A Full Hand

A Full Hand

Author & Illustrator: Thomas F. Yezerski

Once in a while I meet a parent who would roll their eyes and condescendingly acknowledge the

quality of the pictures in a book and quickly add - "Too costly!". If they are a bit more aggressive, they would add - "What is the point?" or "What is there to learn?".

A few interested parents ask me about books for children and as Ranjani and I launch into a great exposition of picture books, they tune out and after a few moments of hearing our high-energy talk, they quietly puncture our balloons with a question - "Are there any books that are educational? These books look nice, but I want my kid to learn something?". I feel like saying - "But, what about fun? - Can't books be just fun. Would it not let the little ones' imagination soar? Would you not like to see the wonder and a gleam in their eyes? Is there no other type of education, other than ones we learn in school?" But, I usually keep quiet knowing it would not make any difference as the priorities for these parents are different. They may be right.

But, once in a while I come across a picture book that would satisfy every kind of parent and their kids. A book that has some excellent illustrations, simple and clear writing, an engaging story and great traditional educational value. A Full Hand is one such book.

It is a story of Asa, a nine year old kid, helping his father haul coal through various canals, the highways of nineteenth-century America. Father's mule driver had quit that day and father needs Asa's help as a mule driver. He is excited and a bit apprehensive too. As he helps his father with mules, they guide the boats with coal stacked on them over the various canals for many days. The ending is sudden and almost tragic.

I was a bit peeved with the ending. It surprised me that the father overcame their tragedy and brushed off his worries, as a new day dawns, with remarkable ease. But, then I did not realise at that moment that the poor man had to move on quickly in order to keep pace with his life.

We learn that canals were the mode of transportation for everything during 19th century America and how the canals were used to carry everything from coal to people. The canals climbed mountains and crossed rivers using various inventions like locks, inclined plans and aqueducts. We get a sense of the old-America. An America where canals were the life-line - an old avatar of modern day freeways in water.

The illustrations are double paged and done in water colors. All the paintings seem a bit impressionistic and most of them are colored with a orange tinge - indicating the autumn season and approaching winter.

The book makes me wonder about the interesting pictures books can be written with Indian history as the back ground. Think of a fictional story set during the time Sanchi Stupa was built or boy laying the final brick while building the Grand Anaicut in Kallanai 2000 years back. There is a vast amount of stories to be told with history as a background. We have not even scratched the surface of it in Indian Children's book publishing. There are a few good writers like Subhadra Sen Gupta, Devika Rangachari, Sidhartha Sarma and others who use history as a background to write their stories. Here is hoping to see many such books in the future.

What About Me?: Twelve Ways To Get Your Parent's Attention (Without Hitting Your Sister)

What About Me? Twelve Ways To Get Your Parent's Attention (Without Hitting Your Sister)
by Eileen Kennedy-Moore
illustrated by Mits Katayama

Ages 4-8

I wonder if there is a parent out there who hasn't, at some point in their parenthood, snapped an impatient, "Not now, I am busy" or "Please be quiet, baby is napping" or something similar. And then felt a bit guilty about it, knowing that all their child is asking for is undivided attention reassuring them of their love.

What is a child to do when parents seem too busy with household chores or office work or the new baby? They could - throw tantrums, hit their sibling...

-OR-

they could do any or all of the dozen things this book mentions, to get their parents' attention in a positive way. This book offers simple and direct actions children can adopt to feel included, to feel appreciated, while competing for their parents' time and indulgence.

The very first one - You could watch what they are doing and ask, "Can I help?" - immediately appealed to me. And so did the others all the way - teaching the kids to share, help, sing/dance, show what they can do by themselves, even invite parents to play and so on.

The book asserts, Busy or not, they will stop to give you a smile and say they love you too which is a powerful message for the kids. Especially because usually the motivation behind their rather unpleasant behavior is to get noticed and get a response from the parents.

As author and clinical psychologist Dr.Kennedy-Moore mentions in this interview, when children ask for attention in appropriate ways, parents are more likely to respond positively. The book came about as a simple collection of kind and creative ways for her son to get her attention.

Many an impatient drill-sergeant tone and exasperated huffs can be avoided by parents if they provide the tools for their children to ask for what they want in an acceptable and appropriate way, making it almost impossible not to be suitably responsive and reassuring.

And that is the core message of this book: to equip the children with options to express their needs without resorting to undesirable/unpleasant/unacceptable behavior, simply because they didn't know how else to go about it.

