Queen of Ice

Queen of Ice
By Devika Rangachari
Duckbill Books
YA

Queen of Ice is a tale from another time. I hesitate to label it a piece of historical fiction. History tends to put teen readers off and that would be a pity, for this is a book with drama, with intrigue, with characters that captivate you and events that keep you riveted. The teen protagonist’s angst as she grapples with the unfairness of the world will resonate with young adults. However, it cannot be slotted as a YA book either. As with her previous work for children, Harsha Vardhana, Devika Rangachari creates a fascinating tale based predominantly on historical fact. The choice of subject is even more interesting this time – Didda is the crippled queen of Kashmira, a ruler who had hitherto been relegated to obscurity on account of her gender. This is a book you should read if you are politically inclined, a history buff, a feminist, a champion of the differently-abled, or just someone who appreciates a story well told. Queen of Ice will enthrall you and leave a delicious lingering after-effect.

The first thing that struck me about the book was its exquisitely crafted cover, made me wonder what beauty it held within. The book opens with Didda’s powerful voice. Her gender, her deformity, her father’s contempt – she doesn’t have much going for her. Yet, young Didda comes across as someone who is incredibly strong and determined. Is it because of the astrologer’s prediction that she is destined for greatness? Or something she has inherited from her forceful mother? We see that Didda loves and hates with equal passion. We witness her vulnerability as she deals with her father's rejection and her cousin's animosity.  Enter Valga, whose circumstances are far removed from Didda’s royal parentage, but who has something in common with Didda – her father has no affection for her either.  With her exceptional physical strength, Valga becomes Didda’s carrier-girl, a position that makes her privy to the princess’ secrets.

Didda is an ambitious woman – I love that she is unapologetic about it. As the book progresses, we sense that she is capable of destroying anything that stands in her way – I love that the author does not judge her for this ruthless streak.

Devika Rangachari paints an unflinching portrait of Didda and a beautiful picture of tenth-century Kashmira. The details and descriptions left me with the feeling I was reading an account written by someone who had witnessed these events as they occurred.

I wondered initially about the style. Why was the book targeted at the teen audience? The language was simple enough and the content seemed appropriate for slightly younger kids. As I read on, it became apparent that the style, stark and reminiscent of Kashmir in winter, serves to accentuate Didda’s complexities.

The book is presented as two first-person accounts – that of Didda’s and her porter Valga’s. Didda’s overpowering voice and the fact that I identified so much with her, made Valga’s voice seem superfluous at first. It was only later that I realized her perspective was essential, for it is through Valga that we see a side to Didda that no one else does. And it is after Didda’s cruel acts that we catch her in her tender moments, in scenes so beautiful that I found myself misty-eyed. Devika Rangachari deserves applause for treading a delicate path with great skill.

[Image source duckbill.in]    

Interview with Vaishali Shroff

Our guest reviewer Rachna Dhir is happy to share with you all an interview with author of Raindrops, Ari and The Missing Bat, Vaishali Shroff.

Vaishali, your son Arinjay is the inspiration behind your latest book - Ari. Please share the story behind the story

I always try to write stories that parents and children alike can relate to. Stories that drive home less talked about problems that many kids face.

As a child I was just like Ari. I remember coming home from school and sitting before the mirror after being rejected in school concert shows. I could never run to the teacher and confess that I think I can do it. I preferred to hide. But I still used to wonder why not me. Till I accepted the cruel fact that may be I wasn't as good as the others.

My son decided to do something about his ordeal. That's when I realised it needs to be told. Ari needs to stand up and be heard by parents and teachers who may have failed to see the true potential so called introvert children bring to the table. The real fireflies with an inner glow vs the butterflies that everyone loves to chase. The trauma that comes along with being labeled as an introvert and constantly told that you're someone who cannot perform as well as the outspoken kids can dent young minds for life

Having said this, I am not trying to say that extroverts lack potential. This is only about the other half that can do it but lack the opportunity.

You are a writer, editor, columnist, and story teller-
Tell us how it all started?

I have been writing ever since I can remember. I started off with poetry. My first publication was a poem in The Indian Express during the 1993 Mumbai riots. I cannot ever forget how it felt!

Those were the days of fan mails and receiving letters from places far and wide, from people young and old including soldiers posted in Sikkim! . The encouragement to write more made me think I am destined to write. Thus began this amazing journey that happened alongside my corporate life.

Subsequently I also started a storytelling club for children in 2009 in Pune and now continue the same in Mumbai as well.

Your first book was Raindrops, also with Tulika. It was very different from Ari - both story and look and feel wise. What was the inspiration behind Raindrops? Please include your other works too.

I've always drawn inspiration from real life events for my stories. My second book 'The Missing Bat' by Pratham Books was based on my travels in Kashmir. Raindrops, too, was a result of a personal experience with children. It's important that children are sensitive to the environment. That they think about things they see and experience around them. I like to bring that out in my stories.

Tell us about your childhood, your inspirations - what attracted you to writing? Who were your role models and mentors?

My mother always made me write. She used to keep throwing topics at me and I used to write. She used the Wren and Martin as a guide for she herself did not have a flair for the language. Writing became a huge part of me and slowly I realised how I felt better every time I wrote. The pieces were like highly guarded secrets tucked away under a pile of books so no one ever laid hands on them. Writing, in those days was never talked about as a profession like they spoke about engineering and medicine. So I secretly nurtured my passion thinking some day... May be....

You work across many media - magazines, CBSE readers, anthologies. Please share some favourites?

