Varsha Seshan's Official Website

  • Home
  • Published Work
    • Books for Ages <5
    • Books for Ages 7-10
    • Books for Ages 10+
    • Reviews
  • Workshops
    • Calendar
    • Book Clubs
    • Creative Writing Programmes
    • School Visits
  • About
    • About Me
    • Recognition
  • Blog
  • Contact

© Copyright 2013 - 2025
Varsha Seshan

Birds on the Brain

November 2, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Uma Krishnaswami’s Birds on the Brain is such a lovely book! I’ve read Book Uncle and Me with my book club, and I just revisited the post I wrote about it. Three years ago, […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: Birds on the Brain, book club, books for ages seven and eight, online reading programme, reading, review, Uma Krishnaswami

The Great Escape

November 1, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Each time Menaka Raman posted about The Great Escape events, she urged participants to bring a spoon.And then, when she autographed my copy, she wrote Spoontacular Varsha.How could I not be intrigued? What’s […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, Chapter Books, hOle books, Menaka Raman, online reading programme, The Great Escape

Gooney Bird Greene

September 12, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Gooney Bird Greene was the second book I read from Kahaani Box, and it’s a fun story by an author whose work I admire. Lois Lowry has written such a […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: books for ages nine and ten, books for ages seven and eight, Chapter Book, early middle grade, Gooney Bird Greene, Lois Lowry, reading, review

Dear Sister

September 8, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I’ve missed libraries so much ever since the British Library shut down! On a recent visit to Bangalore, I visited Kahaani Box, and I made a decision to join on […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: Alison McGhee, books for ages nine and ten, books for ages seven and eight, Dear Sister, Joe Bluhm, reading, review

The Best Idea of All

September 7, 2024 by Varsha Seshan 2 Comments

I’m always nervous about reading my books with my book club! I wonder if and when I’ll get over that. We’ve read Dragonflies, Jigsaws and Seashells, The Prophecy of Rasphora, […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, online reading programme, The Best Idea of All

The Talking T-Rex

September 5, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

We’ve read two books from the A to Z Mysteries by Ron Roy; we’re all set to read another! Before picking up The Talking T-Rex, I wondered whether it would be a […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: A to Z Mysteries, book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, online reading programme, online workshops for children, reading, Ron Roy, The Talking T-Rex

Just Harriet

September 4, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Harriet isn’t your typical protagonist. She lies, she’s selfish, and she’s often sulky and bad-tempered. Even as I read Just Harriet, I mulled over whether to introduce it to my book […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages nine and ten, books for ages seven and eight, Elana K Arnold, Just Harriet, online reading programme, online workshops for children, reading

Spellbound

September 3, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

We’re rereading Spellbound by Nalini Sorensen at my book club next month! There are some books that simply must be read at a book club. They’re full of possibility, bursting with ideas […]

Filed Under: Books, Workshops Tagged With: books for ages seven and eight, Chapter Book, Nalini Sorensen, online reading programme, reading, review, Spellbound

Susie Will Not Speak

September 1, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Susie Will Not Speak by Shruthi Rao was one of the first hOle books I read, and it remains one of my favourites. Jahan and Susie leap out of the […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, hOle books, online book club, online reading programme, reading, review, Shruthi Rao, Susie Will Not Speak

Mini’s Books

July 7, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Books about books are always a joy to read at my book club! We’re reading In the Woof of Time at my reading programme for ages nine and ten and Mini’s Books at […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages five and six, books for ages seven and eight, Mini's Books, Nandini Nayar, online book club, online reading programme, online workshops for children, reading

The Perfect Present

July 5, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

We’ve read two books from the Ready, Freddy series at my book club, and I’m happy to read another! While I cannot say I love the books, I see how well they […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: Abby Klein, book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, online reading programme, online workshops for children, reading, The Perfect Present

Sita’s Chitwan

July 3, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Last year, I invited Vaishali Shroff to conduct a workshop for my writing programme on nonfiction. It was aptly called ‘Non-Boring Nonfiction‘. I rarely read nonfiction, and I don’t think […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, online book club, online reading programme, online workshops for children, reading, Sita's Chitwan, Vaishali Shroff

Peanut Has a Plan

July 1, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

We read Peanut Vs the Piano over two years ago at my book club, and it was such fun! I wrote a blog post about one of the activities we did as […]

Filed Under: Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, online reading programme, online workshops for children, Peanut Has a Plan, reading, Yashodhara Lal

Ottoline at Sea

May 11, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

As far as possible, I try to source books from independent bookstores for my book clubs. And so, when Eureka Books informed me that Ottoline Goes to School was out of stock […]

Filed Under: Books, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, Chris Riddell, online workshops for children, Ottoline at Sea, reading, review

Lucky, It’s Summer!

May 7, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

A story told from the point of view of a Cocker Spaniel–what’s not to love about it? As a book club read, Lucky, It’s Summer! is perfect in so many ways. The […]

Filed Under: Books, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, Lucky It's Summer, Nalini Sorensen, online reading programme, online workshops for children, reading

Ottoline Goes to School

May 5, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

We read Ottoline and the Yellow Cat at my book club last year, and it was such fun. I enjoy silliness of this kind so much that the book was on my […]

Filed Under: Books, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, Chris Riddell, online reading programme, online workshops for children, Ottoline Goes to School, reading

A Giant Leap

May 3, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I read and reviewed A Giant Leap three years ago. Since then, I’ve been thinking about introducing it to my book club, but it’s shorter than the books I usually […]

Filed Under: Books, Children, Workshops Tagged With: A Giant Leap, book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, Nakashi Chowdhry, online reading programme, reading, review, Thomas Scotto Barroux

Ostrich Girl

May 1, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

I love introducing children to brand-new books, hot off the press! I read Ostrich Girl written by Lesley D Biswas and illustrated by Anupama Ajinkya Apte, and I loved the possibilities […]

Filed Under: Books, Workshops Tagged With: book club, bookish activities, books for ages seven and eight, Lesley D Biswas, online book club, online reading programme, online workshops for children, Ostrich Girl, reading

What Happened to Grandpa

April 11, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Books spark discussion. As a book club facilitator, I know only too well how a story can lead to conversations about fear, wonder, belonging and so much more. And that […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: Aditi Anand, books for ages five and six, books for ages seven and eight, Nandini Nayar, Picture Book, reading, review, What Happened to Grandpa

Ostrich Girl

April 2, 2024 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

How well can you imitate bird calls? I used to (and sometimes still do!) imitate cuckoos, parakeets, bulbuls, and lapwings. But would you mistake me for a bird? Probably not. […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: books for ages seven and eight, hOle books, Lesley D Biswas, Ostrich Girl, reading, review

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • …
  • 7
  • Next Page »