I liked the simple and straightforward actions suggested for the kids which they can start incorporating immediately, and can continue to employ with gentle reminders, if necessary, from parents.

The rhyming text and accompanying illustrations make it quite easy to follow along even for the resident two year old.  
"Offer to share - even give Sister half 
Make silly faces so Baby will laugh"

Suggestion Number 10 is a bit Utopian in my personal opinion as it says, "Offer to clean with glee", but that's just me... especially the "with glee" part :)

Let's face it, every parent, every person for that matter, juggles so many responsibilities these days that there is not going to be these picture-perfect ideal moments all the time where each request is made with care and is responded with sensitivity. And the book doesn't offer to solve the very real issue of children's behavior. But, the dozen suggestions for the children that the book presents seem practical and affirming that it won't hurt to try.

Kaka and the Mouse

from The Mouse Stories- A Kardi Tales Junior Audio book
Written by Pankaja Srinivasan

Art by Malavika P. C.

Narrated by Karthik Kumar ( Evam)

Music by Anil Srinivasan

Karadi Rhymes were the first rhymes that our daughter, Anushka was introduced to as a baby. The same applies to our second born, Aditi. Five years of being Karadi fans and they still entertain us. I was even more eager to listen/ look at this audiobook series because two of our friends from B-School worked on it.

The protagonist of the series is a mouse. Despite being unwelcome in most homes, mice are often the unlikely heroes in children's fiction. Be it Mickey or Jerry or more recently Ratatouille, mice are often endearing and always victorious.

Each episode in this Karadi series, comprises of familiar tales but with a twist introduced into them.

In this one, The Thirsty Crow has to be doubly ingenious with the introduction of a mouse fighting for its life, in the pot of water the crow finds.

While I would shudder to find anything in my water, this Kaka is accommodating and helpful and the mouse is mighty resourceful and persistent. After various valiant attempts, they succeed and the adventure ends on a happy high.

The music is lovely and the narration sounds very Indian- English. Easy to relate to and to follow.

The illustrations, the colours are dramatic and very energetic. The crow with its toucan like beak is very expressive indeed.

The fonts are engaging, filled with onomatopoeiac words, often adding a sense of drama, making for easy and enjoyable reading. After a couple of times, Anushka wanted to read the book herself, rather than with the CD!

The others tales in the series include The lion and the mouse, Bablu and the mouse , Kutty and the......yes, you got it!

At least a Fish

Author: Anushka Ravishankar

Illustrations: Shilo Shiv Suleman

Publisher: Scholastic India

Age group: 6- 10 years

What do you do when you want to adopt a puppy but your parents say no? Do you

a) get fish instead - three boring fish that can't wag their tails, lick your face, or be cuddled?

b) get three boring fish, then try to liven up their lives with exotic names and new food, or

c) enlist the help of a motley crew of friends to try and get that puppy anyway?



Well - all three, if you are Ana, star of this hilarious book by Anushka Ravishankar, the first of a series of Ana and Zain books. For Ananya Bopanna (Ana for short) has her heart set on a puppy, which leads her to respond to an ad in a newspaper, even as she struggles to bond with Socrates, Plato and Aristotle ( that's right, the fish).


Meanwhile, across town, Dr Nirmala Joshi worries about finding a home for Buddhu, an adorable puppy with a strange predicament - he thinks he's a fish!


A serendipitous meeting in a bookshop does bring Ana and Buddhu together, but not before

a) the famed Tragedy Queen of P. K. Medical has unleashed her histrionics on an unsuspecting salesclerk,

b) Ana's friend Zain has survived being nearly drowned - first in filthy pond water and then in his sister's awful perfume, and

c) Beena- one half of the annoying twin duo Meena-Beena -has a close encounter with the mysterious dragonof the swimming pool!



Don't you just love a book teeming with distinctive characters, each one begging to be the star of a series all their own? This certainly is one - the Imp and I finished this book in one sitting, but have returned to it several times since. The author has been a big favourite at home, ever since we first laid our hungry eyes on a copy of 'The Fivetongued Firefanged Folkadotted Dragon Snake'. With 'Atleast..' she does it again - deftly capturing a child's view of her universe with all of its attendant anxieties and pleasures.

Also worth mentioning are the illustrations - trademark Shilo Suleman, with their quirky, saucer-eyed characters and layered collages.