Any media only helps to take your story to a wider audience. With magazines it's interesting because you can talk about current issues and trends in the reading and writing industry. It felt incredibly proud and humbling to be recognised by the CBSE board as someone whose stories needed to be read by thousands and thousands a of children across the country. That feeling is simply indescribable. Yes, they will also give exams with my stories being part of the curriculum. Ha ha.

Anthologies are special because your story proudly sits next to works of some famous authors who you've always dreamt of being! :-

You have had memorable travel adventures with your son. May we hear some juicy details, please?

Ha ha ha. My son has this interesting knack of observing details about surroundings that one would never dare to imagine. To cite, we love going for wildlife safaris with him. At the end of one such safari he said, "I never thought tigers can be so scared. We enter the animal's house without asking them, chase poor tigers to take pictures, and some bad people even make noise. Who is the wild one? I always thought it was the animal."

Needless to say it's now a story :-)

Would you like to give aspiring story tellers and authors some guidance?

A good story needs to be told. While some stories make us fantasise and others make us realise... They all make us think about how we can make this world a better place. I cannot imagine growing up without Roald Dahl and Ruskin Bond and Enid Blyton and Dr. Seuss who I discovered along with my son (I'm still growing up!).

While people say that a writer is about their writing style I say Nay! A writer is all about the story and how long it stays with you after you've closed the book and put it back in the shelf along with many others.

My only advice to writers is to be honest to who you are and write only about what you strongly feel. Not what the industry demands and the reader reads. It's important to tell the story in a way that makes people think and say, "why didn't I think of this before!"

Please share details of some more projects you have done for children?

I've had many other publications for children which include pop-up story books, readers, various fiction and non - fiction articles for children's magazines, parenting columns, and so on.

Thank you Vaishali!


Life's got a little more beautiful with a five year old next to me and an infant nestled in my arms. It's tough but now I can only imagine how many stories I get to tell through it all :-)

Thank you for reviewing Ari. It's a book very close to my heart for a multitude of reasons. I secretly dream of Ari being staged as a play so that people can actually experience every word in the story and more. :-)

Okaasama Otousama

OKAASAMA OTOUSAMA
Story : Sandhya Rao
Pictures : Krishna Bala Shenoi
Published by: Tulika Books
Reviewed by Rachna-Dhir

Okaasama Otousama- (O O for short) is the perfect example of how to bring joy in children's lives in simple, uncomplicated ways! Why do parents want to take their children anywhere for them to "have fun" when we have such amazing books at our disposal?

I was reminded of my children's favourite Sandra Boynton books that used to travel with us to the doctor's, to the airports, on long car journeys.... The list is endless.

Children draw comfort from the familiar. Once they like a book, it does not take long for it to become a companion. After a vaccination, during high fever or an illness, after a tiff with a dear friend at preschool, during a long air or train journey- at all these moments that can be anxiety ridden or even traumatic, books can heal in ways that can be described as soothing or magical!

Borrowing the plot from the back page, "A joyful tribute to multilingualism that says Mother and Father in 18 different languages" from lands far and near.

Sandhya Rao has the key to children's hearts like few others and Tulika has their hands on today's children's pulse. With the multicultural world we live in, O O is such a welcome gift. I can imagine preschoolers on stage singing in different tunes - the lyrics being the same, of course.

Kudos to Krishna Bala Shenoi, the illustrator, to do thorough research and bring the words to life. He did an internship at Tulika while studying at Bangalore's Srishti School of Art and this book was the result. According to the jacket, he wants "to take young people places!" And does he succeed!

So - what are you waiting for? Grab your copy and please do tell me if I am wrong?

Atisa and the Time Machine - In Search of Kalidasa

Atisa and the Time Machine - In search of Kalidasa
Author - Anu Kumar, Illustrator - Priya Kurian
Publisher - Jaico Books
Ages - 12+

When the whiff of history is still in the air, I thought it would be appropriate to present the book review of this new book on the stands. This is the third book in the series of Atisa and his adventures.

Atisa, a teenage boy, has been on various adventures already in his time travelling flying machine (the earlier adventures are detailed in Atisa and the Seven Wonders and Adventures with Hieun Tsang). This machine has magically transported him to various eras, making him come in contact with the significant historical characters of that time period and partake of the adventures of their time.

Now, Atisa is summoned to the Gupta period, through a distress call for help, which his special sound catchers capture. It is the reign of King Vikramaditya and a pot pourri of events unfold at the same time. The king is on his way back to the kingdom after defeating the Saka tribes. Something sinister is afoot in the capital, which the king is completely unaware of. The astronomer Varahamihira is concerned about the superstitions of the people surrounding the forthcoming eclipse. There is a mysterious man, whom everyone is trying to protect by all means and his identity is kept a closely guarded secret from Atisa.  Then there is a funny trader who pops in and out of Atisa's present and the past going back 1800 years. This is the situation in which Atisa lands. 

Atisa's flying machine comes like a boon to the good people of the Gupta period. They seek his help in getting across secret messages and scrolls to concerned people. The story is all about Atisa's adventures, where he crosses path with numerous interesting people like - the path finders who are adept in finding the ways through the dense jungles, the astronomer Varahamihira and his daughter Lilavati,  the crucial 'gems' of the Vikramaditya's court one of whom is the missing person and Fa-hsien, the Chinese monk who happens to be in India then. The attitudes, fears and the belief systems of the people of those times, are revealed beautifully through the story. 

The book has multiple angles, all of which come together in the end. It is pretty apparent that the author has done a lot of research to bring in the various elements of that period together in this fictious tale. For a person who would have just read the facts of the Gupta period, the book would be a delight as it strings the information together in a story garland. It motivates us to seek more information of that time period.

