We know it’s tough times – and especially when you have active and excitable kids at home.
Anxieties are running high, and the young ones are no different. But we have for you a trick that has proven to work for years – yoga!
Say hello to Om, our favourite yoga dog, who knows how to mix up fun and yoga for your kids to relax and go to bed happy and content.
Here are 5 asanas recommended by Om for your kids to try while staying at home:
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Tummy Sandwich
How many times have the kids been hit by hunger pangs? Food takes care of their tummies, sure, but make sure to balance out the tummy-care with this super fun asana!
Sit up straight on the mat. Keep the legs together and stretch them out straight in front of you.
Stretch your arms up over the head.
Reach out to touch your toes, bending from the hip. Keep your back straight.
Stay in this posture. Continue to inhale and exhale comfortably.
Dancer
Who doesn’t like to dance? Amp up yoga for the kids with this asana!
Stand up and bend the right leg at the knee. Grab your big toe and pull it towards the head.
Stay in this position for a few seconds, fixing your gaze on a point in front of you to maintain balance. Focus on controlled breathing to steady the posture.
Repeat on the other side.
Warrior
This one is perfect for all the little warriors, fighters, boxers, and wrestlers in your house.
Stand with your feet 3–4 feet apart. Raise your arms, keeping them perpendicular to the floor and parallel to each other.
Bend your right knee, keeping it parallel to the ground. Keep your left leg straight.
Reach your arms towards the sky. Arch your back.
As you reach higher, try to bring your arms together.
Roaring Lion
Do your kids have a booming roar? For all the tigers and lions in the house – try this one out!
Sit with your hips on the heels. Rest your palms on your knees, spreading your fingers like the claws of a lion.
Raise the chin. Stretch your spine.
Place your palms on the floor in front of the knees. Arch the spine and stickyou’re your tongue. Then ROAR like a lion!
Come back to the starting position and repeat.
Savasanas
This one is the trickiest of the lot. Surprised? Well, we suggest being extra careful that they don’t fall asleep – perhaps make it a challenge?
Lie down on the mat. Keep your hands and legs apart and your palms open. Relax.
Close your eyes and breathe gently and slowly. Be absolutely still. Imagine that your breath is flowing through your body like a stream.
Lie down in this position for a few minutes. Relax each and every part off your body.
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Om the Yoga Dog|| Ira Trivedi
Here’s to some fun and relaxing times with your kids and your family during quarantine. Om the Yoga Dog wishes you safety and wellbeing!
Books and stories are invaluable companions – especially to connect with and accept ourselves on a deeper, rawer level.
Times are challenging, and recent events have brought to the fore a dire need to address mental health concerns that most of us grapple with in silence and solitude. It’s crucial for us and our loved ones to know how to help and cope.
From personal stories to fictional characters that will speak to you and your struggles – scroll down below for a diverse list of books that will help you develop deep insights into your mind and your mental and spiritual health.
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I’ve Never Been (Un)Happier by Shaheen Bhatt
I’ve Never Been (Un)Happier, Shaheen Bhatt
I don’t write about my experiences with depression to defend the legitimacy of my pain. My pain is real; it does not come to me because of my lifestyle, and it is not taken away by my lifestyle.
Unwittingly known as Alia Bhatt’s older sister and diagnosed with depression at the eighteen, this tell-all memoir is an intimate and raw look at the day-to-day experiences of living with depression.
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Battles of the Mind by Anna Chandy
Battles in the Mind, Anna Chandy
Our minds fight battles, trials and tribulations on a daily basis. Anna Chandy, the chair of the Live, Love, Laugh Foundation along with actress Deepika Padukone, shares here a personal story of survival through pain and lows – a story that we all can take away something from. Above all, her story teaches us to hope.
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Death is Not the Answer by Anjali Chhabria
Death is not the Answer, Dr. Anjali Chhabria
Did you know that India is the world’s suicide capital with over 2.6 lakh cases reported every year?