Image courtesy: Scholastic India

Too Many Bananas

Author - Noni (Pen name of the writer)

Illustrators - Angie and Upesh

Publisher - Pratham Books

Age group - 3 - 6 years

"Too many bananas" is a heart warming and a simple story, which appealed to all of us at home. We were at our library the last weekend for a story telling session followed by Origami based on the book - Grandpa Cherry blossom and other folk tales from Japan. Pratham books had organised the event and there were quite a number of their titles for display and sale that day. In my eagerness, I started picking the books that I was familiar with, as gifts. Meanwhile Sooraj had picked this book and finished reading it. He said that he liked the book so much that he wanted me to buy it. "But if you have read it already, why do you want to buy it? " asked me with a big load of books in my hand. He insisted and I gave in, without looking so much at the book ! It was a good thing because it turned out that it charmed each of us in it's own way.

It is the story of Sringeri Srinivas, who grows so many bananas on his farm, that he distributes them generously to everyone around him. Then comes a day when people get so fed up of the bananas that they say "No" to him when he offers ! Poor Srinivas...what would he do with his rich harvest of bananas ? He then decides to go to Doddaooru and seek advice from the Farmer's Centre there. He gets a brilliant idea and comes back a happy man :-). He is no longer bothered about the distribution of the bananas in his village. He does not force them on to anyone and people are surprised now. They wonder as to what could be happening with this man.

One fine day his neighbour Shivanna (the very neighbour who refused the offer of fruits initially !) sheepishly comes and asks him for 108 bananans for a pooja at home. The priest had insisted on that. Sringeri Srinivas nonchalantly waves him away saying that he would help him out - though he doesn't say how he would, as his bananas have been cut already. The worried Shivanna as well as, we the readers, wonder what Srinivas is upto. Will he keep up his promise and how would he manange ?

Pick up the book to find the nice ending to the story !

The story line is simple and beautiful; the sentences short and easily understandable for little kids. What I loved was the usage of words and pictures culturally relevant to the state in which the story is set(Karnataka). Sringeri is the name of a famous temple town of Karnataka, which is home to the Sharada temple. Shivanna is a common name here in Karnataka. Dodda- ooru in Kannada literally means means "big town" ! There is complete harmony in the pictures and words. The illustrations are very striking and expressive and it is clear that a lot of effort has gone into them. The funny facial expressions evoked lot of giggles ! Both my son and husband were completely bowled over by the the colourful pictures in the book.

We had earlier read another Sringeri Srinivas book online and enjoyed it a lot. I think that's the reason my son went for this book in the first place !

Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi

Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi -  A Math Adventure

Author: Cindy Neuschwander

Illustrator: Wayne Geehan

Ages: 6-12

Quick - what is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter? A number called 'pi' you say? Did you just go back to your middle school days when you first encountered this very interesting number?! Now how about a medieval fantasy around the concept, complete with a dragon and knights, and one that will make your kid chuckle and chortle, like it did to mine?! 

Radius and his father Sir Cumference are eating lunch when suddenly the father's stomach starts to burn. Radius runs to the castle to get help from the doctor who, it so happens, is not in. Radius takes the wrong (as he discovers later) cure back which turns the father into a dragon much to their huge shock!

Radius runs back to the castle to get help again. The king's soldiers also notice the dragon and send for knights to deal with him. Radius rushes to his mother Lady Di of Ameter and tells her the whole story. Together they set out to turn Sir Cumference back to a knight before any damage is done. Radius goes back to the doctor's chambers where after much searching he chances upon a carafe which says:

Measure the middle and circle around

Divide so a number can be found

Every circle great and small

The number is the same for all

It's also the dose, so be clever,

Or a dragon he will stay..

Forever.

Radius ponders over it and decides to check with Geo of Metry and his brother Sym, who are carpenters. They are making a wheel with spokes, which sets him thinking further. On the way back he bumps into his cousin who is baking pies. He takes some strips of dough and arranges them like spokes of a wheel on the pie. Then he takes more strips of the same length and measures the rim of the pie. He finds that he needs three strips and a bit more than an eighth more.

He goes back to Geo's workshop and checks several wheels of different sizes and finds that the rim is always about 31/7 the length of the spoke. He checks again at home with an onion ring, a basket, a bowl and a round of cheese. 

