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 Best Days Of My Life

BOOK PICK OF THE WEEK - 1/9/2014

NAME OF THE BOOK - The best days of my life....childhood stories of famous people
AUTHOR - Scharada Dubey
PUBLISHER - Scholastic
AGE GROUP - 9 +


         We all know that September 5 is celebrated as Teacher's day in India on account of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan's birthday. My childhood was blessed with amazing teachers who shared their knowledge selflessly sowing in me the seeds for teaching. Seeing my teachers, I knew very early what I would like to choose as a profession. And today I am very happy to say that teaching is indeed a very noble profession and also which creates other professions!

          Teachers have a very important role in formative years of a student. Liking and favouring one subject is directly proportional to liking a teacher and being a teacher's pet! This is my experience and I'm sure you will agree with me.

          So, this week, I thought why not to inspire and influence our young readers with teachings and childhood lessons learnt by very famous people who walked this Earth? And therefore, I chose this book as this week's book pick.

         

          As the title suggests, this book contains a brief history about famous people and their childhood anecdotes explained in a simple language. The author has a done a great job of combining personalities from various fields of science, sports, education, literature, music, politics etc. Many stalwarts are included like - Gautama Buddha, Kabir, Mahatma Gandhi, J.R.D. Tata, Kapil Dev, Satyajit Ray etc. Not just Indian but foreign personalities also find a mention here - Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Neil Armstrong, Brian Lara etc.

          This is a very inspiring book and a must-read for children. I would also recommend it to parents. Read. Get inspired. Make a difference.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR -
          Scharada Dubey is an award-winning author of books for children and adults. She won the First Prize in the Commonwealth Essay Competition in 1973 and second place in Outlook-Picador Non-Fiction Competition in 2000. She has also won several prizes for her children's books. Her earlier books include Icons of Social Change and The Hanuman Heart. She lives and works in Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh.

Till then,
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!