From recognizing covert suicidal intentions to timely interventions – it has become more important than ever to develop insights into the minds of suicidal patients. Psychiatrist Dr. Anjali Chhabria attempts with to help thousands who are questioning the motive of their life, or dealing with grief – as well as people who have lost loved ones to suicide.
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Beating the Blues by Seema Hingorrany
Beating the Blues, Seema Hingorrany
According to a WHO study, a mindboggling 35.9 percent of India suffers from Major Depressive Episodes (MDE). India’s leading clinical psychologist, psychotherapist, and trauma researcher Seema Hingorrany provides a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to treating depression, examining what the term really means, its signs, causes, and symptoms; and some accessible self-help techniques you can adopt to manage it in your day-to-day life.
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On Meditation by Sri M
On Meditation, Sri M
In today’s challenging world, don’t you wish you knew how to quieten your mind and focus on yourself?
Spiritual leader Sri M breaks down the practice of meditation into a simple and easy method that any working man or woman, young or old, can practise in their everyday lives.
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Happy for No Reason by Mandira Bedi
Happy for No Reason, Mandira Bedi
Mandira Bedi is a fitness icon. But behind the six-pack is also a snotty, complaining, can’t-get-out-of-bed-today girl who, in her own way, is still searching for true and unconditional happiness.
In her book, she invites you along on an ongoing discovery of some kind of non-scientific, non-spiritual and as-yet-non-existent formula for finding peace in everything; of how to be happy for no reason.
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How to Travel Light by Shreevatsa Nevatia
How to Travel Light, Shreevatsa Nevatia
Diagnosed as bipolar at twenty-three, a young journalist struggles for a decade, fighting a cycle of depression, and euphoria.
In this candid, stylish journey, we visit diverse former loves and eccentric fellow sufferers; mental health institutions and Benares; his moments with Diana Eck and Deepika Padukone-and reckonings with past wounds.
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The Beauty of Ally My Days by Ruskin Bond
The Beauty of All My Days, Ruskin Bond
‘So here I am, delving into the past like Monsieur Poirot, not to solve a mystery, but to try to understand some of the events that have helped define the sort of person I have become.’
India’s most loved storyteller embarks on a self-reflective journey alongside his readers. Each chapter of this memoir is a remembrance of times past, an attempt to resurrect a person or a period or an episode, a reflection on the unpredictability of life. Some paths lead nowhere; others lead to a spring of pure water. Take any path and hope for the best. At least it will lead you out of the shadows.
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The Younger Ones Struggle Too
Flyaway Boy by Jane De Suza
Flyaway Boy, Jane De Suza
Spirited and powerfully imaginative, Flyaway Boy is a story about embracing everything that makes you uniquely you.
Kabir doesn’t fit in. Not in the wintry hill town, he lives in, and not in his school, where the lines are always straight. Backed into a corner with no way out, Kabir vanishes. With every adult’s nightmare now coming true, finding this flyaway boy will mean understanding who he really is.
This one is a must-read for every parent to understand, accept, and connect with their child better.
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Inside a Dark Box by Ritu Vaishnav
Inside a Dark Box, Ritu Vaishnav
When you get trapped in darkness, finding your way out can be a long and lonely battle, especially when the war is within your own head. Here’s a peep inside a mind struggling with itself.
Powerfully illustrated and extremely accessible, Inside a Dark Box is a simple book about what depression can feel like.
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The Lies We Tell by Himanjali Sarkar
The Lies We Tell, Himanjali Sankar
Seventeen-year-old Irfan Ahmed is handsome, easy-going and deeply in love with his girlfriend, Uma. However, when Uma dumps him for his best friend, Rishi, Irfan’s life begins to unravel. Things haven’t been good at home ever since his sister left. And soon, they get worse.
when a photograph of Uma begins to circulate among their classmates, everyone suspects it’s Irfan taking his revenge on his two erstwhile best friends.
Is Irfan really going out of his mind or is there someone else out there playing games with him?
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Unbroken by Nandhika Nambi
Unbroken, Nandhika Nambi
So okay, I’m a monster.