After all the excitement of the discovery, Radius falls into an exhausted sleep. He wakes up to find that it is morning and rushes to where his father is. The dragon is lying in a circle. Radius measures the diameter and the outside of the dragon circle. All this while the knights are closing in upon them. Radius calculates the ratio to be the same - about 22/7. He spoons out three and a seventh spoonfuls of the medicine from the carafe and as the knights are about to pounce upon him, the dragon gulps the potion down and changes back to his human self!

There is much cheering around and they all return to the castle triumphantly. When Sir Cumference learns that his son discovered the magic number thanks to pies, he declares that the number would be called 'pi'. The Metry brothers, Geo and Sym then present Radius with a drawing compass and wish him many more fruitful discoveries concerning circles. Much merry-making happens during the celebration, which lasts, you guessed it - 3 days, 3 hours and 24 minutes!

Incidentally, there are four more tales of the valiant Radius and his adventures in the many lands of Mathematical Concepts. Do look out for them and join in the merry-making!

Image Courtesy

Listening to Poetry

Title : Listening to Poetry
Publisher : Charkha Audiobooks (an imprint of Karadi Tales Company Pvt. Ltd.)

"What is poetry? How does one define poetry? Is it a bunch of words put together that rhyme? Is it a feeling expressed? Is it a short piece of imaginative writing laid out in lines, sometimes to rhyme, sometimes not? "

The book begins with this set of questions and you start wondering how is poetry actually defined and while you are trying to figure that out, there are some definitions that have been given by some great poets like Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge and you start nodding along the description of a poem - how true. Wordsworth puts it as "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings".
What I personally like about poetry is its flow like a river where the words are so convincingly used to describe the essence sometimes subtly sometimes not and we keep wondering how could the words bring such range of emotions and feelings.

'Listening to Poetry' is a set of two books bringing out a wonderful potpourri of timeless poems by some greatest poets of all times. We have the first book and the first poem is 'Palanquin Bearers' by Sarojini Naidu, a very short poem but so very gracefully brings out the delicate nature and handling of a palanquin and emotions of a bride inside it. Do not want to miss the opportunity to write a few lines from this poem here:

"she sways like a flower in the wind of our song;
She skims like a bird on the foam of a stream;
She floats like a laugh from the lips of a dream"

Some light verses like "The Duck and the Kanagaroo" bring the lively interludes to the otherwise very thought stirring poems. The Duck is bored of its little pond and wants to see the world hopping with Kangaroo on its back. What all conditions are set forth by the Kangaroo and how the Duck manages to satisfy all these conditions, is hilarious.

How can we have a book on poetry and not have any mention of Rabindranath Tagore or William Shakespeare.

Rabindranath Tagore's - "Open Thine Eyes and See Thy God" the famous poem which manages to stir the inner emotions every time I read it. I marvel at the ease and the flow with which he puts the words together to awaken and to feel the presence of God in the common man who is toiling hard in sun or in rain.

"He is with them in sun and in shower
And His garment is covered with dust
….
Meet him and stand by him in toil and in sweat of thy brow."

William Shakespeare's "All the World's a Stage" reiterates and reinforces the fact that we are mere actors on the stage and the supreme entity directs all the scenes and decides the entry and exit of each actor on this stage.

My personal favourite is "Teach me to Listen, Lord" by Anonymous. Simply an incredible piece of verse. Just a little sample from this poem-

"Teach me to listen, Lord
To those far from me
The whisper of the hopeless
The plea of the forgotten
The cry of the anguished.
…
To myself,
Help me to be less afraid
To trust the voice inside
In the deepest part of me."

There are 14 poems in each book and the likes of P.B.Shelley, W.B.Yeats, Robert Frost and Edward Lear are gracing the books by their presence through the verses here.

The books have companion CDs and the poems are recited by stage actors - Naseeruddin Shah, Gareth Armstrong, Shernaz Patel and Dhritiman Chaterji. It is an attempt to "resurrect the power of spoken poetry bringing back to life sheer pleasure of listening to verse" and what a pleasure it is!! Listening to poetry is a unique experience and must not be missed when the poems are such gems and the performers are of international fame and repute.

A brilliant masterpiece to own and to cherish for all times.

Zelda and Ivy

Zelda and Ivy
by Laura McGee Kvasnosky

Ages 4-8

Zelda, the older (fox) sister is wily, spunky, and bossy. Ivy, the younger, plays along, suitably gullible and charmingly indulgent. The book has three short stories, episodes so-to-speak, in the life of the sisters.

