinating to kids ! In each of the chapters he describes the trees, their leaves, flowers and fruits. He also tells about the birds and insects which visit a particular tree and in which season. Then the various uses of the trees are listed. He goes on to elaborate the myths, legends and traditions associated with these trees in the local communities, which make it very interesting.

The soft water colour illustrations are a true delight and complement the contents of the book.

This book was kept as a bed time read aloud book to the kids by Sathish and me. In the process of reading out to them we learned a lot of interesting facts ourselves. Our eight year old son really enjoyed this book and our 4 year old enjoyed those portions that were familiar to her - the banyan, the silk cotton tree (which we have seen in the Lalbagh garden) and the mango ! Our next project is to visit the Lalbagh garden armed with this knowledge to get the real experience of these trees :-).

Another book which I am currently reading is The Book of Nature by Ruskin Bond. This book has some segments from The World of Trees plus a host of other interesting nature related experiences of Ruskin Bond. It truly transports us to the hills and forests of the Northern India and creates a warm, cosy and feel good experience for us who are sitting in this urban jungle !

My son is currently reading Mr.Oliver's diary, a recently released book of Ruskin Bond. It records the plight of a school teacher who has to handle a bunch of naughty kids and their antics !! The book is bringing out a lot of giggles and smiles :-)

A Handful of Toddler Books for Read-Aloud Fun

The resident two year old has inspired me to share some his recent favorites. This again, is by no means a sorted list of top five/six reads, but just a small subset of the random collection of books we've come across over the last couple of months that has appealed to us.

1. Finn Throws a Fit! / by David Elliott ; illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering
   
   If we've ever had a bad day in our lives, a day when we simply cannot handle even the things we used to like, when every little thing sets us off, erupting like an instant volcano, then this book will be easy to relate to. I admit, I have many days like that thanks to Oggie not sleeping at nights...
   
   Little boy Finn, comically rendered as an egg-like blob with limbs, is having one of those bad days. The book doesn't dwell on why he has a bad day as that is immaterial. It also doesn't say how the fit subsides, as that is rather immaterial. But, it focuses on how the environment looks when Finn is throwing this fit. He cries... the house floods. Lightning, Earthquake, Blizzard all seem to plague this house, thanks to Finn.
   
   Initially, I was a bit skeptical, wondering why on earth would a parent read this to their child, focusing on the fit, as if encouraging it and even reveling in it. It didn't help that the parents in the book seem to be portrayed as poor saps. But, I guess from my side of the fence, I can see the positives of this book, as Ana easily recognized the silliness of it, and Oggie didn't care about the fit all.
   
   The text is very simple, even if some words are out of the typical toddler's range, but, gives us a chance to explain it, talk about it, if we so feel. The pictures help a lot in this process. In the last page where Finn is impossibly adorable, his almost Mr.Hyde to Dr.Jekyll transformation leaves us smiling.
   
   As a bystander, this book made the whole toddler tantrum thing seem amusing. Which is an attitude some of us parents find it hard to develop when in the middle of it.
   
   
2. Dancing feet! / by Lindsey Craig ; illustrations by Marc Brown
   
   I loved this book as soon as I laid eyes on the cover - the happy dancing elephant simply teased my craft-y side: my mind immediately assembled corrugated paper, paints, scissors and glue to affirm that Imitation Is The Best Form Of Flattery Adoration.
   
   The hint of the animal on the page along with lilting rhythmic text that is hard to read without tapping one's feet, "Tippity, Tippity Little Black Feet / Who is dancing on tippity feet?"... leads to the next page which shows that, "Ladybugs are dancing on tippity feet / Tippity tippity happy feet"...
   
   Stompity, Clickity, Creepity, Stampity - the repetition along with pictures of happy creatures dancing makes this cheery little book a lot of fun to read aloud.
   
   
3. The Adventures of Polo by Régis Faller
   
   Polo is a spunky pup who likes to set off on an adventure armed with just his backpack, resourcefulness, sunny disposition, and curiosity. The vibrant colors, playful cartoon-like drawing, and dynamic easy-flowing panels make this wordless book a treat to "read".
   
