Read Aloud session 3 : Dragon Loves Penguin by Debi Gliori

Read Aloud session 3 : 'Dragon loves Penguin'

Children don't want to wait ; they want the story right away!

Why we chose this book?

Valentine's Day just went by! And you just cannot restrict the information and visuals 5-8 years receive and process from their environment. Roses and hugs and kiss and all that jazz around the 'Valentines Day' establishes a very skewed up image of the word Love. We wanted to read to them what other aspects of love could be. The 'unconditional' aspect of it. And celebrating our differences.....and to be kind even to the unkind! and that the greatest gifts of all is 'Time and Love'.

About the Author - Debi Gliori

Debi Gliori is a Scottish children's books writer and a mother of 5. She has a great fan following including that of J K Rowing. With more that 75 books to her credit, she has also received rave reviews about her book 'What’s the Time, Mr Wolf?'. Her personal favorite and what she is proud of is "No Matter What" - a Book about unconditional love between a 'parent and a child'.

About the Book

A book that was bought last year but is picked up again and again from the book shelf by my daughter is ‪#‎dragonlovespenguin‬ by ‪#‎debigliori‬. This books talks about how people who are radically different from us can also be loved unconditionally. It conveys how its not always blood relation that matters.A brilliant story about unconditional love. Absolutely lovable illustrations and a lovely flow with very little text. Children just love to flip through its pages again and again.

About the Read Aloud Session
Dragon loves Penguin was a very exciting session. Children had so much to add to the story & of course they had cute questions! About Antarctica and Volcanoes and about bed-time stories!

A new feature that we have started is 'book rating' by the children on the scale of 1-4, 4 being the highest rating. They must back up with reasons as to why they gave that rating.This book got - 4,4,3,4 ( rated by 4 children). We had to use the talking pillow to avoid overlapping thoughts and give enough scope to the less vocal ones to speak.

Some of the reasons to like and dislike the book are summarized below:

1. I like the entire book , the story and the pictures, so I don't know which part to say was nice. (Rated 4)
2. It's OK for them to quarrel like sometimes we do with our friends. I like the 'little one' the most. Because she was brave and kind.(Rated 4)
3. I am giving 3 because I don't like the little one getting teased. (Rated 3)
4. (Summarized the entire story) and says ' I like When the little one found an egg. I was happy when little one found an egg. It was so cute ( the story). Awesome! (Rated 4)

And 'After-craft' is now a mandatory ritual. A little physical takeaway of the story! All the mini dragons breathing fire was indeed a exciting part for all of us. You will feel all the fun in the pictures. 
Click here for more pictures
Book review here

The Why Why Girl by Mahasweta Devi

The Why Why Girl by Mahasweta Devi

What we managed to read last night! Why I say 'managed' is because we wanted to read the book "The why why girl" by the renowned Mahasweta Devi before we attend the play on it today in the evening. We didn't have the book at home. Ordering and delivery would take time.

But WHY can't we read it today only???

We went to the library and reached there 10 mins before the closing time. We were not even sure if they have the book.

But we could find it there!

And obviously it had be to read on the way back itself.

The book is (obviously) about a girl who asks many "why's". What is touching about the book is the why's that she has asked for. Moyna's whys make our children aware that not everyone is fortunate enough to get formal education and other things that we are blessed with. And to add to it are the finely detailed illustrations by Kanyika Kini. A highly recommended book by Tulika publishers. 

Goodreads Ranking : 4.25/5
Google Ranking : 5/5

Details of the book by the publisher: Moyna Lives In A Little Tribal Village. She Cannot Go To School Because She Has To Tend The Goats, Collect The Firewood, Fetch The Water& But She Is So Full Of Questions That The Postmaster Calls Her The 'Why-Why Girl'!

Mahasweta Devi Is One Of India'S Foremost Writers. In This Delightful Story, Her First Picture Book, And The Only Children'S Book She Has Written In English, She Tells Us How She Meets Moyna (And Her Mongoose!) And Helps Her Find Answers To All The Why-Whys - In Books, That Moyna Herself Learns To Read.

Some Of The Translations Have Been Done By Well-Known Writers: Malayalam By Paul Zacharia, Tamil By Ambai, And Kannada By Girish Karnad.

The Book is available in 8 languages (English and 7 Indian languages) here

‪#‎thewhywhygirl‬ ‪#‎tulikapublishers‬ ‪#‎6yearold‬

GoOPy gYNe BaGHa bYNe... A Classic By UpendraKishore Ray Chowdhury

GoOPy gYNe BaGHa bYNe... 

A Classic By Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury

Highly Recommended 

Age group 6 - 100.

