|
choose
the right books for children
The
choices aren’t wholly discouraging. Gone are the days when
generations of Indian children grew up on the same staple diet of
books by Enid Blyton, the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series, and to
an extent, Dr Seuss and Roald Dahl. Ruskin Bond was highly enjoyed
by some young people and there was always a rash of versions of
the Panchatantra and Jataka tales. But that was
about it. Fortunately, a home-spun breed of contemporary authors
have now helped present a bright new face to Indo-English
children’s literature, their writing providing an exciting mix
of ethnicity and innovative storytelling.
Here are some of the better options available, categorised
age-wise:
0-4
-
Leading
publishers for toddlers, who entirely depend on being read
aloud to, include Children’s Book Trust, National Book Trust
and Nehru Bal Pustakalaya from Delhi. Such books as Balloons
For Me, Rosy the Greedy Calf, We Indians, Mangu’s Top, The
King Tree with an environment-friendly lesson, Hello
Moon introducing basic space concepts and the
award-winning Chumki Posts a Letter have proved
all-time favourites. These happen to be the least expensive
buys too.
-
The
house of Tata Donnelley in Mumbai has offered popular colour
and number books and the simple but evocative Have Fun with
Words under their children’s imprint called Brightsparks.
However, the bulk of their titles are more suited for slightly
older kids.
-
Nevee,
an imprint from BPI (India), has consistently produced quality
activity books for the pre-primary set. Their range is well
listed in a comprehensive 2000 catalogue.
4-8
-
This
is the perfect age group to introduce to the wonderful range
of books from Tara Publishing and Tulika Books, both Chennai-based
but quite freely distributed in the major metros. From the
absurd verse of Catch That Crocodile and the delightful
Monkey’s Drum to the drama created in The
Fivetongued Firefanged Folkadotted Dragon Snake, these
books offer original perspectives while remaining rooted
solidly in the Indian context. They effectively capture the
way children naturally play with language and meaning.
Understanding how young people are highly visual in their
imagination, Tara presents a reading experience which goes
beyond the mere deciphering of words on a page.
-
Tata
Donnelley continues its series… Have Fun with Animals,
Have Fun with Good Manners and Have Fun with Good
and Safe Habits, and also has primary school children
captivated by My Own Book of Insects, My Own Book of
Flowers, My Book of Indian Festivals and My Own Book of
Time, apart from I Love My Fruits, Stand Tall
(on correct posture) and The Big Book of Small Things
(teaching opposites).
-
From
Nevee now come valuable educational paperbacks such as the
charmingly illustrated Family Ties which helps kids
innovatively learn about the goodness of locally found
vegetables, a compilation of stories recreating the rich
traditions of the South named Idli and Sambhar, and
Goan tales for children called Goan Whoopee.
-
Fare
from Navneet Publications and the Karadi Tales collections are
choices too.
8-12
-
Tara
Publishing rules again with socially relevant themes exploring
gender and environment in books with subtle underlying
meassages, as in Trash! On Ragpicker Children and
Recycling, Leaf Life, and Toys and Tales with Everyday
Materials. Recommended as well are Four Heroes and a
Haunted House and beautiful black and white stippled
pictures designed around the socio-geographical content of African
Tales from Tendai’s Grandmother.
-
If
Amar Chitra Katha entertains impressionable minds with
its historical and religious titles, adventure stories have
been given a fresh lease of life with Deepak Dalal’s
exciting Lakshadweep Adventure, Ladakh Adventure,
Ranthambhor Adventure and Snow Leopard Adventure
published by Sanjay and Company.
-
Individual
titles worth noting include Madhur Jaffrey’s interpretation
of Indian festive traditions in Seasons of Splendour
and Maneka Gandhi’s The Rainbow and Other Stories.
-
For
parents rueing the fact that the only fun stories for older
children were the famous William, Billy Bunter and Biggles
series, here comes news in the form of Bubla Basu’s books
published by BPI. The writer’s successful It Happened
That Year and Upto the Nines (for classes VIII and
IX respectively; class X is being readied) are lively accounts
of high school and family life that kids identify with, as
they’re engaging without being particularly kind to the
adults featured.
And
finally, oh for a local Harry Potter series! |