   Wordless books are wonderful for all ages - we can choose to interpret it as our minds allow. I just let Oggie point to the picture and "talk" about what he sees. Sometimes it is "Uh-oh, he fall in the water", sometimes it is "He in the boat"... and even if it seems like Oggie is just describing the panels, he seems to have fun turning the pages to read to "the end". And then, looks at me expectantly to read it again, this time using my words and interpretation to keep up the flow.
   
   Originally published in France, Polo seems to have cultivated a universal following. The stories start out simple and sometimes can get quite complex, depending on who is "reading" it. It reminded me a bit of Harold and the Purple Crayon in that Polo finds a rope, which becomes stairs that he uses to climb up and then slides down the rope slide to land on a cloud... It gets from absurd to fantastic in no time.
   
   Through close-ups in some panels, sometimes stopping the flow with a full-page panel, along with subtle hints like punctuation marks, not to mention facial expressions, artist Faller makes it a delightful experience to follow Polo along in his adventures, silently.
   
   
4. The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear / by Don and Audrey Wood
   
   What's the only thing a little hungry mouse can do with a red ripe strawberry when a big hungry bear is expected any minute? Why, eat it! After sharing, of course.
   
   And that is what he does in this sweet book with huge eye-catching illustrations inviting requiring the reader to participate and propel the narration forward.
   
   The brilliance of it, to me, is that, left to his own devices, the mouse would have happily picked the strawberry and enjoyed it at leisure. But, us readers are obligated to play this sort of devil's advocate, egging the little Mouse on, leaving the threat of a (non-existent) Bear hanging, with the ulterior motive of getting a bite of that sweet juicy strawberry for ourselves.
   
   The text is simple even if it has a few words that are possibly not part of a typical toddler vocabulary, but the pictures easily explain the meaning without me having to. The page showing the mouse and the strawberry in disguise never fails to elicit giggles every time we read it.
   
   The mouse is incredibly adorable, and the strawberry seems like a mutant giant next to the tiny mouse who scrambles to keep it from Bear's hungry paws.
   
   The book also talks about sharing. Of course, Bear is never in the pictures, even if he is in the picture. Just the anxiety of losing this ripe juicy meal to a large and strong Bear seems to drive the mouse as he tries to save the strawberry for himself. And, the relief and elation he feels in the end after having eaten it (and sharing half with the reader) is simply precious.
   
   The illustrations are superb and imposing, and at the same time delightful and dreamy. Both my kids cannot turn the pages of this book in a hurry!
   
   
5. A Pair of Socks / by Stuart J. Murphy ; illustrated by Lois Ehlert
   
   I like Lois Ehlert and I picked up this book before even knowing about the MathStart series. The text is short and easy to follow, and the pictures are in bright bold colors to catch the eye.
   
   A lone striped sock wants to find its partner. It looks in the hamper, washer, dryer, the usual places and fails. It finally finds it in the dog basket.
   
   Finding the matching pairs of socks in each page makes this a fun learning experience for the little ones while honing the pattern-recognition skills. Plus, there are suggested activities at the back if we want to take it a step further.
   
   Not quite a top favorite of mine, but, since I had to read it a zillion time to Og, it managed to grow on me. The book certainly has a lot of potential as a learning tool. I am yet to explore the other MathStart books.
   
   
6. What do you do when a monster says boo? / by Hope Vestergaard ; pictures by Maggie Smith
   
   The "monster" in the book is the little sister who throws tantrums, bites, pulls hair and can generally be annoying to her older brother.
   
   Rather than reacting militantly, in anger, the book suggests positive ways to deal with such situations: "What do you do when a monster pulls hair?/Show it your teeth and pretend that you'll bite?/Forget all your manners and start a big fight? No, no NO! The best thing to do when a monster pulls hair/Is find its soft tummy and tickle it there."
   
   The repetition and rhythm, plus the bold bright pictures makes this book a fun read. The book easily appealed to Ana, even if she doesn't remember to practice it with Og when he pulls her hair or throws his truck at her.
   
