The Pratham girl story

Pratham Books celebrates the International Girl Child Day with a unique marathon

This Thursday and Friday, the team at Pratham Books was busier than usual. They had organised a Live Write-a-thon, to commemorate the International Girl Child Day (September 24), and the launch of their new website (www.prathambooks.org).

Four women authors and four illustrators from across the country got together for the occasion to pen a book in two days. “Since we strongly believe that reading is an important tool in the development of a child, we are launching this book on the International Girl Child Day,” said Mala Kumar, Editor, Pratham Books. “And we wanted our online community to be a part of this event. The idea of doing a book online with collaborators from all over the country seemed just right.”

Full report here Hindu

DBF to focus on travel, children's books

The Delhi Book Fair 2011, beginning at the Pragati Maidan here on August 27, will have travel and tourism as its theme, with a special focus on children’s literature and the growth of e-book business, an official said.

More than 300 Indian and foreign publishers will take part in the fair to be inaugurated by Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal.

The fair will be organised jointly by the India Trade Promotion Organisation and The Federation of Indian Publishers.

“Fair will be more aggressive this year because the publishers will be competing for the Excellence in Book Production award 2011,” said a spokesperson for the Indian Trade Promotion Organisation.

Three major literary events involving children are being billed as the highlights of the fair, the spokesperson said.

Discover the Genius in Your Child, How to Study Intelligently and Ghummaked Lok Katha (Roving Folk Tales), will see participation of children from schools here and from the National Capital Region.

Full report here Hindustan Times 

Greek mythology inspires teen’s debut novel

Inspired by stories from Greek mythology, a Delhi schoolboy spins a magical tale of fantasy envisaging the defeat of evil by a teen wizard who the author hopes would go on to be popular in the country.

Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit released Damien Black: The Battle of Lost Ages a fantasy novel by 14-year-old Kevin Solomon Missal in the national capital recently.

“The book is about Damien Black a teenager who belongs to a hunter clan,” says the author Missal, who is studying  in class X. Started as a summer vacation project, the book, says Missal was completed within of two months.

“It is fascinating to see that the book has been inspired by Greek mythology characters. Such good work by young authors must carry on,” Dikshit said after releasing the book.

The Chief Minister said parents should encourage their children to write books and explore avenues that interest them.

Full report here Hindustan Times

Salman Rushdie pens kids' book

Salman Rushdie, the prize-winning Indian-born writer, has in the past based novels on the politics of India and Pakistan. But his latest book is for teenagers, and the inspiration — at least some of it — came from video games.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Rushdie said Luka and the Fire of Life, his new novel, was written as a birthday present for his 13-year-old son, Milan.

The book, a fable about a young boy's adventures as he tries to save his father's life, is the second novel Rushdie has written for children. His first, "Haroun and the Sea of Stories," was written for his older son, Zafar, in 1989, as Rushdie was under threat of death.

Earlier that year, Iran's leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, had issued a religious edict, or fatwah, ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie, saying his novel "The Satanic Verses" had insulted Islam.

The new book, Rushdie said Friday, Oct 8 drew inspiration from elements of computer games — though he admitted that he was terrible at the games and his sons usually beat him.

"Video games are often based on a classical quest format. That fits well with a fable," he told the AP. "The book is about the value of life, and in video games you can have a thousand lives. So I contrasted those two things."

Rushdie said much has changed since his first children's book, which he described as a response to being forced into hiding. The fatwah, which came amid angry protests and book burnings across the Muslim world, put Rushdie under police protection for almost 10 years.

"This was a dark time for me and I tried to fill the novel with light and to give it a happy ending. Happy endings were things I had become very interested in at the time," he said.

Rushdie said he enjoyed writing the two children's books, but he doesn't see himself becoming a children's author.

