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© Copyright 2013 - 2025
Varsha Seshan

An Absence of Squirrels

June 9, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

A couple of years ago, I finally read The Giver, a book that students at my writing programme recommended to me time and again when we were studying dystopia, mythopoeia, […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: books for ages nine and ten, books for tweens, reading, review

Agalya in the Spotlight

May 26, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

When I learned that Divya Anand had a new book out, I knew I had to read it. I loved Misfit Madhu. I’ve read it with my book club twice, […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: Agalya in the Spotlight, books for ages nine and ten, Divya Anand, early middle grade, reading, review

The Mystery of the Missing Geometry Boxes

May 7, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Who doesn’t love a good mystery? When geometry boxes begin to go missing, the AKA Detective Club finally has a new mystery to solve! But things always go missing in […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages nine and ten, online reading programme, online workshops for children, reading, Vidya V

Dear Mr. Henshaw

May 5, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I’ve said this dozens of times: I love epistolary novels. I made a video about a few favourites for World Post Day 2021, I love doing letter-writing activities at workshops, […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: Beverly Cleary, book club, bookish activities, books for ages nine and ten, Dear Mr Henshaw, epistolary, Middle Grade Book, online reading programme, reading, review

Agassi and the Great Cycle Race

May 2, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Agassi and the Great Cycle Race is a brand-new book that I’m eager to introduce to my book club. I read it not very long ago, and it’s such a rollicking […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: Agassi and the Great Cycle Race, book club, books for ages nine and ten, Khyrunnisa A, online reading programme, online workshops for children, reading, Silly Billy Book

Agassi and the Great Cycle Race

March 19, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Agassi and the Great Cycle Race by Khyrunnisa A. and illustrated by Saumya Oberoi is another fun Silly Billy book! The cover image encapsulates the madness of the book perfectly: […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: Agassi and the Great Cycle Race, books for ages nine and ten, Chapter Book, Khyrunnisa A, reading, review, Silly Billy Book

Jumble Sale

March 15, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Shabnam Minwalla’s Jumble Sale is another delightful Silly Billy Book, a lighthearted mystery, which begins with a missing bottlebrush. Who could have stolen it? An evil crow? A ghost? Or […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: books for ages nine and ten, Chapter Book, Jumble Sale, reading, review, Shabnam Minwalla, Silly Billy Book

Ghosts, Thieves and Aha! Adventures

March 12, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I love the idea of a Silly Billy Book! That’s what the series is called, and that’s what drew me to Ghosts, Thieves and Aha! Adventures by Asha Nehemiah in […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: Asha Nehemiah, books for ages nine and ten, Ghosts Thieves and Aha Adventures, reading, review, Silly Billy Book

The Hunt for the Nightingale

March 11, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Gone to a better place. Passed away. Moved on. Passed on. We have so many euphemisms to help us talk about death. But what if, sometimes, you need to hear […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: books for ages nine and ten, Middle Grade, reading, review, Sarah Ann Juckes, The Hunt for the Nightingale

The Letter with the Golden Stamp

March 8, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

The Letter with the Golden Stamp by Onjali Q. Raúf is such a heartwarming story! As a lover of letters (psst: my first novel in letters, The Wall Friends Club, […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: books for ages nine and ten, books for tweens, Middle Grade, Onjali Q Raúf, reading, review, The Letter with the Golden Stamp

Nimmi’s Bizuper Birthday

March 6, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Some time ago, we read Nimmi’s Dreadtastic Detective Days, and although it is longer than most of the other books I choose for Read, Write, Explore, we enjoyed it. It’s […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, books for ages nine and ten, Nimmi's Bizuper Birthday, online reading programme, online workshops for children, reading, Shabnam Minwalla

I Survived the Nazi Invasion, 1944

March 4, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

We’ve read one book from the I Survived series at Read, Write, Explore before—I Survived the California Wildfires, 2019. This one, I Survived the Nazi Invasion, 1944, was written way […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, books for ages nine and ten, I Survived the Nazi Invasion 1944, Lauren Tarshis, online reading programme, online workshops for children, reading

The Paradise Flycatcher

March 2, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

It’s impossible to write about The Paradise Flycatcher without mentioning the gorgeous illustrations. I felt the same way about The Golden Eagle, which we read at my book club some time ago. Krishna […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages nine and ten, creative writing, Deepak Dalal, Feather Tales, online reading programme, reading, review, The Paradise Flycatcher

The Scent of Roses

January 24, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

From the author of Boy, Bear, a poignant story that has stayed with me, comes The Scent of Roses, a book about fear, grief and loss. This latest hOle book […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Adithi Rao, books for ages nine and ten, books for ages seven and eight, Chapter Book, hOle book, Krishna Bala Shenoi, reading, review, The Scent of Roses

Leeva at Last

January 15, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

If you like Roald Dahl’s Matilda, you’re sure to enjoy Leeva at Last by Sara Pennypacker! Leeva’s parents, in a perfectly Roald Dahl-esque way are impossibly cruel. They have all […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: books for ages nine and ten, early middle grade, Leeva at Last, reading, review, Sara Pennypacker

Top 10 Early Middle Grade Books – 2024

January 9, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Many of the titles on this list of my favourite early middle grade books from 2024 are book club reads. Some, the children enjoyed thoroughly; others, I enjoyed more than […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Bat and the End of Everything, Birds on the Brain, books for ages nine and ten, early middle grade, Kushti Kid, No Talking, Petu Pumpkin: Freedom Fighter, reading, review, The Misadventures of a Diamond Thief, The Mystery of the Silk Umbrella, The One and Only Ruby, The Wishkeeper's Apprentice, The Worst Witch to the Rescue

Misfit Madhu

January 6, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

We’re rereading Misfit Madhu at my book club! It was a favourite when I read it two years ago, although it’s longer and slightly more complex than the books we […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages nine and ten, Divya Anand, Misfit Madhu, online reading programme

Trouble-Maker

January 4, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Have you read any books by Andrew Clements? I’ve read several, and each one of them has been such a good choice as a book club read! Perhaps it’s because […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Andrew Clements, book club, bookish activities, books for ages nine and ten, online reading programme, online workshops for children, Trouble-Maker

Kushti Kid

January 2, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Kushti Kid is another lovely book by Vibha Batra, one that I know my book club will enjoy! For me, the challenge when it comes to introducing books published by […]

Filed Under: Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages nine and ten, Kushti Kid, online workshops for children, Vibha Batra

Kushti Kid

November 28, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I’ve read and enjoyed so many of Vibha Batra’s books that when I saw Kushti Kid, I knew I had to read it. And it’s lovely! Several of Vibha’s books […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: books for ages nine and ten, books for ages seven and eight, Kushti Kid, reading, review, Vibha Batra

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