First episode starts off with Zelda egging Ivy on to progressively difficult tricks on the swing, declaring, "Behold, The Fabulous Ivy on the Flying Trapeze", until Ivy could barely hang on and falls off the swing. As she starts to cry, Zelda's comforting, "Don't worry, I have trouble with that trick too" rings tender and sweet, despite our knowledge that Zelda orchestrated the fall in the first place.

The second episode struck a distinct chord with me especially as Zelda decides to make-over Ivy's fluffy tail. Just substitute the tail with luxurious long hair and this could be two little girls, one taking charge of the other's locks, styling and cutting on a whim, just because she can. No malice. Just something to do, as it can be done. Of course, Zelda carries on with the cutting and sprucing up of Ivy's tail, all the while leaving the promise of getting hers done by Ivy hanging, but never really committing to anything, until, at the end, when Ivy asks, "Shall I doozy up your tail?", she quickly swishes her tail away with, "Maybe some other time." Just brilliant.

The last episode was the warmest of all. Zelda points to crayon dust from Ivy's coloring and states, "Magic fairy dust. If you put this under your pillow and dream of your wish, it will come true.", with the confidence of authority that older siblings are blessed with.

Just when we think Zelda has taken it a bit too far, feeling a tad bit sorry for Ivy, we find out that Ivy wishes for a baton exactly like Zelda's. "I will dream of twirling and marching, just like you", Ivy drips with admiration, and goes to sleep. But, Zelda can't sleep. She agonizes over Ivy's wish, in her own way, and does the only thing a loving older sister can do: places her very own baton under Ivy's pillow!

Imagine Ivy's thrill to find her magic fairy dust dream-wish come true next morning! Of course, Ivy being a shrewd little girl soon realizes what Zelda has done, but not one to let on, she offers to share her baton with Zelda, feeling generous. "Thanks", says Zelda, "I am the oldest, so I will go first", thus staking her claim to her baton given away in a moment of weakness.

Not having grown up with sisters, the dynamics always intrigues me. Surely the age gap between the siblings influence the relationship dynamics, and it seems like Zelda cannot be that much older than Ivy. Zelda's seeming leadership and Ivy's accommodating role of a vassal are so perfectly captured in these three charming episodes.

It took a while for Ana to actually read the nuances in the relationship. She seemed worried that Zelda is tricking Ivy about magic fairy dust. She didn't understand why Zelda had to give up her baton to Ivy. But, after a few reads and a few discussions based on her dynamics with Oggie, Ana began to see: the way she grabs an uninteresting toy away from Oggie simply because he loves it so... the way she screams at him and watches him convulse with sobs and then hugs and kisses him tenderly trying to explain to her bewildered brother that she was just teasing him... the way she sits on his fire truck egging him on to push her when all he wants is to ride it himself... all of this seals the bond, even if it seems otherwise.

The illustrations complement the narration well. Simple lines and bright colors make them eye-catching, while tight frames focus our attention on the action. Ana pored over the objects in the girls' room, their yard (especially the birdbath in the front yard and the tree swing in the back), their bunk beds, even the little dolly that seemed like a miniature Ivy lying on Ivy's bed.

There are half a dozen books in the series as far as I have looked, maybe more. We have been working our way through a couple, in no particular order - The Boy Next Door and One Christmas - and it still comes through as quite charming.

Any time I discover a wonderful author or illustrator, I've leaned towards checking out more of their books. So, I go through phases with my kids, where we read as many books as we can by one author/illustrator before we move on. It helps in some ways, especially if the author/illustrator we are focusing on has distinct and easily identifiable style.

WE ARE ALL BORN FREE, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Pictures

After WW2, the United Nations was set up. This body drew up a Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states the reasons why it has become important to safeguard Human Rights all over the world, which had seen the horrors of genocide in the Holocaust. It then goes on to list those rights.

Amnesty International was established in 1961 to regulate the implementation of human rights. As wikipedia puts it, "AI draws attention to human rights abuses and campaigns for compliance with international laws and standards. It works to mobilise public opinion to exert pressure on governments that perpetrate abuses."

This is a book published by Tara books in India in association with Amnesty International, and under licence from Frances Lincoln Children's Books. Cover page image taken here is of the original international edition. No image is available for the Tara Books edition, which is, however, available at bookstores and at Flipkart.

Image Courtesy Amnesty International

WE ARE ALL BORN FREE
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Pictures.