I personally would have liked to see the actual facts of the Gupta period presented briefly in the end or in bubbles through the book, like some historical fiction books do. So even if I pick the book without any knowledge of the historical background, I could have understood the context  better with this. For example, a litte more information about the king and his dynasty, the nine gems of the Vikramaditya's court or a brief write up of the famous temple in Deogarh which comes up in the story, would have made it more interesting. A tighter editing would have been welcome too.

Priya Kurian's wonderful illustrations which give life to Anu's words, pop up every few pages. If you are a history buff, it is not a book to be missed. History, Fantasy, Mystery - all rolled into a single package! To know more about the author, you can read this interview with Anu Kumar and her recent writeup for CROCUS 2014.

(The book was received as a Review copy from Jaico Publishers, but the views expressed are purely mine)    

ADIOS CROCUS 2014

What a ride down history lane! We are sure this edition of CROCUS has aroused your curiosity for books of this genre.

We brought you books, both non fiction and fiction, from magnificent civilizations- Prehistoric to Greek, from Egypt to Harappa, from China to Mesopotamia, traveling from India to Peru.

Praba and Sheela ably led the scheduling; Lavanya Karthik continues to surpass herself and delight us with the flyer. Sandhya, Rachna and Anusha, with their compelling posts, set the tone for the fest and the theme.

You would have noted most book reviews were clusters- so that you can keep coming back to us for more of the sub-genre! See...we love you.

We had master storytellers and history buffs- Subhadra Sengupta,  Geetha Dharmarajan, Anu Kumar, Mala Kumar, Suhag Shirodkar and Anupama Hoskere- share their  priceless thoughts with us. We sincerely thank all of them and are sure these posts will get re-read and shared many times over.

We have noticed and are grateful for the steady increase in FB likes for our page. We will try and keep at it and share links on that forum as well. Leave us your suggestions and comments, we are always happy to hear from you.

Thanks Little Reader's Nook, Bookalore and  generous friends and bloggers for spreading the word about CROCUS in more ways than one.

Thank you  participants for your response to the very innovative CROCUSWORD. And winners, congrats!

And as we maintain always, YOU, the reader, are our star.
Stay with us and the rest, as they say, is history!
 

The History Mystery Series

The History Mystery Series

Written by Natasha Sharma

Illustrated by: Various

Publisher: Duckbill Books

Age: 6+

As a history buff, I frequently  find myself  defending the subject’s honour when it is slandered by my school-going daughter and her friends. Not that I can blame them, really, as I passed through the same school system and know full well how a subject as fascinating  as this can be so easily reduced to stale facts, endless  lists of dates, and dull reverential commentary on long-dead greats. For me, History, is the story of ourselves – it isn’t just great wars , mighty political transactions and who-killed-whom-where,  but also the mundane, everyday actions and ideas and oh-so – avoidable blunders (Christopher ‘I-found-India’ Columbus,  Akbar ‘I’m building me a fabulous new city’ -   this means you!! ) that pave the road to who we are today.  So you have to cheer for a series  that offers you “mysteries you’ll never find in history books’.

Natasha Sharma’s History Mystery series is whacky and irreverent (Ashoka the Great blowing bubbles in his bath! Akbar having a hissy fit!) and very entertaining. Designed in the chapterbook format for younger readers, it sets its tales in different historic periods , with some suspense, many oddball characters and a great deal of slapstick comedy thrown in. It also cleverly weaves in a lot of factual data, sneaking a quick history lesson or two right past its unsuspecting , helplessly giggly, readers.

Akbar and the Tricky Traitor , the first book in the series, has that noble ruler fuming over slanderous comments made about him by a neighbouring king. Clearly there is a mole in Akbar’s court, passing on every thought the Emperor has almost as soon as he has it – but who? Enter the Super Six, a quintet of spies who then proceed to muddy the investigative waters a great deal, before clearing things up.

Ashoka and the Muddled Messages is reviewed in greater detail here.

Raja Raja and the Swapped Sacks cranks the laugh-out loud comedy up a notch, and moves the drama to foreign shores. Someone is waylaying the great Chola king’s cargo of spices to China and replacing them with trash. So Raja Raja’s top sleuth, Only One, sets out to catch the crook, armed with little more than his wits and a barrage of knock-knock jokes, only to be promptly waylaid himself – by pirates!

Each of these books end with an impressive reading list – author Natasha Sharma has clearly done her research well, and it shows in the details. Ashoka, did in fact, have an all-woman posse of bodyguards, (though probably not as goofy as the ten Ts the author bestows on him), and dyeing your beard all kinds of crazy colours was, incredibly enough, a thing! Akbar’s meals were actually prepared and delivered to him in the manner described in “..Tricky Traitor”. And in the time of Raja Raja Chola , hero stones were indeed the equivalent of  sponsored ads in the present day.

My one grouse with the books would be that their plots sound rather similar to each other - cranky king, bumbling spies who add to the confusion before sorting things out, treacherous courtiers. That said, the books are  great reads and  brim with ingenious characters - Ashoka's T10 and  Kalapathy Arrghety's shrewish mummy were my favourites.

Given how far back India’s history stretches,  and the plethora of dynasties, despots and aspirants to the label ‘Greatest of the Great’ that  now squabble for space in  the footnotes of our history textbooks – I  look forward to seeing where the History Mystery series  takes us next. 

I received these books as review copies from the publisher; the views expressed here, however, are entirely my own.

Images courtesy: Duckbill 

Interview with Suhag Shirodkar

I feel very privileged bringing to you Suhag Shirodkar, the author of a book that I think every child (or grown-up!) interested in Indian history must absolutely read. 