But look what I have to deal with–my brother is a frightened little freak, my father is selfish and ill-tempered, my mother is an ignorant doormat and my friends are just plain irritating. And I’m in a prison surrounded by them all, with nowhere to escape.
But one day, something happens … and suddenly I see what these relationships and people (however annoying) mean to me. I’ve been a monster for such a long time now, I’ve almost forgotten what it’s like to be human. Is it too late?
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In the end, all these books and characters come together to convey a simple yet strong message – you are seen, and you are not alone. It is okay to reach out. Your mental health matters.
Team Penguin wishes you safety, health and wellbeing.
We recently celebrated our most loved storyteller, Ruskin Bond’s 86th birthday. And as much fun as we had rediscovering his stories and hearing his words again – we can never really get enough of his stories.
As we continue to flip through his words, we decided to do a our own little round-up of some of his most powerful words and quotes that have stayed with us through the years.
On Unequal Struggles
On Human Truths and Sentiments
On Sadness and Fleeting Happiness
On Discomfort and Struggles
On Dreams and Reality
On Friendships
On Battles of Life
On Making Your Own Music
On Childhood and Adulthood
On Focusing and Spending on the Right Things
Whether writing for adults or for his young audience, Mr. Bond’s words have always had a resounding effect on us, no matter how many times we revisit his stories. Which of his stories are closest to your heart? Share with us in the comments below!
Meanwhile, you can join us in celebrating his work and life at our Kindle Store!
Have you noticed how the onion has so many layers? And have you seen your mother’s eyes water when she cuts an onion? Here is a remarkable story to tell you why. India’s favourite storyteller brings alive this timeless tale with her inimitable wit and simplicity. Dotted with charming illustrations, this gorgeous chapter book is the ideal introduction for beginners to the world of Sudha Murty.
Read below an excerpt from the book:
The kingdom of Ullas was very prosperous. The subjects were happy, the farmers had grown a bumper crop and the kingdom was surrounded by friendly allies. But the king and queen of Ullas were very sad. Their sadness seemed to envelop them wherever they went. This was because they really longed for a child and did not have one.
One day, they learnt of a place in the forests in the kingdom where, if you prayed hard and well, you were granted your wish.
They went there and for many days, prayed to the goddess of the forest for a long time. Finally, their prayers were heard and the goddess appeared before them in a flash of green light.
‘What do you wish for, my dear children?’ she asked.
The king and queen, overjoyed, bowed low and said, ‘We wish to have a child.’
‘So be it, you will soon have a little girl,’ said the goddess, shimmering in the greenery. ‘But remember, though she will be a loving child, she will have one flaw: She will love new clothes too much and it will make life difficult for you. Do you still want such a child?’
The king and queen looked at each other with their eyes full of hope and love. ‘Yes, we do,’ they said to the goddess. ‘We can’t think of anything else we want more in this world.’
The goddess smiled and vanished back among the trees.
Get your e-copy of How the Onion Got its Layershere 🙂
We’re delighted to be marking the 99th birthday of the legendary author and film maker Satyajit Ray with launch of The Final Adventures of Professor Shonku. This is the last volume in the children’s series on Professor Shonku’s escapades and once again brings alive the wildly imaginative world of the weird and wonderful protagonist.
Who is Professor Shonku?
FULL NAME: Trilokeshwar Shonku.
In Bengali, Shonku means a cone. Trilokeshwar means the ‘lord of heaven, earth and hell’. It is also a play on the name Trishanku, a mythical figure who tried to reach the heavens but was punished by the gods to forever remain stranded somewhere between heaven and earth.
BIRTHDAY: 16 June. Birth year estimated to be 1912
QUALIFICATIONS: BSc in physics and chemistry. A child prodigy, he graduated from college when he was sixteen. Honorary doctorate from the Swedish Academy of Sciences
HOMETOWN: Giridih
PET: Cat called Newton
MANSERVANT: Prahlad
NEIGHBOUR: Avinash Babu
FRIENDS: William Crole Jeremy Saunders, John Summerville
How did Professor Shonku come to be?