   Oggie, at two, possibly didn't quite get the whole picture, but, he seems to have caught on the fact that there is no "monster" in the book and that the little girl is pretending to be one. But the "No, No, No!" part and the suggested positive action did filter through to him somehow.
   
   

George and Martha, The complete stories of two best friends

Author and Illustrator-James Marshall
Foreword by- Maurice Sendak
Publisher- Houghton Mifflin Company

George and Martha, were introduced to us by the US faction of the family and we were and are completely charmed.

Universal in appeal and simple in format, the series is a bit cheeky, a little sweet, full of humour, never pedantic. It is about two friends- down to earth, adorable hippos- George and Martha and their antics.

It maybe a much franchised and well known series in the US, but in India we are not exposed to this duo in any format. There are 35 endearing and clever episodes in this collection.

Like most good friends, George and Martha, do things together, sometimes get into a soup (literally too), squabble/ hurt each other but always make up, grow and help each other. In all this they sure know how to have fun and casually teach us a thing or two about life and friendship.

The scenes swing between indoor and outdoor settings- home situations, tea time, illness, tanning, ballet class ( imagine a hippo doing that), trips to a dentist/ beach/ hot air balloon place and so on. There is no sequence in which you have to read them and each episode is a complete story by itself as well.

The illustrations are uncluttered and evocative. It is amazing how hippos lend themselves to emotions when James Marshall's hand is at work. Notice on the cover- George has a golden tooth and a cap and Martha usually has a flower.

My daughter adores this book and it is her first step ( along with Seuss and Thumb Thumb) into reading to herself.

For the adult reader, there will be many moments which will trigger an old memory, sometimes a forgotten one. Some of those moments are tender, some riotous, some embarrassing, but all things that we cherish now and which helped strengthen our friendships back then.

This book also carries appreciations, forewords, interesting tit bits about the author – James Marshall from those author/illustrators who knew him personally- enough fodder to keep an adult glued into the making of these lovable characters and the stories.

Engaging, clever, hilarious, low on word count, deceptively simple, just plain irresistible.

Chapter Books For Early Readers Demystified

Picture books are an essential component to developing early literacy skills. One might come up with numerous adult oriented reasoning, beyond that picture books are pure fun. How else a child, who by nature is an active participant in the learning process, sits down and listens to something read to her? The illustrations in the picture books play a key role bridging the gap and provide the sensory input that rivets the child to the book.
But like everything one thing evolves in to another. Picture books eventually give way to chapter books. To ease the transition from understanding with aid to following the subject content by creating mental pictures, there are several easy reader books.

These easy readers books are classified in to different levels. In general I do not go by the age recommendation for each level. Combining age and the skill level only puts unfair pressure on the child.

Just wanted to make a list of the books we read at home. This by no means is a list of ALL early reader books. These are some books we have enjoyed at home time and again.

(1)Sometimes called pre-level as in for pre-readers. The author still relies largely on pictures. Many a times there is no story. The focus is on words. Select keywords are repeated again and again throughout the few pages of the book, supported with pictures. The sentences with keywords are simple, basic three word or two word sentences. The idea is to help the child understand the keyword, train the child to familiarize the keyword, reinforce the keyword with pictures. All this leads to the child recognizing the word, written or spoken, stand alone or in a different context.

See Pip Point series (by David Milgrim) in which the protagonists are Pip the mouse and his friend, Otto the robot. Names Pip and Otto are repeated in almost every sentence in the book. The names being phonetic are easy to read. The rest of the words are mostly sight words like ‘the’, ‘there’, ‘you’ with few rhymes like see-bee, few action words and couple of new words thrown in.

Biscuit series (by Alyssa Satin Capucilli, illlustrations by Pat Schories). The main character is an adorable puppy named Biscuit. Some pages do not have any print on them, just the pictures and the illustrations are tell-tale of what is happening in every page. “we can feed the hens Biscuit” is illustrated by the puppy’s owner, a small girl feeding the hens. Every book has a theme, a farm theme, where all animals are introduced. A school theme which talks about school and so on.

