Why don’t international book lists really get Indian kid-lit? A question I have often pondered, and am sure others in the industry have as well.
Two years ago, The Guardian, which has excellent recommendation for kid-lit and YA Books, published an article titled, “What are the best children’s books about India?” The list included some outstanding books, but most weren’t really representative of the country’s diverse kid-lit. Especially if you’re looking for slice-of-life stories. Two of the selections, for instance, were folk tales. Another pick, Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, isn’t really the best example, when there’s an entire fleet of publishers creating some fantastic new children’s literature in English in our country. The more updated list actually comes from Duckbill’s Sayoni Basu in the comments section of the piece. Read more
Rickshaw is a proud, vain and extremely noisy rooster living in the backstreets of 1920s Shanghai. In the annual race along the Bund, winning is a matter of national pride for contestants representing Shanghai’s international concessions. Will the foreigners win again, or will a local hero carry the day?
Find out when Sarah Brennan, locally based author of the best-selling Chinese Calendar Tales and the Dirty Story series for children, introduces The Tale of Rickshaw Rooster as part of the Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival next Sunday.
“The festival is designed to encourage young people to engage with the literary arts, improve English language skills and support cultural exchange,” says festival manager Phillipa Milne. “We aim to promote the benefits of reading and instil a lifelong love of reading.” Read more
Many a child has amused parents with fantastical (sometimes non-sensical!) stories dreamed up in a way only a toddler could manage, and surely many have also “written” books with a few drawings or scribbles on paper. Rishav Gupta (now age 8), took things a bit further.
“I want my own storybook!” Rishav told his mother Srinanda, an early years teacher at Chatsworth International School, when he was just 3.
At this stage he wasn’t writing, though he’d demonstrated a love of storybooks and a keenness for drawing.
“It all started with doodling,” Srinanda recalls. “Pay attention to the doodles: every scratch can have a story behind it if you just ask. Every curvy line can have a story.” If I wasn’t a teacher I might not have known that, but as a teacher you have an awareness that it’s something truly authentic worth paying attention to. Read more
The Scholastic Asian Book Award (Saba) is a joint initiative between the National Book Development Council of Singapore and publishers Scholastic Asia that “will recognise children’s writers of Asian origin who are taking the experiences of life, spirit, and thinking in different parts of Asia to the world at large”.
Since its inception in 2011, the biennial award has been responsible for publishing English language works by authors from all over Asia, including India, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
The best manuscript wins S$10,000 (RM31,000) and will be considered by Scholastic Asia for publication; the authors of the first and second runners-up manuscripts will be offered advice by Scholastic Asia on editing and submitting their works for publication. Read more
When Srinanda Gupta was reading stories to her 6-month-old son, little did she know then that this boy would be an author at the age of eight.
Srinanda fondly recalls the day Rishav walked up to her with his drawings and said he wanted a “real” book.
“I clearly remember how happy and confused I was at the same time because I did not quite understand what he meant. After a conversation, Rishav made it clear that he actually wanted to be an author,” says the mother who also teaches at Chatsworth International School in Singapore. She decided to nurture his passion and give him time to become responsible for his own initiative. Rishav named the book The Lion’s Walk. Each page focused on a place and some detail that he observed of that particular place.
“He narrated the story while I documented it. What was unique was how Rishav read books, made connections with his personal experiences and applied his knowledge in his writing. I got the pages printed and stitched together,” shares Srinanda. That was Rishav’s first book!
Now this Grade 2 student of Chatsworth International School, Singapore, has a book to his credit Dreamagination, published by Kitaab International.
The book is a collection of 10 stories written by Rishav between the age of 3 and 7. Dreamagination is more than a book. It is a writing journey of a young boy from doodling, to drawing and then consolidating his ideas in writing.
“This is a big wish come true! You must dream and when the dream becomes bigger, bigger and bigger, it comes true. I want to encourage everyone around the world to write because it helps people to communicate and you can express your heart full of stories. You need dreamagination to live,” says Rishav.
Children do bury their noses in books, in fact much more than adults. The author speaks with writers who affirm this.
Enter a swanky book store and try looking for children’s books, and you will probably find a handful in a forgotten corner. But, there is a wealth of children’s writing by Indian authors waiting to be discovered. Authors, editors, and illustrators invested in children’s books are doing all they can to reach out to the young minds and get them interested in reading. But the refrain, ‘Children don’t read’, gives the impression that children’s books don’t sell.