Full report here AP

The myth meister

The author weaves another engrossing yarn, all the while addressing some of his perennial concerns about human life and expression

Luka and the Fire of Life
Salman Rushdie
Jonathan Cape
Rs 915; Pp 216

Nearly two decades ago, Salman Rushdie wrote a novel while he was in hiding after Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini declared a fatwa on him, over his novel, The Satanic Verses. That delightful novel was Haroun and the Sea of Stories, an in-your-face response, showing that he could not be silenced and he would not disappear into oblivion.

There, a little boy called Haroun travels to the source of all stories to restore the gift of gab, which his father, Rashid Khalifa, had lost. It dazzled readers, even as it had a particular poignancy and relevance—it was a stirring defence of free speech—of arguments, talkativeness, and verbal anarchy, against khatam-shud, or silence, the dark place where only one voice could speak. Rushdie had written that novel for his son Zafar, who was, to borrow a word Rushdie coined in Midnight’s Children, “nearlynine” at the time of the fatwa.

With Luka and the Fire of Life, Rushdie returns to the Khalifa family. Written for his second son, Milan, who is now 13, the story is about Haroun’s brother, Luka, who is determined to help his father. The Shah of Blah, as Rashid Khalifa is known, is back, but only just: He is ill; life is seeping out, and tubes sustain him by feeding him and people worry around him. Twelve-year-old Luka has to complete a hair-raising journey through the world of magic, and in a nod to the Promethean myth, he must bring the fire of life to the earth, to revive his father.

Full review here Mint

JK Rowling on Harry Potter's future

Best-selling author JK Rowling will appear in a rare interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show to talk about her life and career and the possibility of another Harry Potter book.

The 45-year-old British writer, who was rated by Forbes magazine earlier this year with an estimated wealth of $1 billion, talked to Winfrey for the first time from Edinburgh, Scotland in an interview to be broadcast on Friday, her US publisher Scholastic Inc. said.

Rowling spoke about coping with fame, pressure and she "shares her thoughts on the possibility of ever writing another Harry Potter book in the future," Scholastic said in a statement.

She told Winfrey she realised her books about the boy wizard were popular and her life had changed forever when she saw an enormous line of fans outside a large store during her second US book tour. She said the moment "felt Beatle-esque.

Full report here Hindustan Times

Between tigers and monsters

Writing children's books is an unpretentious act for Anushka Ravishankar

Anushka Ravishankar's craft is defined by a lucid philosophy. The well-known children's author and playwright, when writing for her young readers, cordons off her mind to narrow down only “on the characters and how they will behave.” There is no ache to preach, serve out a moral or the dreaded flaw — sounding false. “With children when the tone is false, it really sounds false and they see through. What they want to know, you have to write without making it too simplified. One can challenge them by leaving gaps,” says the author.

The Capital got a whiff of Anushka's works over the past couple of weeks. The play “Coat Tales” authored by her was staged a few times and her latest book, “At least a Fish” from Scholastic was launched.

At the Imperial Hotel, Anushka settles for lunch at the aesthetic restaurant The Spice Route where a Sri Lankan food fest is on.

Full report here Hindu

All things bright and beautiful

I follow Darwin's evolution theory up the stairs, and turn beside the bust of an Egyptian goddess (arguing with myself that it resembles Nefertiti) and psychedelic graffiti befitting a mafia catcall to reach illustrator Gaman Palem's cubicle in Loyola College, hidden among a crowd of painted canvasses and clustered comics.

A comic artist for the last eight years, Gaman has illustrated more than 100 Indian children's comics, working mainly on mythological subjects. “All of us grow up with mythology, and there's no pulling you away from it,” he says, adding, “And, I've always worked with children's books, and I enjoy it. The comics are always colourful and bright.”

Gaman's first series of eight picture books, The Golden Mythology Series, won the National Award for Excellence in Printing Children's Books, and the illustrator is now busy with his designs for the Government's Samacheer Kalvi English textbooks for Classes I to IX.