This book, titled ‘Captured in Miniature: Mughal Lives through Mughal Art’, is one of my all-time favourites and I had reviewed it here on Saffrontree. Do check it out.





Hello Suhag! Thank you for agreeing to answer our many questions!
First of all, please could you tell us about what inspired you to write this lovely book?

Children enjoy things that are small, to their own scale. Our twin daughters (then about 7) took a keen interest in books we owned on Mughal miniature art. They loved the scenes of war, where elephants stomped and horses reared and enemy heads lay scattered on the dusty battlefield. The pored over the court scenes, fascinated by the faces and robes of emperor and courtiers and the bejeweled Imperial Throne. So I started writing little notes for them, pointing out interesting things to look for in a miniature and asking questions that would get them thinking about the context or setting of a painting. The book came out of that assembly of notes.

And aren’t we glad you decided to do so!
If you could go back to the Mughal period for a day, which emperor’s reign would you choose and why? What would you like to see?

Perhaps I would enjoy the reign of Jehangir best, the empire very much shaped by Akbar and the aesthetic pinnacle of Shah Jehan still in the future.
The streets of Agra would be a delight to walk through, thronged with people from across Central Asia and Iran and Turkey. Observing the people and their dress and hearing many tongues spoken...being a part of the milling crowd at the jharoka darshan, when Jehangir made his appearance...wandering the bazaars...oh, it would be a busy day!
I would like to see how Nur Jehan had rose attar made -- the roses picked at dawn and brought in to some wonderfully fragrant ‘factory’ I imagine -- many hands working and the attar being distilled, drop by drop.
And then to visit a kitabkhana - like the one that’s depicted in my book. It would be wonderful to talk to the artists and understand the kind of world in which they created their collaborative masterpieces.
Too much to see in a day, that’s for sure!

Some day, when time-travel becomes real perhaps!
Okay this could be a tricky one but let’s say you were asked to choose for yourself any of the miniatures created in this period. Which would you pick?

Several. All.
I particularly enjoy paintings showing ordinary people. Like Akbar Supervising the Construction of Fatehpur Sikri that’s in my book.
And compositions like Miskin’s below, combining real and imaginary animals.


Practically speaking though, it would be too heavy a responsibility to own a Mughal miniature. If one came into my hands, I’d turn it over to a good museum in India.

What do you like best about the Mughal culture?

Undoubtedly the visual aesthetic and sensual appeal. The Mughal aesthetic was stunning, permeating every aspect of royal and noble life. The luxurious carpets, the brocade robes, the gemstones and jewellery, the marble screens, the fragrant gardens with fountains and fish-scale waterfalls, the miniatures each a jewel in itself, the hilts of swords and scabbards of daggers, the poetry and couplets..it was a refined pursuit of beauty on such a magnificent scale that it could not in the end support itself.

The Mughal emperors had unique personalities and interests. What jobs do you think each of them would have had, if he were to live in the present times? (like Jahangir could have been a biologist perhaps).

It is hard to pin the Mughal emperors, who lived in such splendor and grandeur, to a present-day profession, but let’s try..
Babur: A poet and writer.
Humayun: not sure of him. Definitely he appreciated the arts enough to bring
miniature painters back with him from Persia. Let’s say an art appraiser.
Akbar: A diplomat and senior statesman, or a strategist for the military, or the
head of a think tank.
Jehangir: Biologist and naturalist, yes, that’s a good possibility. Jewelry appraiser, maybe.
Shah Jehan: Architect or designer
Aurangzeb: An interpreter of the law or a craftsman.


Intriguing indeed! Please tell us, what do you like to do apart from writing?

Many things. I work as a technical writer at a biotechnology company. Which means I write documents explaining complex scientific equipment or processes. It’s a different kind of writing from what we’ve been talking about, but it still involves creativity and is very enjoyable.
I also make ceramic tile, which is another area that lets me play with the Mughal, and other Indian, aesthetic. You can see a few samples of my work at flamebacktile.weebly.com. Walks in woods and by streams...making fermented foods like bread and dosa and kombucha...identifying birds in their natural environments...long list.

You are clearly multi-talented! What did you read as a child?

About the same as most other children of my age who went to schools wherein English was the medium of instruction...Ladybird Books, Enid Blyton, Reader's Digest Condensed Books. I wish I had read not necessarily more, but better. What you read is at least as important as how much you read.


Why do you think miniatures are no longer a popular style?

Well, a miniature is a very personal art form, meant to be observed closely, enjoyed within a book or portfolio. Also, many miniatures supported or enhanced text in a book. A miniature is not something that easily goes up on a wall for public display and cannot be enjoyed by several people simultaneously. So I guess that automatically limits its popularity. But that doesn’t mean beautiful miniatures are not being painted. For example, you can see the work of the Singh twins at http://www.singhtwins.co.uk/


We have seen some fabulous interactive displays of miniatures in the Prince of Wales Museum in Mumbai. How can we make our museums more visitor-friendly, especially for children?

For sure I’m not a museum exhibit designer, but many museums around the world create displays that keep children captivated. So surely one can learn some lessons from those. “Treasure hunts” in which children look for certain objects or aspects of objects within a collection would be useful.


We loved reading your book, because you have made the art form and its history accessible for children (and some grown-ups too!). How can we make more of this happen?