The first book in which Prof. Shonku appeared was simply called Professor Shonku. Published in 1965, it was Ray’s first book, though the stories had been written between 1961 and Professor Shonku was dedicated to Ray’s son, Sandip, who was eleven years old then. The inscription in the original book read ‘To Sandip Babu’. (Sandip’s pet name is Babu.) This was the only time Ray dedicated any of his books. One of the earliest examples of science-fiction writing in any Indian language, this book won the Government of India’s prize for Best Book for the Young.
Apart from this new volume which brings alive the wildly imaginative world of Professor Shonku, there are various books by Satyajit Ray that you can read with your young ones:
Join Professor Trilokeshwar Shonku, eccentric genius and scientist, on an incredible world tour as he confronts a daring doppelganger,undertakes an experiment to create pure gold, unravels the mystery of a scientist’s loss of memory and visits an unknown island to look for an amazing fruit, amongst other escapades.
Featuring the indomitable Professor Shonku and a bunch of madcap characters is presented here in a brilliant new translation that brings alive the magic and charm of Satyajit Ray’s imaginative world.
Professor Shonku cannot dismiss without proof the possibility that unicorns do exist somewhere on earth. In fact, Charles Willard, a fellow scientist, claimed to have actually seen them in Tibet, but, unfortunately, died shortly afterwards. So, when Shonku learns that another expedition is starting off for Tibet, he jumps at the opportunity to trace Willard’s route and find the unicorns. Tibet is just one of the exotic places Professor Shonku’s exploits take him in this volume of stories.
A stolen ring. A private menagerie. A mysterious ‘spy’ . . .
The first novel to feature master sleuth Feluda and his teenage assistant Topshe, The Emperor’s Ring is full of adventure, mystery and intrigue.
Feluda and Topshe are on holiday in Lucknow when a priceless Mughal ring is stolen. Feluda begins to investigate the case and finds himself hot on the trail of a devious criminal.
The murder of a stranger in a Calcutta hotel leads Feluda and his friends to Kathmandu, straight into the den of Maganlal Meghraj, their old adversary. With an incident at Swayambhunath, an ambush in a prayer wheel factory, a thrilling night at the casino, and a prolonged LSD-induced delusion for Jatayu, the case soon turns into a memorable adventure. In a sensational climax, the master sleuth uncovers an international racket in spurious drugs and emerges victorious yet again.
An eleven-year-old boy; Bablu; gets kidnapped by four goons. As they make their escape in a stolen car; they meet with an accident and two of the goons die on the spot while the boy loses consciousness. The two surviving kidnappers; presuming the boy to be dead; leave him stranded. When Bablu regains consciousness; he realizes he has lost his memory. In his wanderings; he befriends a street juggler; Harun; who gives him shelter and introduces him to a new way of life. Bablu; now called Fotik; spends his days working in a tea shop; while his evenings are spent assisting Harun on his street shows.
On the Run with Fotikchand is a thrilling story of everlasting friendship. Riveting and racy; it’ll have you turning the pages till the end.
A murder in an elevator. A trail of heady perfume. The nanasaheb’s priceless naulakha necklace.
Feluda, Topshe and Jatayu are in Bombay where Jatayu’s latest book is being filmed under the title Jet Bahadur. Soon after Jatayu hands over a package to a man in a red shirt, a murder takes place in the high-rise where the producer lives. Feluda and his companions find themselves in the midst of one of their most thrilling adventures ever, with a hair-raising climax aboard a train during location shooting.
All titles mentioned here are available as e-books. So you can start reading them today!
A book that focuses on a character that steals not only the Queen’s jewels but also an elephant? How did Nizrana Farook, the author of The Girl Who Stole an Elephant, come up with the idea for such a book?
Read the Q & A below and find out:
What inspired you to write the book?
I’m not quite sure exactly how the inspiration for this book came. All I know is that I was writing a piece for a task on my MA and it turned out to be the first chapter of my book. It was only ever intended to be a short piece, but I was excited by the protagonist and setting and I just grew the story from there.