Full report here Hindu

Kongbam Ibeyaima’s folk tales bag Sahitya Akademi award

Ngathem Ningol Kongbam Ongbi Ibeyaima’s folk tales- Sorarengee Machanupi Atonbee Leimashang Amasung Atei Phunga Wareeshing in Manipuri was among the most outstanding books for children published in 24 Indian languages recognized by the Sahitya Akademi selected for the Sahitya Akademi Award for Children Literature (Bal Sahitya Puraskar) for 2010.

One book of folk tales, two books of poetry, six short stories, seven of novels, one play, one travelogue and five writers for their total contribution to children literature were selected for the awards newly instituted by the Sahitya Akademi from this year, according to the Sahitya Akademi. The award for the children literature in Sanskrit will be announced on Saturday.

Other awardees are Gagan Chandra Adhikari(Assamese), Saral De (Bengali), Nabin Malla Boro (Bodo), Gianeshwar (Dogri), Mini Srinivasan (English), Yashwant Mehta (Gujarati), Prakash Manu (Hindi), Boluvaru Mohammad Kunhi (Kannada), S. Razi(Kashmiri), Prakash S. Pariekar (Konkani), Tara Nand Viyogee (Maithili), Sippi Pallippuram (Malayalam), Anil Awachat(Marathi), Naina Singh Yonzan(Nepali), Punyaprabha Devi (Oriya), Jasbir Bhullar (Punjabi), Damyanti Jadawat Chanchal (Rajasthani), Bouyha Biswanath Tudu(Santhali), Khiman U.Mulani (Sindhi), Ma. Kamalavelan(Tamil), Kaluvakolanu Sadananda(Telegu) and Ghulam Haider(Urdu).

Full report here Kangla Online

The Little Prince to be published in English

A graphic novel based on The Little Prince by French artist Joann Sfar is set to be published in an English-language edition in October, reported Publishers Weekly on September 22. An internationally acclaimed cartoonist, Joann Sfar is known for previous graphic novels including The Rabbi's Cat, which was adapted for film and for which he won the prestigious Jury Prize at the Angoulême Comics Festival, as well as for his The Little Vampire children's books.

Sfar's adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's classic novella takes the unique approach of depicting the story's narrator, the pilot, who never appears in the original book's illustrations. The adaptation was first published as a French-language title in France in 2007.

In an email interview with Publishers Weekly's Comics Week, Sfar said the project "would be a great way to demonstrate that a graphic novel is NOT an illustrated book. I feel there is a specificity in comic book storytelling which allows a different path than illustration."

Full report here Hindustan Times

Now, an online library for kids

The next time your child asks you for a new bedtime story, have no fear. Just log on to www.longlongago.in and order a new book. The website, which started in May, is India’s first exclusive online library for children up to 12 years. Members can access their complete online catalogue and get books home delivered. What’s more, they don’t charge late fees and even have an online librarian who recommends books based on the children’s age and reading preferences.

The idea came about when the website’s founders — Hariraj, Kavitha, Anand and Chitra — returned from abroad and noticed a lack of options when it came to kiddie books in comparison to what was on offer abroad. Hariraj says, “In India, libraries are quite scarce and libraries for children books are even fewer.  So, when we returned to India, we started this venture.”

Full report here Hindustan Times

Morsels of pleasure

Nita Mehta assures that her latest cookbook will bring peace to the dinner table

An unlikely segment, kids, is the target of cookbook writer Nita Mehta's latest effort. Named 101 Recipes for Children (Nita Mehta Publication), it is a book aimed at mothers to roll out appealing dishes for their young ones.

The author, who has more than 250 bestselling cookery books to her credit, has taken special care of the tiffin box items in the book and has emphasised on the appeal factor of the dishes served. The other categories covered in the book are snacks and meal time dishes. A special section on sandwiches and shakes has also been included to cater to the special cravings of teenagers.