Ask Shreya Rao, a class 10 student at A.P.S., Bengaluru, who also writes a blog and she is quick to point out: “People who say children don’t read, don’t even read themselves.” She says that her love for reading began when she was in class four. “My mother gave me a book to read and said she would buy as many toys as I wanted if I finished reading it. I loved the book so much that I wanted to read more.” Read more
Madhuri Purandare is rarely to be found among children. The writer and illustrator has a “long distance” relationship with her readership. “It’s not as if I maintain this distance deliberately,” says the 64-year-old. And it has not made a difference to her work. Purandare is one of the most successful writers for children in Marathi literature, and has had her works translated into English, Urdu, Kannada, Assamese, Telugu and Hindi. Besides notable works like Babachya Mishya, Radhach Ghar and Chitravachan, the Pune-based writer also conceived and edited Vaachu Anande, an anthology for children that juxtaposes classics of Marathi literature with iconic artwork from across India. For her contributions to children’s literature, she won the Sahitya Akademi’s Bal Sahitya Puraskar in 2014, and more recently, the first Big Little Book Award instituted by Parag, an initiative of the Tata Trusts.
As is evident from her stories, Purandare sees children as they really are: individuals with strong likes and dislikes, who do not like being talked down to and who are not universally adorable. “Her stories have a sense of rhythm and flow. They are very visual as well, making it easy for even struggling readers to comprehend,” says Shubhada Joshi, founder of the Pune-based alternative school Khelghar, which uses Purandare’s books in its reading programmes. Joshi says, “Every story takes you into a child’s world, shows you how she perceives the world. Her writing creates opportunities for children to ask questions and think independently. Her work also gives parents and teachers an insight into a child’s imagination.” Read more
The Hindu Young World-Goodbooks Awards is for children’s books published in India. It was introduced to promote excellence in children’s writing and illustration. The award aims to acknowledge innovative publishing trends, and recognise children’s literature as an independent and important field.
This is the second year the award will be given and the winners will be felicitated at The Hindu Lit for Life festival which will take place in Chennai on January 14, 15 and 16. This year, the awards will be given in two categories — Best Author and Best Illustrator. Each award will carry a cash prize of Rs. 50,000, a trophy and a citation. Read more
In a brand-new collection of stories set in the 1960s -70s Mussoorie of a bygone era, renowned author Ruskin Bond brings to life a mystery and murder featuring the elderly Miss Ripley-Bean and her friends. The book titled, Death Under The Deodars: The Adventures of Miss Ripley-Bean is published by Penguin India.
The eight stories in the book are classic Ruskin style – full of wit and memorable characters, and will enthrall and delight children as well as adults. As the elderly Miss Ripley-Bean, her Tibetan terrier Fluff, her good friend Mr Lobo, the hotel pianist, and Nandu, the owner of the Royal, mull over the curious murders, the reader will be enthralled and delighted – until the murderer is finally revealed.
About the Author
Ruskin Bond’s first novel The Room on the Roof was written when he was seventeen. He received the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize in 1957. Since then he has published a number of novellas, short story collections, books of essays and articles, poems and children’s books. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1993, the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2014. Ruskin Bond was born in Kasauli, and grew up in Jamnagar, Dehradun, Delhi and Shimla. As a young man, he spent four years in the Channel Islands and London. He returned to India in 1955.
He currently resides in Landour, Mussoorie with his adopted family.
Be it bizarrely imaginative, utopian, or even real-life stories, you are what you read. Here’s a round-up of ten authors that every teen must read
The books we read influence our thoughts, decisions and values.
Choosing the right book in your teens is an important step in the journey of exploring books as well as understanding life a little better.
There are classics, which have been influential in the early 1900s and will continue to do so for years to come.
On the other hand, there are books, which are on their way to making history.
PG Wodehouse
“I always advise people never to give advice.”
– PG Wodehouse
If wit and humour are what you are looking for then nobody can beat PG Wodehouse. The feather-brained ‘Bertie Wooster’, the amazing valet ‘Jeeves’ and the verbally dexterous ‘Psmith’, have gained an iconic status in the literary world. Wodehouse captures the humorous side of life in his books. His notable works are Right Ho Jeeves, Thank you Jeeves, Laughing gas, and The code of the Woosters. Read more
