The Veena Player

When we were living in Holland we were constantly amazed at how kids accompanied adults to museums, art installations, exhibitions; and in turn how child friendly these places were. At some point we  picked up a thin booklet published by Rijks Museum , Amsterdam, named 'Gordon the Warden, And His Rijksmuseum Top 5'. Five famous paintings are depicted in the booklet and by means of some clever riddles/ puzzles/ fun facts, children are encouraged to discover art and history. Here are some images of this booklet I took this morning to share on this blog.

Ever since we introduced books to our daughter , I have been on a constant lookout for age appropriate books that encouraged looking at art , history, culture in a fun way. And I think The Veena Player from Tulika books is a close find. Written by Anjali Raghbeer and illustrated by Soumya Menon , it is one of the four part books that leads children into the world of India's best known artists. This book is about the works of Ravi Varma.


I was a bit hum- ho about the story line but my 5 year old has reissued it several times from the library so I guess it does speak to her. Also, on our recent visit to Tranquebar- she recognized many of Ravi Varma's work displayed in the hotel lobby and that really made me think- "wow. the book did a good job in introducing the artist, then!" In the end the book has a 4 page description of Ravi Varma's life, his paintings, what made them special, and his influence on pop culture and art. That is interesting read for older children and adults like me who are not that well versed with art! My 5 year old sticks to the story and closely observes the art.

Priced at Rs. 200/- it is a bit steep but I think it is a book worthwhile for your collection. The other books in the series portray Amrita Sher-Gil, Jamini Roy and M.F Hussain.

THE LONELY KING AND QUEEN by Deepa Balsavar

I saw this lovely book today at my friend's Ulka's house and I knew this had to make it to my next post here.

It's a Tullika book; written and illustrated by Deepa Balsavar (who I later found out works for Avehi-Abacus, a curriculum enrichment project for municipal schools in Mumbai).


The note on the back of the book says that this is a bedtime story that Deepa had made up for her own kid. I opened the book cover (that doesn't reveal much) thinking it will be a 'once upon a time' kind of story. While it is; it's also a story with a twist. The illustrations are very nice and the story itself is brilliant and when you read it you will know how useful it is for the time when your kid will ask you the inevitable question "where am I from?"

I don't want to let out too much because I really want you to read this book!! 

Available online from the Tulika site or Flipkart and also at the usual haunts, it is priced at Rs. 95/- and available in 8 Indian languages besides English.

Malli

A book that is a must must have in every kid's bookshelf : Malli. It's a story that makes you stop and appreciate relationships and sharing. A story that allows you to believe that the best things in life can actually come free!

Written by Jeeva Ragunath and Illustrated by Nancy Raj; it is offered by Tulika Publishers in their bilingual picture book category. It's categorized for ages 3+ (that includes me! Ha!) and is priced at Rs. 60/-
You can buy it online here : http://www.tulikabooks.com/bilingualbooks5.htm and ofcourse from Flipkart.
I do not know why Tulika publishers don't make a big deal of this book of theirs! It has the simplest of stories. It has the most delightful of illustrations. You can actually picture a small village in Tamilnadu flipping through the pages!

It was my dear friend Amaya who had  gifted me Malli-  i'll always be grateful to her!  It has been my absolute favorite ever since. I have in return gifted this book to so many of my friends' kids . I have chosen to share Malli in my 1st story telling session. And I have read it to my daughter, Tuhina, so many times that she has it memorized !