Are there any characters that you can relate with from the book?
I’d like to say it’s Chaya, the protagonist, but in reality I’m probably more Nour than her. Her experience of leeches in the jungle was very much mine!
How did you choose these characters?
Chaya came to me fully formed. I knew she was a thief but I had to work out her motivation for being one. I wanted her to have a friend who was a calming influence on her, so that’s how Neel came about. I created Nour because I felt that there needed to be someone who was an outsider to that world, so the reader could see the world and have some of their questions answered through her.
Were the characters inspired by some people in your life?
Not really. I have taken bits from people I know and cobbled them together to form different characters, but no one is based fully on anyone.
When did you start writing the book?
I wrote the first words in December 2016. So it took three years exactly to go from putting pen to paper (or fingers to laptop in this case) to the book being available in shops in the UK. It was a super speedy roller coaster of a ride – from finishing the manuscript to finding an agent and getting a publishing deal and then editing the book to publication.
Were there any challenges?
Plenty! I started writing the book without any plan. I simply wrote the most exciting story I could think of without worrying about where it was going. At some point I had to stop and think it out. So the “soggy middle” of the book was the hardest part of all. The editing threw up many challenges, but thanks to my lovely editor Kirsty Stansfield, we got there in the end.
Are you a dog person or cat person?
Cat.
Pineapple on a pizza. Yes or No?
Definitely yes.
Will stealing the Queen’s jewels be the beginning or the end of everything for Chaya and her gang? Check out The Girl Who Stole an Elephantto find out!
How to Survive These Times Through the Niti Teachings
What is it about caves? If you sit down to think, you’ll find that history is specked with stories (across regions) that feature this hollow space made by nature—right from our ancestors, the early man. The cave dwellings, then cave drawings (or perhaps first art galleries), and then we move to more sophisticated stories.
Moses and St. Elijah spent time in a cave. Maimonides, the foremost Judaic polymath wrote his seminal book while exiled in a cave. When Empress Helena visited Palestine in 327 A. D., she stated that the blessed Mother Mary conceived in a cave, gave birth in one, and eventually settled down to raise a family in one, too. In fact, Helena found many Christian mystics living as hermits in hillside caves. Then we have Catherine of Siena who went to a cave. And Prophet Mohammed heard the Koran for the first time in the Cave of Hira.
Moving closer home, we too have many stories about this hollow space. Tibet has the cave where the famous killer-turned-yogi Milarepa meditated. In Kashmir, the ancient Rishis would take abode in the many caves there. The luminous Abhinavagupta’s Bhairava Cave in Beerwah, J&K, is celebrated for transcendence. The Amarnath Cave is, of course, where the supreme secret was revealed. And moving down in southern India, we have the Virupaksha Cave of Ramana Maharishi, which is visited by hundreds of thousands.
So, what is the power of a ‘cave’? Is there a power of the cave? And how does a cave offer solution in a time like this—the pandemic?
Plato’s insightful Allegory of the Cave gives a hint that the outside is a shadow and truth lies elsewhere. In the book, Dawn The Warrior Princess of Kashmir, the final answer is given in the cave of Mount Kailash where Shiva meditates. It is there that Dawn, the sixteen-year-old protagonist who is also the last living woman in the world, lives, to be precise, in a cave called Trisarsha in the year 3000 AD. So, the cave becomes a “pod” where the senses die but it becomes a womb where something magical is born—the power of the last woman standing is manifested here.
On Sunday April 12th the Catholics will celebrate Easter Sunday while the Orthodox Easter falls on April 19th. The connection between Dawn and Easter is deep. Dawn or “Usha” in Sanskrit is the most important Goddess in the Rig Veda. She is the harbinger of the rebirth of life each morn. She is the only Indian Goddess who has spread around the world. Her cognates are Eos in Greek, Aurora in Roman, and Eostre in English, which is the root of the word Easter—the festival of resurrection. Interestingly, Usha is also the name of the sanctuary city where the Sanhedrin or Rabbinical Court fled to in the 2nd century. It is important to remember that in addition to the celebrated Gayatri Mantra honoring her, she is also the Goddess of Order; the driver away of chaos and darkness. She is dawn, she is hope, she is resurrection.
