Author Archives: Thebookreviewindia

This bilingual book is a delightful reading for 3-6 years old children. It caters to their imagination. It unfolds the story of a feast hosted by King Lion, where the expectations of the attending animals take an unexpected turn.
What I like about the book is the King Lion’s friendly behaviour with all the animals.

This is a charming bilingual book designed to introduce the concept of seasons to early readers. Written in the form of verses, a format often appreciated and connected with by children, the book engages young readers.

Originally published in French, written and illustrated by Eric Battut, the story is about the homesickness and nostalgia felt by the residents of a cityside Zoo. When the animals confide in the Doctor who is visiting them for their annual health check-up, he realizes the uselessness of his medicines and prescriptions in the face of the deep despair all his patients feel.

A young boy comes home from school one day to face the loss of his Dadu. Aayan has many memories of his dear grandfather that he cherishes. He thinks of his Dadu with fondness and sadness. However, that is not all that troubles him.

The story by Katie Bagli is about the breeding behaviour of whistling ducks woven in the form of a fictional tale. A style quite suitable for the intended readers. This is a book about animals that talks about them in an environment most of us are familiar with and in which we see most of our wildlife—our homes, neighbourhoods and their edges adjoining natural habitats.

I looked again at the transparent spokes of the wheel and this time I saw the sand slipping along the spoke, one grain at a time, and suddenly I realized that these four spokes were actually two hourglasses, with a narrowed section in the middle.

The original Hindi title won a prize in the Category Concept Booksin the Competition for Children’s Books in Hindi organized by CBT.

Chalo Nahaane Chalein won the Second Prize in the Read-Aloud Category in the Competition for Children’s Books in Hindi organized by CBT.

Man ki Gaadi published under the new title Dhruv ki Gaadi won the Second Prize in the Category Social Emotional Learning in the Competition for Children’s Books in Hindi organized by CBT.

The Donkey, The Ghouls and the Magic Shawl won the Second Prize in the Category Get Ready for a Magical Time in the Competition for Children’s Books organized by CBT.

The Shark that couldn’t Bite by Cheryl Rao won a prize in the category Read-Aloud Books/Picture Books in the Competition for Children’s Books organized by CBT.

Aayi Aur Mein is the story of a girl whose mother has been hospitalized for a while and what her thoughts and emotions are on the day of her home coming. The girl and her dog Nimki are eagerly looking out of the window waiting for that moment.

A group of young boys also comes there daily as darkness creeps in. They practice their Rap songs ignoring Zara’s presence; so she is able to sit there by herself. But this doesn’t last since, one evening she finds her old school crafts teacher opening the gate and coming in to sit on the bench. Zara is not pleased at this because she is a talkative lady who keeps up a steady chatter.

A simple but interesting story that children are sure to enjoy.

Will Meenu Cry? is a bilingual book written both in English and Hindi (Kya Meenu Royegi) as a read aloud book. The author has very imaginatively created the story of a child who cries daily while her working mother takes her to school.

In different parts of the country, various outdoor and indoor games are played. And all of them have something common in them. And that is a tune and a beat—of fun and frolic, of laughter, of rhythm, of the inherent pace and of music. This erupts from within children.

Jacinta’s Diary brings together a collection of tales of travel through tribal areas of Jharkhand, the Niyamgiri Hills and adjacent areas of Odisha.

Sadhu aur Jadugar received the first prize in the category of ‘Jadu Bhari Kahania’ in the Hindi Children’s Literature Competition organized by the Children’s Book trust.

Words have the unique ability to transcend time, space and geographies—with the written word especially; this was evident at a recent exhibition held at the India International Centre, New Delhi, titled ‘Evam Vadati Pustakam:So Says the Book’ to showcase select manuscripts from South Asia covering a rich and varied field.

In this grim tale of the murder of a child, peahens and peacocks burst forth unexpectedly from the scrub and sail up into trees in the farmlands around Delhi not to add colour and variety, but because that is exactly what they do, heedless of the high voltage tensions in human dramas. There isn’t one extra unnecessary word in this novel, no self-indulgent lyricism to showcase the eloquence of the writer. The magnificent river flows through the words, however, making it lush ‘with watery dreams and silted nightmares.