Book Review - The Enormous Crocodile

BOOK PICK OF THE WEEK - 15/9/2014

NAME OF THE BOOK - the enormous crocodile
AUTHOR - Roald Dahl
ILLUSTRATOR - Quentin Blake
PUBLISHER - Puffin Books
AGE GROUP - Read-aloud : 6+, Read-alone : 8+

          13th September being Roald Dahl's birthday, I had to pick up his book for the coveted BOOK PICK OF THE WEEK. You do not need any introduction to Roald Dahl. The most-loved children's author, why do I say that?, (Because our new members always pick him up before trying anything new!), he has carved a place in everybody's heart.

          The enormous crocodile is a short novella about a humongous crocodile who decides one day to eat juicy children. She has reserved some tricks up her sleeve to entice the children to come near her. All the animals of the jungle are aware of how wicked she can be since she has already tried eating one child before but in vain. This time, each of the jungle animals tries to convince her to not go after the children but she doesn't listen. In turn, they call her 'horrendous, nasty, bitter, greedy, grumptious brute etc. But, she just ignores all of them, injuring a bird with long feathers and reaches at the town.

          What happens next is a full roller-coaster of humour. The crocodile disguises itself in various situations but all the other jungle animals come to save the innocent children from the ravenous beast.

          Quentin Blake truly made me stop reading at each page and admire his illustrations. He has illustrated the crocodile beautifully. Many things like a dragon, a coconut tree, a see-saw look real and do not look like a crocodile at all!

          A little longer than a picture book but truly, one reading at least recommended for the kids. Either read aloud to them in various tones or let them read quietly. You will surely see a smile on their faces after they finish it!

Till next week,
Happy Reading!




Image Courtesy : Google

Book Review - My grandfather

BOOK PICK OF THE WEEK - 8/9/2014

NAME OF THE BOOK - My grandfather
AUTHOR - Taruja Parande
PUBLISHER - Tulika Publishers
AGE GROUP - 7+

          Last Sunday, being Grandparents' Day, I could not come up with a more befitting book than this. A picture book, written by Taruja Parande, explores her unforgettable adventures and observations of her grandfather. 'It is a moving tribute to a grandfather from a loving granddaughter', so says the back cover.

          The author has written what her grandfather's interests were - dance, butterflies, pigeons, toast recipe etc. Stunning photographs by Palash make the book visually appealing. Filled with small anecdotes about his bedtime rituals or his scribblings, we are very much drawn into his life and how must life be in those ages!

          As Taruja puts it in her own words - 'My grandfather was not the president, not a scientist, not a hero, nor a saint. He was just very special because he was MINE'. Isn't that true for all of us?

          A perfect book which brought tears to my eyes reminiscing about my maternal grandfather after reading it! A must-read for us parents rather than children! Why I say this because the depth will be understood by us better than children! However, you can encourage them to make such a booklet about their grandparents! You may never know how they perceive your parents through their innocent eyes!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR -
Taruja Parande is a graphic designer with a passion for illustration. She lives and works in Bangalore.
This book was a result of a project which she worked on at the Industrial Design Centre, IIT Powai.

Till next week,
Happy Reading!

 

Book Review - The mountain that loved a bird

BOOK PICK OF THE WEEK - 18/8/2014

Name of the book - The mountain that loved a bird
Author - Alice McLerran
Illustrator - Stephen Aitken
Publisher - Tulika Publishers
Age group - 6+

'There was once a mountain made of bare stone .... ' So begins the story of The mountain that loved a bird. The mountain is bare, stands cold and alone until a small bird visits it and changes its life.

THE STORY -
The mountain is standing cold and suddenly, a bird flies by it. The mountain has never seen such a wonderful thing and requests it to stay there. The bird says that its name is Joy and it cannot stay because it needs food and water to drink. But, it promises to come again in next spring. And since, no mountain has never cared for the bird, this bird says that it will name her daughter Joy and she will come to visit every spring when the former bird will no longer be there. Thus, it so happens that every spring, Joy comes to visit the mountain albeit for a few hours. After a few years, her daughter who she named Joy comes. The visits continue as Joy's daughter, also named Joy continues the tradition. After 99 years, the mountain starts crying uncontrollably. The bird goes away. It comes again the  next year and the year after. Still, the mountain is crying.