Genre - Comedy, fantasy, adventure

Language - English, (Obviously read the bengali one if you can read in bengali)

Introduction 

Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne is a famous comedy fantasy adventure Children's Movie in Bengali made by the Renowned Satyajit Ray. In-spite of not being a Bengali myself I have seen the movie several times. This Children's Classic that was released in 1969 (i wasn't even born then) won critical acclaim and International awards of repute. 

They say "Don't Judge the Book by its Movie" but what happens if you pick up the book because you have loved the much acclaimed Movie. 

I picked up this book " Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne" by Upendranathkishore Ray Chowdhury. The book obviously is originally in Bengali. I picked up this book which is a English translation of the book. And yes, I cant read Bengali yet in-spite of being in Bengal for more than 2 decades and marrying a bong. YET! They say the true essence is lost if you read Bengali text in English. I have no choice. But here I am with a lovely book. 

It has a foreword by Ruchir Joshi. I generally find myself skipping the introductions in my haste to get to the book itself, BUT, this time I read it and its a very Interesting foreword. 

The two absolutely funnily lovable characters Goopy and Bagha are singer and drummer. They undergo some very comic fantasy adventures. It has 'comedy'; it has 'magic', It has 'fantasy' ; and it has 'adventure' seamlessly  intertwined in the finest manner. The story displays Passion and Aspirations. It shows Persistence of following your dreams in a funnily comic manner. You will fall in love with absolutely adorable Goopy and Bagha.

About the Author

Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury was a person with multiple talents. He was a famous Bengali writer, painter, violin player and composer, printing technologist and entrepreneur. He is the Father of the Famous writer Sukumar Ray.  And he is  the Grandfather of the even more famous Satyajit Ray  - who made the much acclaimed movie! 

Yes! 

Oh! and who didn't know that!! 

Well, I didn't!! 

More about him here

The Book

Coming back to the book which is publish by Penguin/Puffin. It has been translated wonderfully by Swagata Deb. Though the recommended age group is 9+, my almost 7 year old is totally enjoying the book , giggling all the way. It has 200 pages and is published in 2015. 

Description of the book by the publishers : 

This book is a selection of the best of stories by Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, and the most fascinating of his characters: Goopy and Bagha, dedicated but unsuccessful musicians who are cast out of their homes because their music drives their families and neighbors crazy; Tuntuni, the little bird; the clever fox; Majantali Sarkar, the cat; the intrepid Granny Hunchback; and many others. Swagata Deb s vibrant translation brings Upendrakishore s unique magic to a wider audience, giving a new lease of life to these evergreen tales.

The book is available in Starmark and Eurekabookstore (here) and Amazon (here) 

17 MUST READ FOR KIDS RECOMMENDED BY A 6 YEAR OLD

List of favourite books by my 6 year old Daughter Sumedha. She couldn't stop at 10 so the list became of 17 books. The list comes with an unedited one line review from the reader herself. 

1: Where the wild things are (Story and pictures by Maurice Sendak): "This book is a very funny book".

2: There is a wocket in my pocket - (Dr. Seuss) : "This book has funny rhyming.After I read it I start laughing very loudly" .

3: Cinderella (by Om Kids) - "It makes me learn kindness"

4: Snow White (Disney book) - "it's a princess book so I love it"

5: Sleeping beauty (Disney book) - I love this book.

6: Winnie the Pooh (Disney book) : "It's a jungle book. In the story there was a donkey who lost his tail.

7: A Lion in Paris (Beatrice Alemagna, Katha world library) : (starts reading the book)- the lion was very lonely and curious in his Savannah so he reached Paris without his luggage.
8: Thumbelina (Lady bird book) - she is a girl who had married the prince.
9: The Little Lion king (Disney book) - There was little lion cub who's name was Simba.

10: Jack and the beanstalk (Ladybird book) : it was a tale of a boy who went up on the beanstalk for three days.
11: The very hungry caterpillar (Eric Carle) : this book makes me learn about hungryness(!)
12: Good night buster (Rod Campbell) : buster was a good boy.
13: Captain coconut & the case of Missing Bananas (Anushka Ravishankar & Priya Sundram) - was a cleaver man.
14: Moin and the Monster (Anitha Balachandran) - Moin had monster. Monster said 'I am a monster' but Moin heard ' I am a Bonster'.
15: The Folk of Faraway tree (Enid Blyton)- It was a very good book and I love this book. ( hugs it). I like land of Giants.
16: The adventures of wishing chair (Enid Blyton) - I want to have a wishing chair and I love this book.
17: Naughty Amelia Jane  (Enid Blyton)- Amelia Jane was a naughty doll. She did bad tricks.