Published by Tara books.
Ages: Can be read by ages 8+, but as it says, "it is for children from the sge of 12 onwards that this book offers the maximum rewards."

It is in essense the same as the international edition, except for a foreword and an afterword with a note for Parents and Educators by V. Geetha and Gita Wolf of Tara books. These give us an idea of how the book may be used, the concept of Human Rights, the history of the UN and this declaration, and its relevance locally, in the Indian context. There is also a discussion on how the illustrations can be interpreted in the context of the Article that they highlight. And how this can be applied to what we see around us.

The Articles themselves are worded in a simpler, more child friendly and more identifiable terms.
For eg., Article 1 & 2 state:

"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

"Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty."

This is stated in the book as:

We are all born free and equal.
We all have our own thoughts and ideas.
We should all be treated in the same way.

These rights belong to everybody,
Whatever our differences.

The book is a collage of sorts, with 30 internationally acclaimed artists known for their illustrations in children's books and picture books contributing. I was delighted to find old favourites like John Birmingham, Polly Dunbar, Nicholas Allan, Axel Scheffler, Bob Graham, Chris Riddell and Marcia Williams, among others.

They are from all corners of the globe- UK, Sweden, Argentina, South Africa, France, Austria, Japan, Canada, Zimbabwe, USA, Brazil, South Korea, Australia, Ireland. This makes the book a wonderful opportunity to study their various styles too. The illustrations are full page, sometimes double spread.

I think that this is one of those books that should be introduced to everyone. The one negative point is its price, which at Rs 240, is not very affordable. But surely, each school can have a copy? Maybe it can be brought out in a more affordable edition without the high quality paper that this one uses, but retaining all the other features?

Take a look at this video for a good look inside the book.

Crossposted here.

Ivy+Bean

Ivy + Bean
by Annie Barrows
illustrated by Sophie Blackall

Ages 4-8

There's something about unlikely alliances leading to lasting friendships that appeal to the young and old alike.

Ivy + Bean is one such chapter book series where we not only meet the two young girls with diametrically opposite personalities, but, we learn that by recognizing and embracing the seemingly obvious differences we open ourselves up to adventurous moments and beautiful friendships.

Ivy is the quiet sort who sits on her front steps with a book. Nevermind if that book happens to be on witchcraft. Bean is not a stereotypical girl her age. She could be considered a wild child, defiant and difficult, always up to something.

Bean has an older sister she doesn't like. Not because the said older sister is necessarily evil, but, Bean seems to think so.

And, Ivy, the lonesome girl across the street, who fancies herself a practicing witch, is certainly not Bean's "type", even though her mom is pushing for this friendship.

As the author says in her Ivy and Bean website, "...people with great ideas need people who can put those ideas into action. For Ivy and Bean, their differences mean that they have more fun together than they could ever have separately. It also means that, together, they do more wacky things than any one kid could ever dream up. The Ivy and Bean books are about the adventures—and disasters—created by this unlikely team."

In Book 1, we learn about the circumstances that lead to the forging of their reluctant yet inevitable friendship. Naturally, Bean believes looking the part of a witch is as important as knowing to cast the spells, and proceeds to give Ivy the necessary make-over. Events surrounding their first meeting, leading up to their plan to cast a dancing spell to cure the bossiness of Bean's sister, makes for a funny and quick read in the first book of the series.

There are over half a dozen books in this series. We've read the first three and my five year old daughter likes them. Characters perhaps aren't necessarily richly developed to etch them in our minds, but, through their interactions and escapades, we learn more about the girls' likes and dislikes and how they see the world around them.

The simple black and white illustrations serve as a teaser, much like in many chapter books, where transitional readers not only enjoy matching the illustration with the events unfolding on that page in text, but also in deriving/defining/refining the characters' personalities depicted therein, chuckling, even rolling, with laughter as they read on.

The books are a quick read, packed with fast-unfolding events that sometimes border on the outrageous, keeping the young readers engaged. While mischief and mayhem invariably abound, their guileless moxie, not to mention their independence and imagination (despite the inclination to daredevilry), is sure to warm the hearts.

Monsterology

The Monsterology Handbook - A Practical Course in Monsters

Dr. Ernest Drake - Author

Dugald A Steer - Editor

Various Illustrators

It is not often that we hear statements from a reluctant reader at home saying - "This is the best book that I have ever read". "My favourite book" and so on. Monsterology is one such book that has got a big enthusiastic welcome at home. Being a big fan of fantasy genre, it brought a big smile on me too.