Dawn is the key-holder to the ultimate life-hack—Niti—which is, simply put, the most powerful technology invented by humanity. Niti means “the wise conduct of life”. The Kashmirians maintained that one is born with only one birth right, namely the freedom to achieve what is one’s life quest. And what is the ‘way of life’ so that one can maximize one’s human potential? The Kashmirians defined life’s end goal in heroic terms as “unbounded fulfillment while alive” whether physical or meta-physical.
Niti’s promise is that it enables one to face any threat, any challenge to reaching one’s goal as one travels through Time and Space. These threats are the daily near-death forces in that they snip off one’s fulfillment in some way or the other culminating in the final death of an unfulfilled life. To become a ‘Niti Warrior’ is one’s birthright: the mark of a swatantra, free human. But what happens to Niti and the Niti Warrior during unprecedented times as the one where we are living now—during the Covid 19 pandemic which is an existential threat for all of humanity? What is the wise conduct here? How does Niti enable one to cause the Death of Death?
In the novel, Dawn states, ‘‘Health is the unrestricted movement of the body, mind and heart. This movement is powered by the bio-plasmic Life Breath.’
The Niti formula is quite explicit. It requires one to do deep learning; act bravely with compassion; and be with close friends. It was first articulated by Pandit Vishnu Sharma in the Panchatantra. The deep learning about the deadly virus is that the virus has understood humans better than even humans understand themselves. It has made our unrestricted movement its vector, used our strongest social instincts of physical bonding against us. The virus, learnt this through mutation; so we must take that Darwinian learning and mutate ourselves. Mutate to a behavior of no movement and the virus dies. Remember that it is not the strong that survive but the ones who adapt. Change we must at the individual level, at the community level and at the level of humanity to survive.
And if the call comes then we must act bravely and with compassion. Not just the front-line essential services fighters—the doctors, nurses, first responders, grocery sellers, vegetable vendors etc.—but each and every one of us can contribute to this war. In this regard a very special Easter blessing awaits the Corona virus survivors—the ones who had the blessing to live through this. They can be the carrier of the born-again healing touch through contributing their anti-bodies which is verily the gift of Jesus Christ. What is essential, says the Niti way of life, is that we stay connected to our loved ones. That is what keeps our Shakti consciousness alive. If we follow this Niti formula, then Covid 19 will fail to take our life-breath away. We will then experience the next thing that Dawn realizes and states in the novel: ‘The property of our Life Breath is freedom. It is this freedom that leads to creativity.’
If we look at our current condition as an opportunity and just give ourselves the chance inside our cave, then we will discover that we are slowly but inexorably drawn towards creative activities whether it is something as fundamental as cooking or artistic such as writing or painting or even spiritual expansion. Niti’s manifestation that is creativity is the ‘Life of Life’ which in turn is the cause of the ‘Death of Death’. And in the laboratories around the world it is the scientists who are detonating creativity. They will come up with not just one answer but multiple answers which will finish this scourge forever. That is the promise of Niti. And the Life Force will triumph again. So it has been so it will be.
Through the ages strong, inspirational women and girls have risen in response to uncertainty and injustice. Fearless chronicles the journeys and stories of such amazing and strong women – demonstrating that one girl can change everything.
If you were looking to be inspired today, read about these 7 asian women who fearlessly pursued their dreams:
Shukria Khanum
Shukria Khanum was a female aviator – one of the first of her kind in Pakistan. She obtained a commercial pilot’s license despite women not being allowed to fly commercial planes at the time. She subsequently became a flight instructor because she never gave up on her dream!.
Majida Rizvi
She was the first ever female judge of a Pakistani High Court and had a reputation for integrity and impartiality. Even after retirement Majida has continued to fight for gender equality and human rights in Pakistan.