From what my publisher (Bipin Shah of Mapin Publications) tells me, the economics get in the way. For Captured in Miniature, the fees charged by each museum (in the West) for allowing reproduction were very steep. Considering that the paintings are the patrimony of India and the Indian museums provided rights for little or zero charge! Print runs in general, Bipin says, are small and initial costs high. But recently I read that the ‘young adult’ segment of the book publishing industry is looking up, so maybe things will get better!

Lastly, we want more books like these and hope there are some in the pipeline! Please say there are!

There are book projects in the works, and although not exclusive to children, they promise to be informative and entertaining for young audiences too. A guidebook to Old Goa, the capital of Portuguese India, is at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IWZORRW Other projects are in progress. So keep checking wanderindia.weebly.com

Thanks very much Suhag for your time, it has been a pleasure speaking to you! 

(Also thanks to Sandhya for putting me in touch with the author of this wonderful book).

Magic Mirror Books

The Tomb of Time (Magic Mirror series: Book 3)
Luther Tsai and Nury Vittachi
Scholastic India
Ages 8+

The Magic Mirror books have been co-authored by Nury Vittachi. That was reason enough for me to order these books, having read his delightful book The Day it Rained Letters a couple of years ago. The Magic Mirror series is a set of five books based on Asian history; books 3 and 4 are set in ancient China.

Around the time Emperor Ashoka had forty-feet high pillars carved with his inscriptions and erected across his empire, far away in China, there was another Emperor having a mountain made and a city built that he would fill with life-size terracotta soldiers. In The Tomb of Time, we join Marko and Miranda Lee as they travel to ancient China with the magic mirror and land in the Necropolis - the City of the Dead.

Right from page one, it is evident that something is brewing. Mira and Marko are at home by themselves – their parents are away. Their grandfather, a historian, has disappeared. All they have is a cryptic clue from him and instructions to get to 210, the Necropolis and bring back a wooden box. The siblings crack the puzzle and with the help of the magic mirror, head to the mysterious destination. 

They find themselves in 210 BC. Around them are men hard at work, building the Necropolis. The clay people are being carved – there are separate departments for making the limbs, torsos and faces. Within each group, there are further specializations – standing legs, sitting legs, kneeling legs! While the people are not real, the weapons are razor-sharp.

Mira and Marko meet chariot-makers, architects and craftsmen in the ancient city. Emperor Qin Shi Huang is feared by everyone. He had started off as a noble king, unifying the lands and people. Soon, he has all the rules rewritten to suit himself – the rules of physics, the law books. After his encounter with a thousand-year-old magician, Emperor Qin is obsessed with gaining immortality. In his quest for the elixir of life he has hundreds of alchemists eliminated. The emperor banishes his older son, the wise and kind Fusu, and makes his younger son the heir. He has a death paper issued to Prince Fusu commanding him to kill himself.

The writing is excellent, especially the dialogue. The tension keeps building up; there is no slackening in the pace. The kids are eventually caught and trapped underground, their magic mirror confiscated. Will they retrieve the wooden box and accomplish the mission? Will they escape the crossbow-wielding ghosts? How will they get out without the magic mirror?

A riveting story and the author’s note says it is all based on fact, even the minutest details. Such a fun way to learn about the past.

The Wall of Willows (Magic Mirror series: Book 4)
Luther Tsai and Nury Vittachi
Scholastic India
Ages 8+

The Wall of Willows begins where Book 3 left off: Pushed to a corner by the emperor, the alchemists make him a potion of mercury. Having ingested it over a prolonged period, Emperor Qin's time is almost up. On his death bed, the emperor decides to revoke the death paper issued to Prince Fusu and reinstate him as heir.

Meanwhile, at Marko and Mira’s school, an inspector has arrived to investigate. The school has performed remarkably well in the exams, arousing suspicions about malpractice. The teachers explain the improvement – a couple of students had been playing a time travel "game” and received “practical lessons” in Asian history from their historian grandfather. The kids had shared their stories with friends and now everyone was infected. The teachers too had woven the theme into art, English and mathematics. Naturally, the results were outstanding.

Marko and Miro are soon off on another adventure. This time their grandfather has entrusted them with the task of delivering the Emperor's letter cancelling the death paper. The kids set off in search of Fusu who is watching over the frontier while the Great Wall is being built. They reach the Great Wall in 210 BC, when it is just earth and stones. We read about the legend of the Lady of the Wall, Meng Jiang Nu. The kids meet the lady herself and listen to her tell the story of the construction of the wall. Meng Jiang Nu joins the kids as they flee from evil Chancellor Zhao. Read the book to find out how they escape from his clutches and how the kids turn their latest adventure into a history lesson.


Book 5, The Shining Scripture, is set in the year 602. Off to read it now.

[Image source scholastic.co.in]                 

The Poppykettle Papers

The Poppykettle Papers

By Robert Ingpen and Michael lawrence

Illustrated by Robert Ingpen 

Publisher: Trafalgar Square Publishing

Age level: 8+

In the wake of  all the terrific books discussed here these past few days -  books that take us back in time to visit actual historic events and see how people really lived- The Poppykettle Papers  is  definitely an anomaly . It is, after all, a fantasy, tracing the voyage of a fictional tribe of non-humans across the treacherous ocean in search of a new home. It is a story peopled with magically animated dolls, tetchy sea gods, strange sea creatures, talking wind gods –oh, and did I mention the vessel of choice for this odyssey is a little clay pot? Yet, it captures the anxiety and heartbreak of the reluctant immigrant beautifully, and shows us, through the eyes of its little heroes, what it means to lose one's roots and venture out into the unknown in search of new ones. The book also playfully appropriates a slice of Australian history, offering an alternate explanation to the Geelong keys mystery.  Originally published in two parts, The Voyage of the Poppykettle and The Unchosen Land-, the book proved so popular in Australia that locals actually began celebrating the mythical landing of the Hairy Peruvians with an annual festival!  The Poppykettle Papers remains among the best loved books in Australia even today. Sadly, the book is now out of print and one would be immensely lucky to find  a copy in a used book store or library.