The book is a basic preparatory handbook by Dr. Ernest Drake of Sanctuary of Fabulous Beasts, St. Leonard's Forest to understand and learn about various monsters. This is like Course 101 for understanding monsters. At end of the 3 month course, one would be provided a provisional Monsterological Licence. This handbook does not deal with the most fabulous of creatures - the dragons. There is a separate course for understanding and rearing dragons.

You, the reader, would be excused if would want to take a break and laugh/snort aloud now.

What is not there to enjoy and love in a book that begins like that.

It is a mock-non-fiction book (as a review in Amazon mentions) that helps you to identify various fabulous monsters that human mind has been able to cook up over ages. Almost every page is a big laugh-aloud for an adult. One could learn various cures from how to treat a unicorn's horn rot to ice fleas for an Yeti. There is also a section on how to distinguish monsters from false beasts like the Sea Bishop, Minotaur etc., that some charlatans make up to fool the public. It ends with a wonderful beast identification chart.

Although I enjoyed it a lot, as a parent I was a bit skeptical if the kid at home would take it a bit too seriously. There is a fine difference between loving fantasy and believing in them. Thankfully, when queried my son understood almost subconsciously that it was a just a fun book and not an actual non-fiction book.

It has some fine illustrations done in sepia tones by various artistes. A lovely book that was immensely enjoyed by both me and our 8 year old. If you or your kids are into fantasy, love making up fantastical stories and make up your monsters - this is definitely the book for you.

Stories from popular rhymes

When my daughter A was 2 1/2 yr old, I got home two books from the library. She already knew quite a few nursery rhymes by then, and I brought these home without really looking at the text. I thought that since they were board books with full page illustrations, she would enjoy them.

I was wrong! She didn't just enjoy them, she loved them. She was thrilled with them, and frankly, so were we. As these were not mere renditions of the old nursery rhymes. These were complete stories in themselves, in rhyme. Tickling all our love of verse. With wonderful, full page illustrations. 

MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB

Written and illustrated by Iza Trapani.

Published by Charlesbridge Publishing.

Ages 2-5yrs.

What happens when Mary's little lamb who follows her to school decides that it wants some time away from Mary and explore the farm? It lets out the horse from its barn, which decides to go charging onto the goose and the cow, which scare the lamb so much that it falls into the water trough, giving the old barn cat a scare, setting it among the hens which scatter in fright.

In the middle of this fuss,

A grumpy goat came by

And gave the lamb a mean old butt

Straight up into the sky.

Into the pigpen fell the lamb

And got completely stuck,

Then all the way from head to hoof

Was covered up in muck. 

So how, now is the lamb to get unstuck? What happens next? How does it get back to Mary? That makes up the rest of the story.

THE ITSY BITSY SPIDER

Written and illustrated by Iza Trapani.

Published by Charlesbridge Publishing.

Ages 2-5yrs.

Here, our itsy bitsy spider isn't satisfied just by getting up the water-spout. It climbs up the spout again, and gets right into the house. She moves around the kitchen, the bathroom and the parlour in search of a place to spin her web. Unfortunately, we have a mouse and a cat in turn chase it out of the house again. So what does itsy bitsy spider do now? It proceeds to climb up a tree, meeting with a few more adventures and animals along the way.

The itsy bitsy spider

Climbed up without a stop

She spun a silky web

Right at the very top.

She wove and she spun

And when her web was done,

The itsy bitsy spider

Rested in the sun.

We were so enamoured of the books that we bought our own copies. Although the age group is stated as 2-5, these can be enjoyed by older children, too, when they learn to read on their own. So can grown-ups.

Iza Trapani has written similar books based on many other familiar rhymes and songs. I am a Little Teapot, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Here we go round the Mulberry Bush, and many more. All equally enjoyable.

Images: Courtesy Charlesbridge Publishing. 

How I learned Geography

How I learned Geography
by Uri Shulevitz

Ages 4-8

"When war devastated the land, buildings crumbled to dust.

Everything we had was lost, and we fled empty-handed."


With such a tragic start, I wondered if I should read it to my five-year-old daughter at first. But, the compact and child-friendly text in first person narration, the magnificent illustrations, the overall optimism, not to mention the snatched moments in the little boy's life that possibly shaped him to become the person he is today made it impossible for me not to read it to her and see how she receives it.