Mittens series (by Lola M. Schaefer, illustrations by Susan Kathleen Hartung). Where there is a puppy, there is a kitten and it attracts young readers all the same. The author picks a noun and verb, example a butterfly flying, and introduces prepositions that are associated with the noun and verb, example ‘the butterfly flew up’, ‘Mitten ran under the bridge’, ‘butterfly landed on a flower’ etc.

Elephant and Piggie series (by Mo Willems). These books are really very basic and with their 50+ pages can get a little tiresome on the adult reading the book, but the young audience love it.

(2)Pictures are still a bigger part of the book. There is a very simple story that can be summed up by an adult in one or two sentences. There are slightly larger sentences and lesser keyword repetition. The prime objective is to make sure that the child follows the story line.

Max And Mo series (by Patricia Lakin, Illustrated by Brian Floca) is about two hamsters(I think, may be they are some other kind of rodent pets) who live in a school in a cage. The series is about the adventures of Max and Mo. One we particularly enjoyed at home is MAX AND MO GO APPLE PICKING. After getting tired of being fed corn, Max and Mo escape their cage and have fun with the apples they find in the school.

(3)This is a flavor of what an young reader will experience in the future. There are chapters and each chapter is representative of introduction, plot and an ending. There is an index to every chapter. There are not just sentences, but paragraphs.

Mr.Putter and Tabby series (by Cynthia Rylant, illustrations by Arthur Howard) Mr.Putter is a senior citizen who lives in a neighborhood with other senior citizens. Mr.Putter finds in Tabby a companion. The stories are not just about the aches and ailments of being old and living alone, but are tasteful snippets in to the lives of old people, that evoke a myriad of feelings and makes the young readers wanting for more.

Also by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Sucie Stevenson are the Henry and Mudge series and easy read about a young boy Henry, his 180 pound dog Mudge and the adventures they share.

Cynthia Rylant (illustrated by G.Brian Karas) also has the High Rise Private Eyes series, about a boy and girl detective pair. For some reason, I found the pair to be sassy. We read about a couple of books and did not take much to the private eyes.

Amelia Bedelia (by Peggy Parish, illustrated by Lynn Sweat). Amelia Bedelia can be easily equated to our good old Suppandi. Amelia Bedelia is maid who manages to mess up every instruction given by her employers. If you tell Ameila Bedelia to clear the weeds in the garden, you must tell her ‘Unweed the garden’, for if you tell her just ‘weed the garden’, she would bring more weeds from your neighbor’s garden and lay it around in your garden. But in the end, she wins over her employers with her awesome teacakes and mouth watering cookies. She is quite a character.

Magic School Bus series by Scholastic. The level 2 books are the ones I find appropriate for the 4-6 year old age group. Mrs.Frizzle, the teacher takes her class on a ride in the magic school bus. They can travel to the past, the future, in to the human body and in to outer space and the children learn first hand how circulation works, about the dinosaurs, how snow is made etc.

Fancy Nancy series (by Jane O’ Connor, illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasner) The girls go ga-ga over Fancy Nancy may be because the protagonist is a girl. Or may be because, true to her name, Fancy Nancy is very fancy. Nancy is the fashion diva born to two plain parents. She has a chic BFF, a teacher who is always in vogue and a neighbor who can give models a run for their money, but her own parents and her sibling are so simple that they don’t even ask for sprinkles on their plain vanilla ice cream. The adventures of Nancy are about a variety of subjects like Nancy getting over her jealousy and sharing her best friend with another girl, trouble writing a book report etc. I like the fact that Fancy Nancy is always introducing new words.

“... we shout in unison. (That’s a fancy word for all together.)”

“...That makes me unique.(You say it like this: you-NEEK.)”

Young Cam Jansen series (by David.A. Adler, illustrated by Susanna Natti). Jeniffer, has a photographic memory and is nicknamed Cam, short for camera. She solves mysteries with her friends and is good at it because of her photographic memory. At thirty pages, it makes a good light read. For the young boys, David A.Adler also has the Bones series in which boy detective Bones is in charge.

