“How about watching The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe?” a friend’s mother suggested when I was about eleven. I giggled. “What a funny name! What is that?” “You mean you […]
The Red Dress
As a child, I did not like anything about anything awkward. I did not like dirt (even though I asked my father where the Famous Five went to the loo […]
Hello? Is Anybody There?
If you go to the moon, you would go up. But when you reach the moon, you land. You go down. And if you are on the moon and you […]
Shadow Web
Everybody in the internet age does it at least once in a while. Type in ‘Varsha Seshan’, just to see what pops up. Don’t tell me you haven’t searched for […]
Avameru
I began to read the book and licked my lips, wondering what I could say about it. A book by a dear friend can be a dangerous thing because you […]
Women of Pride
Women of Pride unravelled a lot of questions before proceeding to respond to them, at least in part . There was so much about the devadasis that I did not […]
International Children’s Book Day
Yes, today is International Children’s Book Day, a time for me to look back at all the wonderful children’s books I’ve read this year!
Toro! Toro!
Is it true that the most moving books must be placed during wartime? How strange that the moments of greatest human kindness come during the cruelest of times! Toro! Toro! is […]
The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips
The best stories are the simplest ones of all. And who better than Michael Morpurgo to write simple stories so simply that they charm you? Boowie receives a letter from […]
The Great Escape
The story of two dogs and a cat during the second world war brought to mind an aspect of war that I had never considered. What happened to all the […]
Luck
Why are publishers so diffident about revealing the fact that a collection of short stories is just that – a collection of short stories and not a novel? I started […]
Twelve Minutes to Midnight
I’m still chuckling as I think about Twelve Minutes to Midnight. It’s been a while since my mind was so absorbed in a book that I kept waiting to get […]
Yellow Shoes
Today is World Storytelling Day. Here is a story to celebrate the day! If you like it, use it. Read it out to children. Make them imagine and colour – […]
Waterslain Angels
When I was about ten, I read British Folk-Tales (not linking this to a place where you can buy it because Amazon is selling it at an incredible price of […]
Ace
I always link my book reviews to amazon.in for people to buy the book there, but when I searched for Dick King-Smith’s Ace, the first thing I found was a […]
Fantastic Mr Dahl
Yes, Mr Dahl is fantastic. What I find interesting about Fantastic Mr Dahl, though, is the way in which Michael Rosen examines what makes him fantastic. Is it the fact […]
Avameru
Since I know that this author will barely publicize his book, if at all … This is what I’m reading. There’s nothing like reading something (published) that is written by […]
Private Peaceful
Charlie … Charlie … Charlie …I want to meet you, get to know you, look up and admire you. I wanted to sob my heart out when I finished reading […]
The Butterfly Lion
This morning, I was reading Private Peaceful before I left for school. I glanced at my watch. Okay, one more paragraph. I read about Big Joe singing Oranges and Lemons […]
The Tales of Beedle the Bard
Hermione Granger translates so well! I love her translations from the original runes. And of course, Albus Dumbledore’s notes reveal his genius and insight, providing valuable information about interpretations of […]