The story begins with two young Australian boys finding a stash of old papers on their farm. Astonishingly, the papers turn out to be the account of an epic journey taken by five very unusual travelers. For the Hairy Peruvians aren’t just any tribe – they are the last of a clan of sacrificial Peruvian dolls brought magically to life, and settled on the coast of Peru in a little fishing village. The Hairy Peruvians are tiny (or, as they like to say, “of sensible size”) and remarkably long-lived. And yet they are dying out. For El Nino, the temperamental sea god has been ravaging their home for decades, until the Hairy Peruvians began setting out in groups on flimsy reed boats in search of a new home across the ocean. But none have returned. Bravely, the last five of their tribe set out across the ocean in an earthenware pot (the eponymous poppykettle)  fitted out for the journey, despite a prophecy that states only three of them will reach the shores of the ‘Unchosen Land” (their name for this strange new world they are forced to voyage to).

The narrative is alternately voiced by the five Peruvians – Aloof the Far Sighted, his sister Arnica, Andante the Whistler, Astute the Wise and the ancient patriarch Don Avante. The journey gets complicated almost as soon as it begins – the voyagers discover that they will never find peace in their new home unless they locate a certain feather and egg. These quests lead them frequently into danger, as they encounter adversaries like the wicked wind, the whirling ‘water devil’ , even a creature with blood red eyes living in a volcano. Will they make it to the Unchosen Land after all? What will they find there? And which three are the fortunate ones?

This is a lavishly illustrated book, and Robert Ingpen’s artwork is absolutely  stunning - he brings the Peruvians and their gods alive with his brush strokes. But even without his art, this would still be a riveting book – it is packed with humour and suspense, and the frequent bickering of the five travelers. They may survive the elements and every angry god out there, you think, but will they survive each other? There is tragedy too, but the heart-warming end of the book more than makes up for that. A modern classic, about survival, family, courage against all odds …. and the importance of packing light.

Images courtesy: www.amazon.com

Non-fiction: Smart Green Civilizations - green lessons from the past

Smart Green Civilizations - green lessons from the past
Text by Benita Sen
Published by TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute) press.
Ages 8-12 years

These are a set of 7 books - Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Ancient China, Indus Valley, and Ancient America. There could have been one more - Ancient Australia - which was populated for centuries by the Aborigine people, who have their own distinctive culture.

In each book, Teri, a little girl, gets transported across to one of the ancient civilizations, and is given a guided tour by an iconic person/god associated with that civilization. The reader, along with Teri, gets a peak into how the people then lived, the gods they worshipped, the beliefs they had, the houses they lived in, the food they ate, and the great ideas each civilization has given to the world.

In Ancient Mesopotamia, we learn about the invention of farming, the wheel, the first sailboats, and writing which developed for purposes of business and record-keeping, and the fact that their sexagesimal system (to the base of 60) is still followed today in calculating time.

In Ancient Egypt, we learn how they knew how to harness the life-giving Nile waters for irrigation, the agriculture leading them to riches enough to build a great civilization. We learn about their phenomenal ship-building skills, their proficiency in mathematics that they used so well in building the pyramids, their knowledge of the human body and medicines that was useful in the mummifying techniques, and their pictorial writing - the hieroglyphs.

In Ancient Greece, we learn about the various gods, the Olympics that were dedicated to these gods, the Greek mathematicians, scientists, physicians, astronomers, etc., who still make sense to us, art and architecture - south facing homes that were built to trap the heat in winter, and avoid it in summer. We learn about the large ships they built that were driven by hundreds of slaves, thus giving them control over where they went, and the battles they fought, especially that of Troy.

In Ancient Rome, we learn about the civilization that set the tone for all later civilizations in the western world, about their social structure, their politics (democracy, the senate, the idea of a citizen), their elaborate meals, the grand architecture, the fine arts that borrowed a lot from the Greeks, and the knowledge of medicine and surgery (surgeons used painkillers made from the poppy plant).

In Indus Valley, we learn about the well planned towns and cities with their granaries, wells, baths and drainage systems, their trade relations with Mesopotamia, usage of domesticated animals for travel and for farming, and their as yet undeciphered script.

In Ancient America, we learn about one of the greatest ancient civilizations unknown to the rest of the world until almost 6 centuries ago - the Mayans and Incas. We learn about the various foods that originated there, that were staples - now very familiar to the rest of the world. Corn, chocolate, chillies, tomatoes - we cannot imagine modern food without all of these! We learn about their art, and their architecture, that they created without the use of the wheel - the wheel was found to exist there in recent findings, but was used only in children's toys, and not harnessed for travel or work as in the rest of the world.

In Ancient China, we learn about their social structure that was very strict in its hierarchy, the innovative farming and cuisine, that made excellent use of whatever was locally available, the art of silk making that originated here, and was kept a closely guarded secret for centuries. We learn about the Great Wall and the terracotta army that was buried with an emperor in his tomb, the ancient wisdom and sciences - medicine, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, and much more. The Chinese script is like calligraphy, and unlike any other script - each character stands for something, and thousands of characters have to be learned to be able to read and write.

There are many more things we learn about each civilization. But above all, we learn, in the footnotes on each page and on the last page of each book, made from re-cycled paper, how these peoples used natural resources and lived in harmony with nature, using environmentally friendly methods.

