Author Archives: Thebookreviewindia

Luckily, the task at hand is to make a globe with all the continents, and the materials needed are right at hand. Chintu takes a big blue ball from Pihu, his sister, and pulls down the ‘Animals Around the World’ chart from the wall. With scissors and glue, and an able assistant in Pihu, the job’s done! With a globe in tow, Chintu rushes off to school triumphantly.

In Jim Corbett National Park, we meet the giant Asian elephant—gentle and wise; weighing up to four tons. But right behind him slithers danger: the King Cobra from Agumbe, a massive reptile that is eighteen-feet long and actually not true cobra (surprise!).

A book becomes compelling when it transforms raw, realistic moments into sources of fascination. Raya’s character, although a child, is still shown as mature and understanding and these traits make her a deeply endearing character. Her observing nature is a catalyst for learning, which develops understanding of not only her surroundings,

Singh, subtly but definitively, challenges gender roles and stereotypes through the characters in the book. The father is scared of lizards, while the mother is not. It brings in the idea to children that men, even grown men, are allowed to be afraid. Later in the book, Diya shares her experiences with her bus driver, Rani, and her friend, Farah. By choosing to portray a woman bus driver, Singh has again broken the stereotypical notion of male bus drivers.

After reflection comes discovery with the section on ‘Fun Facts about Cats’, where imagination meets real-world learning. Did you know cats sleep almost two-thirds of the day; can leap six times their body height, or pick up scents spanning the width of a football field? These informative tidbits bring the poem to life

This enjoyable book holds the reader’s attention right through to the end and will amuse him or her with all the loud and sometimes strange animal sounds, as they try to shake Bear out of her deep sleep. The expressive and entertaining illustrations complement the text effectively.

Each verse is preceded by a 100-150-word description where Zai has focused on some well-known character traits, distinctive or curious behaviour that may seem whimsical or odd to the observer, and the reason for the same, helping to foster love for both poetry and the natural world.

Alankrita Amaya has written the story in Hindi. This story is about a character named Champu and her journey to the planets. Distinguishing characteristics of each planet have been woven into the story—an easy and engaging way to learn about planetary facts!

Shabnam’s writing is fast paced and filled with witty flourishes. She has a knack for crafting eccentric characters who feel instantly real. Tinaz Toddywala’s detective zeal, Dorab and Dina’s wide-eyed schemes, teachers and neighbours all come alive with little quirks and sharp humour.

All these sound-characters are so different, but together they make the story really fun and unique. It’s not like a regular story with a beginning, middle, and end. It’s more like a world of sounds that come alive and make you imagine things.
When I finished the book, I realized something important.

Vinayak Verma’s illustrations make the story even more delightful. With expressive faces and details, the pictures add to the humour of each attempt at the elusive ‘perfect’ medu vada. Children will especially enjoy spotting all the funny versions of vadas along the way.

The book needs no words to rely on. The illustrations by Tanya Sharma bring to life the sights, sounds and smells of all the cities we visit. The cities are threaded not just with food, but also with their essence—for example, Hyderabad’s Charminar, Gujarat’s Dandiya, Jaipur’s Hawa Mahal, and Kerala’s boats. There is ample diversity and inclusivity in the choice of locations.

The technique used is a classic and effective educational strategy often called ‘shared writing’ or ‘interactive storytelling’. The teacher acts as a facilitator, guiding the narrative while allowing Popo to be the primary creator. This models the structure of a story (beginning, middle, and end) and empowers the child to be successful.

Appukutonok Kenekoi Ujon Koribo? tells the story of a kingdom besieged by an unanswerable question—how do they weigh the prince’s elephant, Appukuttan? While the adults scratch their heads, it is a child named Meenu who thinks differently. The Eureka moment comes with her ingenious idea, leading the elephant into a river and using a clever measurement technique based on the laws of physics.

Cutpiece Kumar is a book aimed at channelling the creative minds of children to take up suitable projects which they could be proud of. This neatly illustrated book very significantly highlights the stitching together of a patch work quilt by a boy, to welcome his soon to be born sister.

The kingdom was populated by people who were eager and intelligent to find answers to any and every question that came their way. But weighing Appukuttan on a machine was next to impossible.

To write for children demands a particular kind of sensitivity and, if I may say so, a childlike spirit. The ability to reach their level without sermonizing; to see the world through their eyes, and resist the pull of adulthood—to write for them is to become them.

Khushboo ki Chori is a high-quality anthology that serves as an introduction to classic Bengali children’s literature for Hindi readers. Its strength lies in sheer quality of the original contributors, which includes celebrated names like Leela Majumdar, Narayana Gangopadhyay, and Sukumar Ray.

Kavita Singh Kale’s illustrations are hand-drawn, with visible strokes and layered shading. Their grainy warmth echoes the boy’s small, tender world, mosque domes shaded in twilight blues, and eyes brimming with unshed tears. The book gently touches on desire, faith, dignity,

In another, the finding of a bear’s nail turns a simple trek into a tale tinged with dread, balancing the real with the mythical. In the third, a playful young monk’s journey to disciplined devotion culminates in a tree of light and life—a parable of patience.