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    Sunila Kulkarni Gupte she is awesome...!
    

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    Sonali Jain Way to go lil doll. Keep up the good work mommy
    

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    Divya Daryanani A fantastic collection!
    

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HENRY WALKS TO PARIS

HENRY WALKS TO PARIS 

This was one of the books that was ordered in the Flipkart Sale.
30.4.2015

My two books of the lot already got delivered today morning.Henry walks to Paris - what lovely illustrations

 I would just like to share that the graphics are extraordinary . The face of the protagonist is not shown. Only hand and legs. After reading it twice Piku asked me " why is Henry's face not shown, how will we know who Henry is?" I said " u imagine him in ur mind". She - " then I would like to make a Hen face for him, that's why he is called HENry!!" I am amazed, I never thought of the word connection!!

Enid Blyton

Long post alert. Dared to Rank the books of Enid Blyton

Enid Blyton
My daughter reads a lot. I mean, at least, by my standards. And this gives me an opportunity to read with (and to) her. She really loved the books “The Folk of Faraway tree” and “Adventures of Wishing Chair” and “Wishing Chair Again”. So she asked me to get more books from Enid Blyton. She has also read some picture books of Noddy. Though I had read Famous Fives as a school girl but I wanted to look for more options before she picks up the FF series.
So, I ‘Googled’, to find more about Enid Blyton Books. It’s a whole world of books. 1929 total books with 12084 total short stories, plays and poems.
Now, obviously it is impossible to read all. (or may it is… not sure). So I wanted a new type of List. A list that tells me the MUST-READ of Enid Blytons. 

I made a short synopsis of what is most popular -
1. The NODDY Series Anyone who has read some books in their childhood would know Noddy. A very cute character that we all fall in love with! Most of us who are parents would tell our kids about Noddy. Noddy was probably my first ever book that I borrowed from my school library and fell in love with it. Noddy is now 66 years old! It was first published in 1949. The first ever book was Noddy goes to Toyland. It is also the most popular book in the Noddy series of total 24 books.
2. The famous Five Series is another series that is the most popular of hers. ‘The Five on Tresure Island’ is voted as no. 1 book on ‘The Guardian’ Enid Blyton book rating. Its no. 1 on good reads as well. ‘Five on Kirrin Island Again (Famous Five) is at no. 2.
3. The Wishing Chair series is another very popular set of 3 books. The Adventures of Wishing Chair , The Wishing Chair Again & and More wishing Chair Tales. Me and my daughter have read the first two. Honestly speaking there is no difference between the first two… its just the extension of the first one. But children do take fancy of this book very much.
4. The Faraway Tree Collection is another very popular collection of 3 books. The Folk of Faraway Tree, The Enchanted wood and The Magic Faraway Tree. The Magic Faraway tree is ranked no. 4 book of the Enid Blytons. We have read only the first one and it has taken the fancy of my daughter to an extent where she did not want to end the book. And once over she wanted to read it again. And she did! Though the characters Moonface and Mr. Whatsisname and Saucepan man is a little weird but children fall in love with them. And a new land every week on top of the tree is what they find enchanting.
5. The other series are - Secret Series, Five Find-Outers, Adventurous Four, Barney Mysteries, Secret Seven, St. Clare's, Malory Towers, Naughtiest Girl, Six Cousins, Galliano's Circus and many other short stories.
So now I have prepared my own list of 50 Enid Blyton books based on the reviews from Good reads, Kidstoppress, The Guardian and some more ranking sites. I have not read them all but they are now in my to read list.
1. Five on a Treasure Island (Famous Five, #1) by Enid Blyton
2. Five on Kirrin Island Again (Famous Five, #6)
3. The Magic Faraway Tree
4. Five Get Into Trouble (Famous Five, #8)
5. Five Go to Smuggler's Top (Famous Five, #4)
6. Five Run Away Together (Famous Five, #3)
7. Noddy goes to Toyland (Noddy, #1)
8. Third Year at Malory Towers (Malory Towers, #3)
9. Five Go Adventuring Again (Famous Five, #2)
10. Noddy at the Seaside (Famous Five, #7)
11. The Twins at St Clare's (St Clare's, #1)
12. Five Have Plenty of Fun (Famous Five, #14)
13. Five Go Off to Camp (Famous Five, #7)
14. Five Go Off in a Caravan (Famous Five, #5)
15. The Folk of the Faraway Tree (The Faraway Tree, #3)
16. The Magic Faraway tree (The Faraway Tree, #1)
17. The Secret Seven (The Secret Seven, #1)
18. The Enchanted Wood (The Faraway Tree, #2)
19. Five on Finniston Farm (Famous Five, #18)
20. First Term at Malory Towers (Malory Towers, #1)
21. Five Have a Wonderful Time (Famous Five, #11)
22. The Wishing Chair Collection: Three Exciting Stories in One. The adventures of the Wishing Chair, The Wishing Chair Again, More Wishing Chair Tales
23. Amelia Jane falls in trouble.
24. The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage (The Five Find-Outers, #1)
25. Five Go to Billycock Hill (Famous Five, #16)
26. Five on a Hike Together (Famous Five, #10)
27. Five Go Down to the Sea (Famous Five, #12)
28. Five Are Together Again (Famous Five, #21)
29. Five Go to Demon's Rocks (Famous Five, #19)
30. Five Have a Mystery to Solve (Famous Five, #20)
31. Claudine at St Clare's (St. Clare's, #5)
32. Second Form at Malory Towers (Malory Towers, #2)
33. Malory Towers (3 Books)
34. Five Go to Mystery Moor (Famous Five, #13)
35. Five on a Secret Trail (Famous Five, #15)
36. The Mystery of the Secret Room (The Five Find-Outers, #3)
37. The O'Sullivan Twins (St. Clare's, #2)
38. Five Get into a Fix (Famous Five, #17)
39. The Mystery of the Pantomime Cat (The Five Find-Outers, #7)
40. The Mystery of the Invisible Thief (The Five Find-Outers, #8)
41. The Mystery of Holly Lane (The Five Find-Outers, #11)
42. Second Form at St Clare's (St Clare's, #4)
43. Summer Term at St Clare's (St. Clare's, #3)
44. The Mystery of the Hidden House (The Five Find-Outers, #6)
45. You're A Good Friend, Noddy! (Noddy Library)
46. Well Done, The Naughtiest Girl! (The Naughtiest Girl, #8)
47. The Naughtiest Girl Marches On (The Naughtiest Girl, #10)
48. Fifth Formers of St Clare's (St. Clare's, #6)
49. Pitty's laatste kostschooljaar (Malory Towers, #6)
50. The Mystery of Banshee Towers (The Five Find-Outers, #15)

