Germs! Germs! Germs!

Scholastic publishers have  these 'Hello Reader!' series that I am personally quite fond of. They are age appropriate and offer varied options according to the reading ability of the child. 

I quite like the book on Germs that has great rhymes and fun illustrations to drive some key messages home. 

Sample this:
We're on the ground, 
We're in the air. 
We're germs 
and we live  everywhere!
Or

Knock-knock, body. Let us in! 

We'll make you sick once we begin!

Every germ thinks it's just grand
to hop in a mouth on a dirty hand.

Written by Bobby Katz and illustrated by Steve Bjorkman , the book is written from the perspective of germs and when they are happy attacking you and your body and when they get shut out. Informative about what helps germs multiply and what keeps them away and also some facts about your body. They have some fun names like "hurry ups" who don't flush or wash after potty, "nose pickers", "sneezers" and "coughers" that make kids laugh. This makes the health and hygiene lesson fun instead of preachy.  Nicely done! My kid's school library also has it and the teacher has read it out to them. So in my opinion, very useful for any educator or parent.

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.

सो भी जायो , अनोखी ! Sov nu,Vesta -Linnea

I was rummaging around for children's books we haven't read in our local library and decided to look in the Hindi section for a change.  Since I was expecting to find mostly CBT/ NBT/Pratham Books/ Tullika/Tara books you can imagine my surprise when I pulled out this book ! It was in Hindi and it's title read
" So bhi Jayo- Anokhi!" सो भी जायो , अनोखी !

I was so fascinated with its illustrations and art work and knew right there and then that I have to snap out of my procrastination in updating this blog with this very book review.

Originally, this book is in Swedish published in Finland , written by Tara Appelgren and illustrated by Salla Savolainen. It has been translated in Hindi by Arundhati Deosthale and was published by Arvind Kumar publishers: http://www.arvindkumarpublishers.com/. I had never heard of this publishing group but had a hunch about who could be involved when I read on the back cover that this book translation was part of their foreign picture book series. I was right about a few members and here is a list of them.


Okay, so more about the book: Brilliant artwork. I have been going over it again and again. There is a centre spread where the artist shows the layout of the whole house. It is delightful. Also, the story line is endearing. Anokhi has trouble sleeping at night and when she does scary thoughts and monsters keep her awake. She thinks it is not right to wake her mom up every night but does like to go to her room every night and feel reassured. Her mother is surprised to find  Anokhi sleeping against her bedroom door and gives her many cuddles.

I searched a bit online and found that Vesta-Linnea books are a series. And going by the review published here, I discovered that Vesta-Linnéa’s family consists of her mother, stepfather, two younger sisters and a big brother. The stepfather angle makes me understand a little bit more of this story. Anyways, am not going to spoil it for you. It is a lovely book , Priced at Rs. 60/- it is a steal.

I am very happy Arundhati Deosthale translated it in Hindi for I would have never discovered this but I must admit the Hindi is not easy , even to a native hindi speaker like me. The text font is very small and crowded and while reading it out to your 4-8 year old you will have to cut down on many words and keep it simple. But. It is worth it.

Princess Poppy

If you are a parent like me who cringes at anything related to Barbie but your kid is so into princesses and fairies and ends up looking at all sorts of books with a Barbie image on them then Princess Poppy is your answer!

These are a series of attractive books with great stories designed for a little girl reader and their Barbie hating moms!;))

Everything about the book will appeal to the 4-5 year old princesses who would love the dainty flowers, tiny golden stars, the little envelope with a note right in front, the colour scheme , the map of Honeypot Hill featuring in every book - everything!

All the characters have such kind faces and the focus is on the story and less on the dress/ hair/makeup or looks of  'Poppy' and her friends and Family. The stories are about friendship,  sharing, feelings, standing up for yourself -such lovely themes!
However, my favourite part is their tag line, "Every Little Girl is a Princess".

Here's a nice interview with the author, Janey Louise Jones : http://clubs-kids.scholastic.co.uk/clubs_content/2170
Veronica Vasylenko does  a fabulous job of illustrating the stories but seems to have got little mention of her work on the web.
Ah! Also! The Random House group has developed a nice website for your kid to tinker around after she is done with the reading. http://www.princesspoppy.com/

Today Was a Terrible Day-Patricia Reilly Giff

Absolutely delighted reading this book!

On first glance it does seem it is in line with Judith V's book, 'Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day' but it differs with a twist in the tale and its classroom setting.
Susanna Natti has done a wonderful job of illustrating those frustrating emotions and feelings as well as school life. I loved the hand written note-it looked so real with the blue ball point ink!
In my internet search about Patricia I came across her blog and understood the book better. Patricia was a teacher for 20 years. As part of a write up on her here, she says,
"All of my books are based in some way on my personal experiences, or the experiences of members of my family, or the stories kids would tell me in school."
I liked this book even better when I read this as well in the write up: "I want the children to bubble up with laughter, or to cry over my books. I want to picture them under a cherry tree or at the library with my book in their hands. But more, I want to see them reading in the classroom. I want to see children in solitude at their desks, reading, absorbing, lost in a book."

Worth recommending for talking to your kid about having a sense of humour. My kid laughs loudly every time we go over the , "Hello Michael? This is Snakey." bit in the end.
Worth recommending also for narrating how school life really is-being called names, being laughed at, feeling left out , and then happy times because I really do believe children live in the moment.
But most of all worth recommending for the delicate teacher-student bond that shines through in this book.

A Very Unusual Dog- Dorothy Joan Harris and Kim Lafave

Such a tender tale of a child with an imaginary dog,an elder sister pooh poohing his claims, an understanding mother, and a sensitive grandmother.Dorothy Joan Harris, its author is a fairly well know children's author. From the back cover I learnt that she is also a grandmother and that  really shines out in this story.

Published by North Winds Press, a division of Scholastic Cananda Ltd , it is sold by Scholastic India at Rs. 175/-

An adorable book and a very heart warming story line. Absolutely loved the warm illustrations and the colours Kim Lafave has created for the book.
Look out for it!

Pirate Mom- By Deborah Underwood

This is a real fun book. Pete's mom who doesn't fancy the idea of playing along with Pete's obsession of pirates is in for a surprise. Amazing Marco the magician requests Pete's mom to volunteer for his magic hypnosis show. Pete suggests Marco turns her into a pirate and before you know it Pete's mom is all over saying ARRRR! and scaring neighbours and the postman! How will he get her back to being his polite, well mannered mom?

Refreshing story, great art work ( love it how the mom's expression changes pre and post pirate mode) and how it makes kids laugh. Great book for a story telling session.

If you have a pirate-loving little kid pick this one up for sure!