There are many more like Poppleton the pig, Amanda Pig, Charlie and Lola, Nate the grate, Dick and Jane etc that we have read on and off.

(4)This is a complex form of the previous level. The shift from pictures to the written word is explicit.

Rainbow Fairies, Cam Jansen, Akimbo series by Alexander McCall Smith, books by Roald Dahl and The Magic Tree house are some examples. So far, I read these books, few chapters at a time during bed time and the girls listen.

Happy reading young readers.

Weslandia

Author: Paul Fleischman

Illustrator: Kevin Hawkes

Publisher: Candlewick

Ages: 4-9

This one I picked up at the Strand sale. It has won many awards and honours, I won't list them here. There were many copies so in case you go, get one for yourself. The printed price is $7 but it is selling for 125 bucks. Totally worth getting a copy. 

So there is this kid Wesley who's like any other elementary school kid, except that he's the very brainy types. Reminded me of our own boy genius. As with all such kind, none of his classmates are on his wavelength and he is condemned to be the target of all manner of bullying.

The last week before summer hols, his class studies the history of civilizations - as in, what and how they developed. This gives him an idea for his summer project. What the idea is is all the book is about. Get it, go on, and read it.

Okay I might as well tell you - Wesley decides to 'create' his own civilisation. He digs up a patch in the garden and lets the wind blow seeds over it. These seem like weeds but he lets them grow and soon harvests a rich crop of a sturdy plant that seems to provide virtually everything - he eats the fruit and the roots and creates clothing out of the fibre in its stems. He makes up his own number system using eight digits because the flower of the plant has eight petals, and also a new type of time-keeping device based on the sun's position. His former tormentors watch all of this and their scorn soon turns into interest and then to actually paying him to be useful in his world, which he now christens as 'Weslandia'. He extracts oil from the seeds which he discovers is an excellent bug repellant. He creates a platform from the bamboo-like stems of the plant and takes to sleeping on it to beat the summer heat, and lying on it studies the stars and renames them. He was never good at conventional sport but now makes up his own games which his foe-turned-friends struggle to learn as they require a lot of strategising. He even makes a flute and plays his own music. And in the end, he creates an ink of sorts and even his own 80-letter alphabet! The summer project report is penned down using these two. When he goes back to school, he has 'no shortage of friends'.

The illustrations are warm, bright, full of colour. There are many subtle digs at our current civilisation, all cleverly hidden in the visuals and all total chuckle-inducing.

The book is all about thinking outside the box or even thinking without one. It also demonstrates how its okay to be different and in fact its being different that leads to the blossoming of original ideas. There is much more analyzing you can do of this story but hey all I will say is that we LOVED the book. The age range is 4-9 but I bet even an older kid (defined not necessarily in terms of no. of years) will enjoy it. If you do get a copy (if you land up before me that is, I'm planning to go again and buy up all the copies there), let me know what you think!

Why am I an Only Child?

For whatever reasons, we have just one daughter, A. She is a very loving child, and loves playing with younger children. If there is a baby around, chances are A will drop whatever she had been doing and make friends with the baby. And I have seen that younger kids are very happy around her. We do know a few single child families, but most of her friends have siblings, and sometimes she gets very upset about not having one. When I see all this, I feel bad for her, but our reasons stand. So she is an only child.

WHY AM I AN ONLY CHILD?

Written by Jane Annunziata & Marc A Nemiroff

Illustrated by Margaret Scott

Published by Magination Press

Ages 4-8 years

Image: Courtesy Amazon

Eudora is a little rhino who is an only child. She does not understand why her friends all have siblings and she doesn't. She is very lonely, sad, and sometimes mad!

She wants someone so that she is not lonely. So that she can have someone to play with. So that sometimes she can be the boss. And so that she doesn't feel so very different from everybody else.

She comes to her parents with her questions.

"Why don't you give me a brother or a sister?!?
Did I do something wrong?
Don't you want MORE like ME?"

Her parents tell her that "We would like a MILLION of you." They reassure her that she is precious, and loved very much, but "all families are different."

They ask her if she can think of anything good about being an only child. Eudora thinks...and thinks...and comes up with the good things on her own. And finally concludes that "Every family has its own right size."