An excellent set to introduce a child reader to each of these ancient civilizations, and impart a message on environmentally friendly living.

Images courtesy goodreads.

Non-fiction Books on History: Raintree's Time Travel Guides

Author: John Malam
Publisher: Raintree Books
Reading Level: Ages 8 plus
Picture source: Amazon.com

As a volunteer at the public school library, I used to be amazed by the sheer number of non-fiction books children could access on the topic of ancient history revolving around historical events, famous characters and heroes.

One of the things I greatly enjoyed during those years was helping second and third grade children pick non-fiction titles for their "Ancient Civilization" project. It was an enriching experience for me because it helped me grow my own understanding on the range of books that were available on those topics.

Now living in India, I am constantly fascinated by my eight year old daughter's desire to learn about the people of the past who lived before she was born, triggered by her curiosity about her own family-tree leading to incessant question - what was my great great grandmother's name, how long ago did my great great great grandmother live and much more. Her interest gave me a springboard to jump into exploring history as a topic.

I found Time travel guides from Raintree Publishers to be a useful resource, paving the way for the little one to study ancient history. These guides take the child reader on a holiday to the ancient empire of Rome. The copies we own are from a neighborhood used bookstore in Chennai.

Starting with a map of Ancient Rome, the journey to the great empire begins. Each chapter profiles a different topic, including places to visit, fun and games, children in ancient Rome, and facts and figures.

Text boxes and side-bars throughout offer interesting tidbits and fun facts. The last chapter is devoted to Roman facts and figures, with a list of useful Latin words ad phrases, festivals and gladiators, Roman Numbers etc.

In my view, a chatty, engaging voice is a must for any non-fiction children's book to become a compelling read. The chapter on food and drink and meal-time manners in ancient Rome was the best part for my little girl.

"You won't go hungry or thirsty on your visit, as you will find bakeries, bars, restaurants on most city streets...Whatever you choose, be prepared for it to be spiced with pepper, sprinkled with sour vinegar, or smothered in salty fish sauce (garum). Cakes and pastries taste sweet as they have lots of honey in them"

And this, in particular - "When you feel full, it is good manners to belch and break wind." left her in splits. Had we lived in ancient Rome, we'd have done what the ancient Romans did at meal-time was quite a precious thing for the little one to take-away from that chapter.

Offering non-fiction on any topic or theme to kids helps broaden their views, exposes them to different concepts and vocabulary, and equips them with information about the world.

Categorizing books based on fiction and non-fiction helps children understand the differences early on. Table of contents, index, glossary, captions,bibliography are useful elements of a non-fiction text to introduce to children early on.

There are many more such books in the Raintree's Time Travel Guide series that take children through different empires and kingdoms. Brilliant books to learn from and use as research guides, as opposed to dreary history text-books.

Why re-invent the wheel when there are these well-written, beautifully illustrated resources available for schools and children everywhere to access is one question I can't help but wonder.

History Unplugged: Non fictional history for children

I am constantly amazed by the sheer number and variety of historically inspired fictional series available to children today. But while this is indeed exciting, and a great way for kids to learn about their past, I also sometimes worry that this great barrage of fiction might make it all the more difficult for kids to pick up a non-fictional history book. I have, over the years, encountered some terrific books aimed at making history accessible to younger readers.

Here's my list, by no means exhaustive, just a collection I was lucky enough to discover ...

The Nehru Trilogy:
Letters from a Father to His Daughter

Glimpses of World History

The Discovery of India

Written by: Jawaharlal Nehru
Publisher: Penguin India
Ages: 10+

Perhaps the earliest Indian author writing non fictional history for a young audience – even if it was his own daughter – Nehru’s letters are remarkable for their depth and understanding of the complex workings of world events. This is all the more remarkable given his circumstances – these books  are compiled from letters and essays written by the author while in incarceration, in laborious longhand on prison-issue stationery,  with limited access to research material.

Written in 1928, Letters from a Father.. is the slimmest of the three volumes, consisting of 30 letters to his young daughter Indira, and mostly discussing natural history and a brief overview of the origins of civilizations. 

Glimpses of World History, Nehruji's most ambitious work, is a collection of 196 letters to Indira, written from various prisons in India between 1931 and 1933. These letters are sweeping in scope, yet sound fond and intimate. Nehruji voices his displeasure at the way history is taught in schools , and speaks of using these letters to introduce history to Indira the way it should be, as a collection of multiple viewpoints and ideas. Every now and then, he vers off-track, talking about personal experiences, recounting past memories,expressing his own fears and worries for India. Some parts sound chillingly relevant, like when he talks of the danger of religion based on fear and the evils of communal hatred. Given the prevalence of Western views on history, Nehruji takes pains to discuss the merits and strengths of Eastern and Islamic cultures.

The Discovery of India, a series of essays written between 1942 and 1946, trace the evolution of India from the Indus Valley to the then-ongoing struggle for Independence from colonial rule. This book is perhaps Nehru's most personal work, he delves deeply into Indian philosophy and culture, and often muses on his own motives, philosophical outlook and purpose. This book was the inspiration for the acclaimed TV series 'Bharat Ek Khoj' , once a much-watched television classic, now preserved for posterity over at Yotube.

Given how remarkable these three  books are, it's a shame that they are largely forgotten today, and aren't required reading in schools.  

The Puffin History of  India (Volumes 1 and 2)

The Puffin History of the World 

Written by: Roshen Dalal

Publisher: Puffin (Penguin books)

Ages: 9+

These are well written books,comprehensive without burying its young readers in too much detail and complemented by illustrations and well designed maps.