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    Koyel Says wow. you have done a great job. this is commendable. every parent who wants his child to read Enid Blyton would love this. even i feel like going back and read some of these. smile emoticon
    

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    Deepti Manu Ruhee.there are also the clocke series.short stories which are really nice.cant remember the names now
    

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    Koyel Says yeah. i remember reading a few short stories by her. they were nice too. one was about a boy who never did things on time. i read it to my daughter to teach her discipline but failed. frown emoticon
    

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    Ruhee Dc ofcourse yes, in my list there are more than 1850 books that are missing.... i thought a list of 50 would be good to start with
    

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    Harpreet Kalket Batth Wow! Thanks a bunch for sharing Ur favourites! Makes our job easier 
    

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    Deepti Manu I don't like the new format I see on amazon.loves those hardbound ones.need to scour the second hand stores when my daughter is ready to read
    

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      Ri D. Ne replied · 1 Reply
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    Sujatha Govindankutty Wow.speechless. hats off to you for the effort and time invested.
    

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    Suguna Balakrishnan My daughter & me ....both of us are die hard fans of Enid Blyton......But there are lack of libraries out here in Dubai....so my daughter borrows books from the school library to read.....also books are pretty expensive to buy ..here in Dubai....
    

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      Suguna Balakrishnan replied · 5 Replies
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    Aarthi Lourdes Ganesh Thank you sooo much for this! I m going save this post!
    

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    Tanu Shree Singh Ruhee - rockstar
    

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    Ruhee Dc thank u Tanu Shree Singh . coming from u it means a lot
    

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      Ruhee Dc https://www.quora.com/What-does-it-mean-when-someone...
      

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    Juhi Malhotra Awesome review and a big thank you!
    

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    Veena Regit Fab Mom, you are !!!
    

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    Sangeeta Mathur Enid Blyton is simply the best ..... her Malory Towers series, along with Wishing Chair and Faraway Tree will not leave our family bookshelf though the kids have moved on......
    

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    Anamika Wani Nostalgia. I ve read all the books listed. I really really liked her books Simple language and engaging stories with great imagination (I mean wishing chair people) or even boarding school so romanticized. Be careful there is slight racism in her books. I dont recollect exact books and what but I did read literature reviews when I was older.
    

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      Aarthi Lourdes Ganesh replied · 1 Reply
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    Bavneet Kaur Wow...I want to read the ones I missed
    

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    Dolly Rai like emoticon
    

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    Chirantani Dey Superb research. Sharing this
    

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