The name itself makes my eyes sparkle. Trouble with magic? That sounds promising! And it is. I giggled my way through the book, chuckling at the hapless Aunt Malu and charmed by the enterprising Veena. Aunt Malu should have known better, but … therein lies the tale!
Why is this book part of my reading programme?
The hOle books are all fun, and I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by Asha Nehemiah, so how could I not include her Trouble with Magic in my reading programme?
Imagination
What would you invent if you could invent anything in the world? Do you think that invention of yours is scientific or magical?
Children at my workshops have invented all kinds of things from time machines to superfast shoes and robots that do their homework for them. Aunt Malu is a delightful mix of magician and scientist – neither real nor fantastic – and so, she provides the perfect balance for children who want both realistic fiction and magic. Children are free to imagine anything at all in this realm and I’m waiting to see everything they create!
Actvities
As with Shrinking Vanita, I look forward to linking the real world with the virtual one. Online workshops do have their disadvantages, but they have advantages too because so much stuff is easily accessible. I won’t, of course, get children to make things themselves since I cannot supervise, but I will invite them to look at bottles of interesting things around them and imagine what would happen if they mix them up, in the style of George’s Marvellous Medicine!
Sense perception
Paying attention to the world around us is the first step towards making sense of it. What happens to snow in the heat? What happens to leaves in the wind? How do we link these sounds to our emotions? With its effusion of colour and sound, Trouble with Magic allows for much sensitivity to the world around us.
A little about the book
There’s never a dull moment when nine-year-old Veena is around, but Aunt Malu should know better than to go along with the girl’s zany ideas. Veena’s ideas always lead to unexpected results. Free season passes to the circus, for instance, involve cleaning out lion cages with the lions in them. Adopting pets leads them to take in a lame mongoose that keeps stealing food from the neighbour’s kitchen.
Trouble with Magic is a hilarious book, a rollicking ride in the company of a fun aunt and an incurably optimistic girl.
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