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The Penguin History of Early India from the Origins to AD 1300

Written by Romila Thapar
Publisher: Penguin India
Age level: YA

Among the foremost historians today, Romila Thapar has written exhaustively on varied aspects of Indian history, culture and religion. She has also compiled history textbooks for schoolchildren, and  is known for her frank, unbiased analyses and criticism of what she calls 'mainstream' or communal approaches to documenting history. While this book is not aimed specifically at a young audience, I think older children with a yen for history would definitely find her writing both accessible and informative. 

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The Comic Strip History of the World

Written by Sally Kindberg

Illustrated by Tracey Turner

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Age level: 6+

In contrast to most of the tomes mentioned above, this book is cheeky and refreshing, reducing each great civilization to a few, hilarious pages. In less than a 100 pages, we hurtle from the Big Bang, past the Assyrians, Greeks and Romans, on past the Chinese, Minoan and Indus Valley civilization, straight to the modern era. Silly jokes and toilet humour abound, as well as little gems of trivia on everything from the use of urine during the Black Death to Tycho Brahe's fake gold nose and pet moose. Its companion volume, the equally funny The Comic Strip History of Space is also worth checking out.

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History, for me, is as much about the tangible, everyday objects that drive our lives, as it is about grand ideas and political will. After all, it is the artefacts and monuments that identify a long-lost civilization, the simple coins, cutlery and toys that give us clues to the lives their owners led. The following books are fascinating studies of our material heritage :

The Ancient Engineers
Written by L. Sprague de Camp
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Age: YA

Controversial historian L. Sprague de Camp’s most famous work documents the genius of the ancient architects and inventors, showing how the growth of technology and innovation  powered the growth of civilizations.  “Civilization as we know it today”, he declares right at the beginning of the book,”owes its existence to the engineers.” The book makes for fascinating reading, joining up the dots between a civilization's maturity and its thirst for knowledge, its cultural and political development with its appreciation for innovation. Interspersed with discussion of the evolution of technology  (and, therefore, humans)  are interesting stories about the ancient rulers, as well as photographs and meticulously detailed drawing.   This book is breath taking in its detail – de Camp‘s research encompasses every great civilization there was, examines everything from the water wheel and the cross bow to the arch, cannon  and da Vinci’s inventions. 

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Builders of the Ancient World: Marvels of Engineering

Written by: Various

Publisher: National Geographic

Age level: All ages

Filled with beautiful diagrams and the stunning photography that is the National Geographic's trademark , this concise  book captures the engineering highlights of each of the major civilizations in a few, well designed pages. 

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At Home: A Short History of Private Life
Written by: Bill Bryson
Publisher: Anchor Books
Age level: YA

Now it can be argued that any book by Bill Bryson manages to educate us on history, culture, politics, human behaviour - all this while also being laugh-out loud hilarious. This book is no different, beginning with an inquiry of the origins of everyday objects and services we take for granted - forks, beds, indoor plumbing - and leads us, each time, into a riveting  examination of the cultural and economic forces that powered their innovation.  

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Stories from the Silk Road

Retold by Cherry Gilchrist

Illustrated by Nilesh Mistry

Pic: Amazon.com

The Silk Road invokes a vision of galloping warriors seeking adventures and enterprising traders in caravans. This ancient route started in the capital city of China, now called Xian, and wove its way towards Central Asia. You could turn south at some point and venture into India, or you could continue beyond Samarkand and head off to Europe. It was silk that first drew fascinated Europeans eastward, and hence the name.

This collection is a wonderful introduction to the history of this route and to the various legends woven along the many splendid cities that thrived along it. The seven stories are threaded together by brief interludes narrated by the Spirit of the Silk Road.

The book, fittingly, begins with the story of silk, about a young girl called Ma-t’ou who becomes the goddess of silk and looks after all the silkworms and silk workers all over China. This story is preceded by a brief history of silk and an introduction to how it is made, and an account of its historical importance.

The story of the Jade Monkey tells the reader of the fact that not just goods but also knowledge travelled along the Silk Road. In this story, a priest-teacher from China is on his way to India to seek Buddhist scriptures so that the Chinese could be sure they were learning the correct teachings of the Buddha.

We carry on and reach Dunhuang. The story based here tells us of the harsh conditions that travellers had to bear along the route. It features the White Cloud Fairy who took pity on the people living in this parched desert city and created a crescent shaped lake, which survives to this day, despite the Sand God’s attempts to thwart her. It illustrates how legends and myths often lend a supernatural element to unusual geographical landmarks.

The next story introduces us to the ever-present perils of the Silk Route – robbers, tricksters and even demons and evil spirits! But, the story tells you, the biggest danger is posed by man’s greed.

We leave the harsh desert now and are about to enter mountains of the Hindukush. This is a meeting place for travellers from all directions and stories are often swapped. We are told about the fortunes of three brothers, the message being this - take what you are given and no more, help others and you will be helped too.

Now we are in Kirghiz country, high up in the mountains. We go into a yurt and listen to their tale of a young boy called Ashik who proved that age has not much to do with wisdom.

We now enter the great city of Samarkand. For centuries, traders have praised this beautiful abode of the emperors and displayed their finest wares here. We attend a grand feast thrown by the Emperor himself and listen to the storytellers amid the merry-making. This time we learn of the splendours of the city, so much that they were often taken for granted and only the very exotic could provoke excitement!

A brilliant book for a young child interested the history of this ancient crucible of international commerce and trade. I especially enjoyed reading the fact files narrated by the Spirit of the Silk Route.