Talking at the launch of the book at Oxford Bookstore in Connaught Place, the author said that snacks should be like finger food that little fingers can pick up with ease. “Meal time dishes should be simple but of a high standard that the child will learn to appreciate for the rest of his life.”

Full report here Hindu

Barack Obama to publish children's book

US President Barack Obama has written a children's book which is to be published on 16 November, two weeks after Congressional mid-term elections.

The book - Of Thee I Sing: A Letter To My Daughters - was written before Mr Obama took office in January 2009.

The 40-page book pays tribute to 13 Americans, from the first President George Washington to baseball legend Jackie Robinson.

Mr Obama has already published two books which have become best-sellers.

The cover of his new book is an illustration of his two daughters, Sasha and Malia, walking their dog Bo.

Proceeds from the book are to go to a scholarship fund for the children of soldiers killed and disabled in wars.

Full report here BBC

Nonsense, sensibly

Anuskha Ravishankar on the dynamics of penning a play.

Theatre tests Anushka Ravishankar. Her latest work Coat Tales to be staged in Delhi this month, directed by Australian Pauline Furlong, is no different. Anushka digs deep into the mine of Indian folk tales, picks out stories, shoves away the barricades set by language and stitches them well.

The Chennai-based author of children's books, poet and playwright, tries to tweak theatre techniques with her new work. Of course, the writer known for her penchant for “nonsense” has not abandoned it in “Coat Tales.”

“The play has bits that are nonsensical,” says Anushka in a telephone chat from Chennai.

Even when she sieved out tales she wanted to tell from the “Panchatantra”, Tamil folk tales and the nautanki tradition, she played with them, pecked at the seams and gave them new sheen and twists. “Coat Tales” seamlessly blends five folk tales and Anushka says folk stories with their inherent character posed a few challenges for the playwright. “When you learn in the Aristotelian structure of plays with exposition, climax and denouement, suddenly you realise it doesn't work with folk tales as they are basically quest tales and often do not have a conflict,” she says.

Full report here Hindu

The Monu magic

Bolwar Mahamad Kunhi, the winner of the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award for his work on Gandhiji for children, says it is a fascinating story of an ordinary boy who became famous by speaking the truth

In the West, most acclaimed writers have written for children. However, such instances are far and few between in our immediate literary context. Bolwar Mahamad Kunhi, a short story writer and novelist of repute is among the few exceptions. This writer has edited what is considered the finest work ever produced in Kannada for children – “Tattu Chappale Putta Magu”, a collection of over 100 poems and “Santammanna”, which is an anthology of 40-odd poems with lively-lovely illustrations. He is now the recipient of the Kendra Sahitya Akademi award for telling children the story of an ordinary Mohandas who became Mahatma Gandhi in his “Paapu Gandhi Bapu Gandhi Aada Kathe”.

Apart from Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar, it is only Bolwar who has written about Gandhi for children.

Full report here Hindu

The day of the Grasshopper

As Siddhartha Sarma claimed the first Crossword Award for the Best Children’s Book in Mumbai this week, a bunch of writers at the Jumpstart festival were asking a key question: Should adults read books for children?

Technically, The Grasshopper’s Run is a children’s book — published by Scholastic last year in the emerging category of fiction for young adults. This is a growing segment of readers in India, and an important one: historically, despite the wide variety of literature for children, we haven’t had much literature for teenagers and young adults, across most Indian languages. But as writers from Paro Anand to Samit Basu know, writing for children or young adults effectively consigns the author to invisibility on the book-review pages. This means that kids, and teens, will read Sarma’s book — but adults will miss out.

And that would be a shame. Sarma’s real audience, as he says on his blog, is “all you closet Commando readers” — or anyone interested in the almost-forgotten Japanese siege of Kohima in 1944. “The (Second World) war touched India in many places, but the only region invaded on the mainland was the North-east,” Sarma writes. “It was a time of great misery, great courage and remarkable events. But if you expect much fiction about India and the war, forget it. Mostly it is because a couple of years after the war we began a bigger adventure: Independence and the rest of the jing-bang. People weren’t really into what their soldiers did fighting for another country in some far-off place.”