Shamim Ara
Shamim began her career as an actress and subsequently became one of Pakistan’s leading ladies. But her true talent was producing and directing. She mastered what was at the time the male dominated area of cinema and she changed how women were portrayed in Pakistani cinema.
Zubeida Mustafa
Zubeida was an influential journalist at a time where there were very few women involved in the profession. She worked for Pakistan’s most influential and circulated daily, Dawn. Her stellar writing quality and persistence led her to a long and successful career in journalism.
Ameena Saiyid Obe
Ameena pursued her love of books by starting her own publishing company, Saiyid Books as well as working as Managing Director of Oxford University Press in Pakistan where she grew the company exponentially. She also cofounded the Karachi Literature Festival and is lauded for promoting the love of reading in Pakistan.
Shahida Malik
Shahida was the first high-ranking two-star female general in the Pakistani Army. Although she faced challenges and opposition from her male colleagues, she did not let it stop her and she went on to serve as the Deputy Commander and Inspector General of the Pakistan Army Medical Corps.
Quratulain Bakhtiari
Quratulain is a community activist, educationist and Nobel Peace Prize Nominee. She has worked extensively with refugees and her efforts have led to the establishment of thousands of schools.
These are but a few examples of the tenacity and strength displayed by women in overcoming challenges and pursuing their dreams. You can read further about these women and many more in Fearless
The Hook Books are early chapter books for very young readers, aged five and above (for being read to) and six and above (for reading independently). Written by award-winning and most-loved writers for children, and illustrated in exuberant colour by some of India’s best illustrators, these stories are set largely in non-urban settings.
Why Hook Books? Sayoni Basu, editor of the Hook Books explains why you and your child should be reading these.
It is an accepted fact that every child reads at a different pace. Reading levels and grade targets and lexile levels work up to a point, but children’s actual reading abilities vary widely within these levels and frequently fall outside them on either side. This is especially true in India in the case of books in English—English might be the first, second or third language, and is introduced at different ages.
The challenge for authors and publishers is to therefore create books which can work for wide age groups. Books which are both simple and complex: with a vocabulary that works for kids of five and six, who are graduating from picture books to books with more words, yet with a story that would interest a reader who may be a lot older.
My Daddy and the Well || Jerry Pinto, Lavanya Naidu (Illustrator)
This was one of our goals in the Hook Book series.
The longer we work in children’s publishing, the more clearly we realise the impossibility of linking age group to reading ability. So we wanted to create books that satisfy the metro parents’ desire to fast-forward their child’s reading achievements, and yet allow children the pleasure of reading well-written stories that appeal to them.
The second goal we set ourselves is to have a diversity of experiences in these books. Many of our readers live in cities and are in many ways deracinated. Living within an urban bubble and interacting only with other children like themselves, it is easy for them to lose touch with the the fact that despite belonging to the same country, we are diverse in the way we look, the way we live, the religious practices we follow, and social habits. So one of our goals in this series was also to try to bring together stories of small towns from different parts of the country. This is done subtly, through the names of the characters and the lives that are depicted and through visuals. There is no explicit mention or discussion, but it brings the lives of people who are ‘different’ into the world of the reader.
A Quiet Girl || Paro Anand, Toposhi Ghoshal (Illustrator)
The third goal is an educational value addition. We strongly believe that reading should be for pleasure and pleasure only, but we are sadly aware that a lot of the world does not share this view. And because we want our books to sell, we have given in to market pressure and created one exercise for each book. These exercises are carefully chosen to fit in with what children learn at school, so parents and teachers will be happy. But we also wanted to make these as enjoyable as possible for the child. And instead of quizzing kids about what is in the book, we use the story as a starting point for the child to explore the nuances of language and its usage.
So the Hook Books tick many boxes: they are attractive, well-written, fun to read, and are also educational, diverse and carefully crafted. We hope they will be an exciting and groundbreaking new series in the Indian children’s market.
The king and queen, overjoyed, bowed low and said, ‘We wish to have a child.’