The author, Uri Shulevitz, was born in Poland in 1935. Just a few years later in 1939, when he was four, events surrounding the German aerial bombardment of Warsaw led his family to flee Poland. This book is an autobiographical tale, presenting a tiny window of events from the author's life that proved quite seminal.

When living in a small room that his family shared with another couple, far away from the place they called home, with little or nothing to eat, no toys, no books, the little boy remembers one particular day: the day his father went to the bazaar to get some bread, but, came back home with a large and colorful map instead.

How this map changed his life in the deplorable conditions in which they were thrust by circumstances makes up the rest of the book: "Our cheerless room was flooded with color."

Sure, at first, he was angry at his father for bringing a useless map when they were starving. But, whereas the bread would have barely sated the hunger for a day, leaving them just as empty as before, the map brings a certain long-lasting joy that fills the gaping void in the author's life at that time.

Each day, the little boy sat hypnotized in front of the map, picking out exotic locations to travel to, making up rhymes with the names on the map, even drawing parts of the map on any scrap of paper he could find, spending many magical hours feeding the soul... and thereby relegating hunger and desolation to the backseat, disallowing Poverty to starve the mind.

Caldecott medal winner Uri Shulevitz is well respected for his talents. The illustrations in this book are nothing short of magical - particularly, the flights of fancy the boy goes on appealed to my five-year-old's sense of adventure and curiosity. Author's Note at the back gives a brief but breathtaking glimpse of his early life.

And, I found out I had very little to fret about in the first place, as the book certainly had a very positive impact on her. Despite the wide exposure kids have to the world today, despite the Global Village phenomenon, Fukuoka, Omsk and even Pennsylvania are nothing but places on a map, on the earth, somewhere; and the way to get there by themselves at their tender age is via imagination.

This is one book that has left me speechless, awestruck, with its minimalistic presentation of the profoundly pivotal episode in the author's life. Some lives are plagued by tragedy, but, when optimism and cheer prevails, it becomes rich and inspiring.

Bitten By The Anushka Ravishankar Bug

I discovered Ms.Ravishankar only four months back. When I first saw the books authored by her on Tara catalog, I did confuse her with Anoushka Shankar, the sitar player. Live mint sorted me out proper. I started reading more about her and the title Dr.Seuss of India had me riveted.

The first Ravishankar book we read at home, Rumor - published by Karadi, charmed the pants off us and left us wanting for more. Luckily we found a couple of her books in our library.


Title: Elephants Never Forget!
Author: Anushka Ravishankar
Illustrations: Christiane Pieper
Publishers: Houghton Mifflin Company
Age: 3 - 6.

The story is simple. An elephant calf gets separated from its mother after a storm and is adopted by a heard of buffaloes. He grows up as a member of the buffalo herd. When he encounters an elephant herd few years later, will he choose to go with the elephants or will he remain with the buffaloes?

The simple story has been made interesting by the typical Anushaka Ravishankar’s style of story telling.

“He needed some water
To wash himself clean.
The buffaloes looked so calm, so serene.
The water was lovely, cool and green.”

What endeared this book to me was not just the rhyming verse. To me the elephant growing up with animals totally different from him, forming his identity and in the end deciding his zone of comfort was very similar to immigrant children forming identity.




Title: To market! To market!
Suthor: Anushka Ravishankar.
Illustrations: Emanuele Sanziani.
Publishers: Tara Publishers
Ages: 3-6

I still remember my tri-weekly trips to the vegetable market with my dad. A buzzing Indian bazaar is not exactly a theme park, yet I found it very entertaining. Walking along the aisles touching the fresh vegetables, observing the art of bargaining, being mesmerized by the art of peddling(Doesn’t even the mundane tea and coffee has a magic to it when the peddler calls out in his deep voice - teeeeeee-kaapi-kaapi-kaapi-kaapi-kaapeeeee ?), the smell of fresh flowers and a quick pass by darshan at the local road side temple......

The essence of my experience is captured effectively in rhyme and in illustration in To Market! To Market! It brings out powerful nostalgia. It brings fleeting images of a five year old me walking to the old Saidapet market holding my dad’s fingers. I remembered this one particular trip where I was busy looking around and reached out for my father’s fingers and he shook me off rather rudely which made me look up at his face only to realize that in my trance, I had lost my dad and was trying to go home with a stranger! It brings out the child in me.

Contrary to her claim to fame as India’s ‘nonsense verse’ writer, Ms.Ravishankar personally made a lot of sense to me.