Full report here Business Standard

Scandinavian children's literature now in Hindi

Norway has opened its treasure chest of children's literature to vernacular readers in India by translating four Norwegian children's books in Hindi.

This is the second lot of Norwegian children's literature to be translated in English. Last year, the Embassy of Norway had translated four children's books into Hindi to reach out to millions of children from middle class homes studying in vernacular schools across the country.

The books translated this year include 'Naye Ghar Mein Gadbadi' written by Av Lene Ask, 'Chai ki Ketli' by Jan Kora Olen, 'Dost ya Dushman' by Kala Benedik and Trond Braenne; and 'Rajkumar Bho-Bho' by Bjorn Ousland.

The books were released by Aslak Brun, minister counsellor, Embassy of Norway in the capital Monday, August 23.

The translation projects have been funded by a non-profit Norwegian literary forum, Norla which is supporting the translation of yet another book, 'Out Stealing Horses', a work of fiction by Per Petterson, in three Indian languages. It will be released late autumn.

Full report here Sify

Children's literary award to be announced today

The Bal Sahitya Puraskar (children's literary award) will be announced for the first time since its inception by the Sahitya Akademi at Kala Academy on August 20.

According to Sahitya Akademi officials, the president of the Akademi will announce the names of the Pruaskar's winners for their contribution to children's literature in Indian languages. Besides, Bhasha Sammans for classical and medieval literature and unrecognized languages will also be announced, he said.

Meanwhile, the translation prize presentation function will be held at Kala Academy's Dinnanath Mangeshkar hall in Panaji on August 20 at 5.30pm.

Full report here Times of India 

Once upon a myth

Hema Vaidyanathan, in her re-telling of Indian mythology for kids who need to re-connect with their Indian milieu, wants to keep it short, funny, and free of violence

There's something about Indians who settle across the seas, and their love for mythology. It's not a general blanket statement, stereotyping all Indians that way, but look around among your own immediate family and friends and tell me if our kids here are not more hooked on to Bob the Builder rather than the story of Karna. Hema Vaidyanathan, children's author who lives in Switzerland and produces beautiful books on Indian mythology, admits it may be true. But she argues it's more a young urban parent phenomenon.

The author, whose second book “Tail Tales” was released recently in the city, furthers the idea: “It's true that when parents leave India, their sense of anchor is gone. It strikes you that there's a lot of Christmas and representations of other faiths around. But the sound of the Indian milieu is not there. And one wants to introduce kids to what we connected with. But I see that even parents in India want their kids to be re-connected and re-introduced to what they grew up with, not just NRIs.”

With two “cross-cultural children” of her own, who were born and brought up outside India, Hema saw herself dealing with a whole lot of issues.

Full report here Hindu

Will they find it?

There's mystery, there's competition, there's fun…it's all about life in school.

Bells announcing the end of a school day, a righteous Principal, a stern PT master, worried parents, camaraderie, rivalry, pranks, team work, sharing and caring are a part of school life. It is no different for the group of boys studying at Green Park School either. But the only difference in this case is that, Amar, popularly known as Butterfingers, and his friends have a lot more than academics to worry about.

The competition in the ongoing Colonel Nadkarni Under-15 Inter-school Limited Overs Cricket Trophy proves to be as open as ever with Green Park losing their very first match to a school that has, of all the atrocious things, included girls in their team. The last year's runners-up have to deal with this loss and one greater — the death of the school patron Colonel Nadkarni, who is also their beloved ‘Colonel Uncle'. Following on the heels of these losses is the impending loss of their school ground which ‘Colonel Uncle' is supposed to have willed to the school, but in the absence of which it passes on to his nephew Dinesh Nadkarni.

Full report here Hindu