The Great River Magic by Nandini Nayar is one of those books with a message, not usually an obvious choice for me to read at my book club. Yet, as I read this book, I was charmed by the premise. I love stories about families, family traditions, and the ways in which people follow or break them. The Great River Magic touches upon all this!
Sangeeta – whom her grandmother insists on calling Gita – is the firstborn child. In the village of Rajpur, this means that she must take over the family business. What if she doesn’t want to? That’s just one part of the mess that Rajpur is in. Rajpur is famous for its wonderful, top-quality products of all kinds, but of late, people have been complaining about odd smells and inferior production. Sangeeta and her siblings must use their skills to investigate. Together, they find the courage to stand up to the adults and set things right.
The Great River Magic
The very idea of a magical river makes me light up! We’ll do a quick written activity with this book, creating magical rivers of our own. What makes the river magical? Is there anything that can destroy the magic of the river? How can we restore its magic?
Pollution
Every child today is aware of pollution, climate change and the ways in which we are destroying the environment. What can the children do to save the world? And more, what would they like adults to do? Conversations with children are always interesting, and I’m waiting to see what the children say during our discussion!
Tradition
When we read Malhar in the Middle, we spoke about traditions we love and traditions we would like to change. One child said that she would like to wear a cap and trousers for Diwali; others spoke about things that only girls do during festivals.
I’d love to take the conversation forward with The Great River Magic. The village of Rajpur has traditions that the children in the story rebel against – the perfect backdrop for our discussion. Beginning with traditions we love, we will also talk about traditions we don’t like and that we would like to change.
Join my book club!
Leave a Reply