The book has a feel-good factor with the little rhino arriving at her answers by herself and being reassured that she is very much loved. I have used this book with A not only to help her deal with being an only child, but also to stress on the fact that all families are different.

Illustrations by Margaret Scott are worth a mention. Clear, child-like line drawings with cheerful colours without going over the top. A child could easily draw similar pictures. Suggestion: Could be used as an activity.

The authors are clinical child psychologists and the book has a very useful note by them for parents and guardians. A good book for single child families. For whatever reasons.

The Little Yellow Leaf

Title : The Little Yellow Leaf
Author and Illustrator : Carin Berger
Publisher : Greenwillow Books


Just the thought of any change elicits many emotions - the anxiety, the anticipation, the apprehension, the fear, the uncertainty… of unknown, which make it always a daunting task to accept change or get prepared for change. Most changes just happen with the course of time but just imagine for a moment, if all these changes were to happen with our consent, how many would have actually happened, perhaps just a small fraction of the actual.

This is the story of a Little Yellow Leaf during one autumn who is watching its peers float off the tree and fly past but the Little Yellow is Not Ready, it clings to its tree.

Days pass, slowly all other dry leaves gather to make huge mounds. Autumn moves on to make room for chilly weather. One after another seasons change, obediently following the cycle of nature. But every time, the Little Yellow Leaf thinks - I'm not ready, not yet. It holds onto the tree. With every change the Leaf feels its unpreparedness to take that final leap, the final jump. It is alone hanging from the tree but can not muster the courage to leave its familiar zone.

One fine day, the Little Yellow Leaf finds a companion, a Little Scarlet Leaf - another leaf holding tight to the tree. Silently they understood the inner commotion of each other, the same apprehensions, same fears, same anxiety.

Will the Little Yellow Leaf ever get ready? You must read the book to know the answer.

This book portrays the predicament of the little yellow leaf in each one of us and what role does the Little Scarlet Leaf plays in our lives to help us identify our courage and self-belief.

This book is for all age groups and a beautiful keepsake. The author and illustrator - Carin Berger is an award winning artist. The clutter-free illustrations magnificently portray the turmoil of the Little Yellow Leaf page after page. There is not a lot of text in the book but the gorgeous pictures convey everything.

Walk the Grasslands with Takuri

Title : Walk the Grasslands with Takuri
Author : Nima Manjrekar and Nandita Hazarika
Artist : Maya Ramaswamy

The book begins with an open invitation from the pygmy hog - Takuri, to take a tour with him through the place which is home for him and his friends -the exuberant, lush green grasslands which seem to spread even beyond the horizon.

The green magical grasses yet so unassuming, support innumerable life forms and are great survivors withstanding rough weathers and difficult conditions to protect the fertile top soil. The readers will be surprised to know how grasses spread and how much percentage of our breakfast comes from the grass family.

I liked the fact that Takuri introduces almost all significant categories of living organisms thriving on such grasslands - the beautiful feathered friends, the giant animals like elephants and rhinoceros, the majestic hunters, the reptiles, burrowers and dwellers and creatures as tiny as termites also find their mention here. They may seem insignificant but presence of each one of them contributes to the health and prosperity of the grasslands.

A great source of information for young children introducing them to many concepts along the way - the food chain and the variety of flora and fauna. This book is a wonderful opportunity to know more about grass, the grasslands and facts about them.

In the end Takuri touches the somber mood by bringing to notice the plight of grasslands in the hands of humans for their short-term benefits, thereby disturbing the natural cycle and balance.

He implores all of us to join hands to save the grasslands and the first step to do that is to spread the awareness about how important these beautiful grasslands are for the whole ecosystem.

The art work is magnificent, rich with beautiful details and attractive colors. This book was a pleasure to read, a treat for the eyes and mind, a book full of information presented in an extremely readable format. I would recommend it to everybody.

Harriet the Spy

HARRIET THE SPY.

Written and illustrated by Loise Fitzhugh.
Cover art by Michael Deas.
This edition published by HarperCollins.
Ages 8-13 yrs.