What happens next, and how the mountain changes from a bare one to full of life is the rest of the story. Beautiful illustrations do justice to the story being narrated.

What I liked in the book?

• A small bird had the power to change a mountain. Thus, in our life also, small changes can lead to success and improvement.
• Despair can ruin our life. Instead, we should aim to bring back happiness in our life.
• Nothing is constant. Neither sorrow, nor happiness. So, let's live each day as it comes.

Here, I recollect some lines written by Randy Pausch in his book, The Last Lecture.  - "No matter how bad things are, you can always make thing worse. At the same time, it is often within your attitude to make them better."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR -
Alice McLerran has been writing since 1984. Her best-known books include Roxaboxen, The Ghost Dance, The Year of the Ranch, and Dreamsong. She lives in U.S.

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR-
Stephen Aitken, a Canadian illustrator and writer, is also a biologist and Managing Editor of Biodiversity Journal. He lives in Kulu, Himachal Pradesh. The illustrations for this book reflect the luminous colors of the Himalayan skies over India.

Hope you enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed reading it.
Till next week,
Happy Reading!

Book Review - We, the Children of India!

BOOK PICK OF THE WEEK - 11/08/2014

NAME OF THE BOOK - We, the children of India! The Preamble to our Constitution
AGE GROUP - 7+
AUTHOR - Leila Seth
ILLUSTRATOR - Bindia Thapar
PUBLISHER - Puffin Books

On this 15th August, we complete 67 years of Independence. Though so many years have passed since we became free, still, we are not free in the true sense of the word. Our citizens do not have access to basic clothing, food and shelter which are deemed necessities of life. Our Constitution clearly states equal rights to men and women, still women are degraded and receive inferior treatment. So, how can we improve this situation?

By educating our future citizens about their rights and duties. The author has explained beautifully the Preamble to our Constitution which is the most important document of our country. The Preamble, i.e. the introduction to our Constitution, the first sentence consists of the rights bestowed upon the citizens and how do we run our country. Tough concepts like Justice, Liberty are clearly explained in a child-friendly manner along with numerous illustrations.

The book starts with a short introduction of our History - British Rule, Fight for Freedom etc., going further about how the Constitution was drafted, original black and white photographs of Pandit Nehru signing the Draft, etc. Then, it goes onto explain the concepts of the Preamble, the makers of the Constitution with their photographs and their short profile. Thrown in between are small snippets of information like who makes our laws?, who runs the Government?

She concludes the book by telling us what we need to do right now and how can we bring in change.

A NOTE ON THE AUTHOR -
Leila Seth was the first woman judge of the Delhi High Court and the first woman to be the Chief Justice of a state in India. She retired as Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh in 1992. She was a member of the 15th Law Commission of India and responsible for the report on Free and Compulsory Education of Children. She has a Diploma in Montessori Education.

A NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATOR-
Bindia Thapar is an architect by training and an illustrator by choice. She is best known for her wide variety of illustrations for children. Sadly, there will not be any more books from her. She passed away this year on 18th April.

A must-read for every child!
Till next week,
Happy Reading!

Book Review - The Susu Pals!

BOOK PICK OF THE WEEK - 04/08/2014

NAME OF THE BOOK - The Susu Pals!
AUTHOR - Richa Jha
ILLUSTRATOR - Alicia Souza
AGE GROUP - 6 - 9 years

          Yesterday, the whole world was celebrating Friendship, so we couldn't be left behind. Friendships are one of the most important part of our lives. Friendship goes beyond religion, caste, grades, gender and most of all, friendship is like therapy to our over-worked souls. Just a small message from a long-lost friend can make us refreshed and make us smile!

          And hence, we chose a book on friendship called The Susu pals. It will at least make you smile and you will reminisce your childhood if ever you had been a susu pal! This book is reviewed here by a fellow mommy blogger Divya who shares her joys of reading to her 7 year old son Abhay and you can check her other posts too.

          If you are curious as to what this book is about, watch this -




Intrigued?    Come and borrow this book!
Till then,
Happy Reading!