A richly illustrated children’s book written in simple, rhyming verses, A Rooster for a Pet is about a rambunctious rooster who turns the life of the author upside down. Bought by the author’s father, the cuddly ball of fluff soon grows to be a menace in the household, fluttering about the house, getting onto furniture and appliances,
Reading aloud is one of the earliest means by which we share stories with young children and try to inculcate the habit of reading in them. Hearing a story which captures the imagination, provides enjoyment and introduces different emotions and situations and also creates a connection between the adult and the child being read to.
टका सा जवाब देना, टके का सब खेल है, टका सा मुंह लेकर रह जाना, सौ टके की बात है—these are some of the instances where one experiences the use of the word ‘taka’ or ‘takey’. Children who are immersed in the English language may not even have used or heard this word before.
Shriprasad (1932-2012), one of the founders of children’s literature in Hindi, is known for writing the most musical and rhythmic poetry for children; his entire oeuvre being a veritable feast of sounds to be enjoyed by children and adults alike. In many of his poems, there’s also an element of ‘nonsense’ which in fact, at times, has layers of meaning and borders on the fantastic.
When an author is also an illustrator, or an illustrator also writes stories, and she or he conceives a book that takes shape—then the magic that happens is what you can see in Rajiv Eipe’s Dugga!Dugga is a wordless picture book, or a pure picture storybook. The cover shows the image of a fox-like dog.
Shailaja Shrinivasan & Tultul Biswas: Your writing is prolific—for children, for adults and poetry. How do you keep in touch with the current generation that you write for when you write for children?Hans Sande: Apart from the impulses I get by visiting schools and kindergartens, I have no method or measure to keep in touch with the current generation.