Image :Courtesy Amazon.

Harriet M. Welsch is a very smart 11 yr old. She has a way with words, and follows a "spy-route" everyday after school, complete with a notebook in which she jots down every little thing she observes. Even at school, she is ruthless about what she writes down about her classmates, her best friends Sport and Janie included. There is a raw truthfulness to her observations, the kind children indulge in when they are not used to guilding of any kind. She is amply encouraged by her nanny, "Ole Golly," who has realised the potential in her charge. She encourages her to observe, analyse and write down about everything that she sees or hears. The first stepping stone to becoming a great writer. Harriet does not quite look at it in those terms, but does have "becoming a writer" in her list of aspirations. Ole Golly herself is an avid reader, and quotes often and at every possible occasion.

Then one day, she leaves to get married. Harriet is, in her opinion, now old enough to take care of herself. Soon after that, disaster strikes, when Harriet loses her notebook in a game of tag. Her classmates read aloud all the uncomplimentary truths about themselves, and boycott her. Harriet reacts like a typical pre-teen by getting back at them by playing some nasty tricks, writing even more ugly things in another book, not going to school and behaving very badly at home with her worried parents, who do not understand how to handle their daughter. Her notebook is taken away at school, when the matter is noticed by the teachers. That really brings matters to a head.

"She didn't care anymore about signing her name, and she got no pleasure from the work she did, but she did it. Everything bored her. She found that when she didn't have a notebook it was hard for her to think. The thoughts came slowly, as though they had to squeeze through a tiny door to get to her, whereas when she wrote, they flowed out faster than she could put them down. She sat very stupidly with a blank mind until finally 'I feel different' came slowly into her head.''

Harriet rebels and blocks everyone out, including her parents. She is like a cornered animal, hitting out at anyone and anything. Her world has turned on its head and nothing makes sense anymore. All she wants is to get Ole Golly back and cries for her in her sleep. Her parents both work, and till now have not really been 'hands-on parents', leaving that to Ole Golly. The crisis forces them to take a good hard look at the situation.

To their credit, her parents do the right thing and decide to get help before matters escalate. They set up an appointment with a psychologist, who tells them that nothing is actually wrong with Harriet, and that she is actually an extraordinarily intelligent and articulate young lady, whose talent for observation and penmanship is to be nurtured and channelised, and not quashed.

So what happens next? How does Harriet get back all that she has lost? Does she really get it all back or does something change? What happens vis-a-vis Ole Golly? What about her friends and classmates? Does she make up for the hurtful things that she has said and done? What does she learn from the whole thing?

There are some wonderful things that are written to Harriet by Ole Golly in a letter that she sends her. Knowing that Harriet can be painfully truthful, she writes, "Little lies that make people feel better are not bad, like thanking someone for a meal they made even if you hated it, or telling a sick person they look better when they don't,.....Remember that writing is to put love in the world, not to use against your friends. But to yourself you must always tell the truth."

Another aspect that the writer has dealt with, which is like a sub-plot is Harriet's puzzling over 'matters of the heart' after she realises that Old Golly has a boy-friend. She tries to speak to her mother about it, but does not get a satisfactory answer.

That evening, after feeling that Old Golly was behaving very unlike herself, she wrote in her notebook, "There is more to this thing of love than meets the eye. I am going to have to think about this a great deal but I don't think it will get me anywhere. I think maybe they're all right when they say there are some things I won't know anything about until I'm older. But if it makes you like to eat all kinds of wurst (when you don't really like them) I'm not sure I'm going to like this." Very astute and very articulate for an eleven year old.

A well written book. A clear look at the way a very bright 11yr old's mind works. A very good potrayal of the value of keeping communication lines open with our children so that they feel safe coming to you with their troubles when they have any. However insignificant by the parents' standards.

I had to read the book to my daughter A for a few pages till she caught on and read the rest by herself. She evidently gave the book a lot of thought since she came to me with quite a few questions a few days after she finished reading. This one is both for the parent and for the child.

Crossposted here.

Younguncle comes to town

YOUNGUNCLE COMES TO TOWN.


Written by Vandana Singh.
Illustrated by Manjunath Kamath.
Published by Young Zubaan & Puffin books.
Ages 6+ read aloud, 9+ read alone.

Image: Courtesy Penguin books India.

We were city dwellers as children, and would visit our native town during summer vacations. Those were carefree days, when all we did was eat, sleep and play. Although trucks, cars, two-wheelers, and cattle are seen all-together on our city roads too, the mix is more eclectic even today in small towns and villages. Travelling to this place was an adventure in itself. Roads in the 70s and 80s were terrible and travelling on these by a bus always a very bumpy affair.

My memories of the town itself is of a bustling place, very dusty, noisy and crowded. At least the bus-station and market place was. There were shops selling every variety of stuff-- vegetables, steel shops, sweet-meat sellers, shops of clothes. Cows, chewing cud, chose to stand right in the middle of busy streets, and no amount of honking at them disturbed their placidity. Where there were trees, there were plenty of birds and monkeys creating a racket. Sometimes a lone monkey or a group of them tried to steal food from some unattended stall, leading to a chase with whatever the stall owner found at hand to throw at the monkeys to scare them away. One does come across such towns many times during one's travels around India. These towns are quintessentially the same with minor variations of language or the dressing style particular to the region.

Vandana Singh's book is placed in one such un-named town in North India. The flavour of the town has been brought forth with her effortless story-telling. It is an unobtrusive but unmistakable character in the book.

Younguncle is everyone's dream uncle, with the somewhat unusual name. Legend has it that he had been kidnapped by monkeys in his childhood, tossed around by them, but returned unharmed. Everyone loves him, and when he comes to our town to stay with Sarita (age 9), Ravi (age 7) and the baby, things begin to happen. He is enterprising, intrepid and a wonderful story-teller. There never is a dull moment with him around.

Whether it is when he tries to hold down a job and cannot because he "took his jobs too seriously."

Whether it was when he got a former-pickpocket-now-in-a-honest-trade to help him outwit the real pickpocketeers from troubling the people at the railway station.

Whether it was when he helped his unmarried sister get out of a boring matrimonial alliance without actually seeming to do anything about it.

Whether it was when he helped the local milkman Ramu get his beloved cow Janaki, back from the clutches of the henchmen of the dreaded landlord Gobarmal, by using the unwitting help of the monkeys on the trees.

Whether it was helping his Ancient Uncle get his prize horse Hira, back from the clutches of the same Gobarmal, freeing the local bus-driver's beloved Renu from slavery at Gobarmal's place at the same time, and playing Cupid.

Whether it was helping the ghost in the tree, Bakvaasnath, get back at the landlord Gobarmal, whose forefathers had swindled him of his money.

And the most unbelievable escapade of all, one which requires a bit of suspension of disbelief from us--when he overpowers the old tiger in the sanctuary by gaining its trust by feeding it...hold your breath...palak paneer, rice pilaf, chicken curry, mutton curry and parathas, and gets its tail-hair for the baby who has asked for it as a present!

The characters also have wonderful names. Gobarmal is the dreaded landlord. "Gobar" in Hindi means cowdung. Bakvaasnath is the ghost on the tree who keeps wailing "Giiiive me myyy money!" "Bakvaas" in Hindi means nonsense. We also have a monkey who wears Younguncle's shirt and tries to read his book upside down, the baby whose mission it is in life to eat Younguncle's shirt, the love-lorn local bus driver who 'drives like a maniac' on bumpy roads and is looking for his lost lady-love, a busful of people who try to set up Younguncle's matrimonial alliance with a fellow-traveller's marriageable daughter, and Ancient Aunty who tries to bully Ancient Uncle. A lovable bunch.

You will have to read how all this comes about in Vandana Singh's delightful book. The book lends itself wonderfully to reading aloud. We had a lot of giggles and belly-shaking laughter at home while reading it. With many discussions about how things were in the days when I was a young child.

The book has this said by none other than Ursula K Le Guin, "Enchanting." That should say it all!

Crossposted here.