My Mother's Sari

Any parent with a girl child will know about their fascination for Sarees. My D is also not an exception. She converts anything from bath towels to my duppattas into a Sari and the moment she is wearing Sari, her whole attittude changes and she bacomes bossy as a mom or a teacher. So when I saw "My mother's sari", I knew she is going to like this book.

The book, though, is not exactly a story book. It is more pictorial and has just one liners per page. It takes us to the world of a child who imagines her mother's sari as a train one day and a river or a rope next day. She swings in it, slides and hides in it, dances with it and sleeps wrapping the it around her. She enjoys the color and texture of the sari and for her it is the most fascinating thing.

The pictures are very colorful and are the combination of photographs and paintings. The texts are simple and minimal. And the best part of the book is the step by step instructions for wearing sari spread across the first and last pages of the book. There are pistures to collaborate the instruction and thats the part little D loves the most. She is a bit small to understand the instructions on her own though.

Now the only problem with this book is, D is pestering me for wearing Sari :-( Personally, I dont prefer wearing it as it is too much work compared to Salwars. But I too remember wearing mock Sarees during my childhood. So this fascination may not be forever :-)

The book is penned by Sandhya Rao and beautifully illustrated by Nina Sabnani. As per the publisher (Tulika publishers) this book is for 'read aloud' for 3+ year olds and 'read alone' for 6+ year olds. The US edition of the book was selected as one of the "Outstanding international Books for 2007". It is a good book especially for girls, but, I feel the price tag for Rs.150/- is a bit high for it.

The Donut Chef

Have you ever felt suffocated by choices and wished things were simpler like old times? I do. Whenever I keep changing channels in radio and TV and find nothing worth listening or watching, I wish for the good old times in my childhood with just a few channels in "Akasavani" and "Doordarsan". Everybody will huddle together and listen/watch whatever is available and the quality of programs then were much better than what all the 100+ channels are offering these days. Or so I remember. (The memories of the past are sometimes larger than life!) Anyway, if you have craved for things to be simpler again, you will be able to relate to this book.

The story is about a donut chef who, on a summer's day, decided to open a donut shop on a busy street. It was a cozy little shop and the chef set it up pretty fast. Soon his "Donut Land" became so popular in the neighbourhood that people lined outside his shop for Donuts. With success comes competition and soon a mean chef opened another donut shop next door named "Donut World". Soon the question in customers minds were "Whose donuts are the very best?" Hence the competition began. Each shop used various tactics to attract customers. The chopped prices, added more chocolate frost and as the competition thickened they even gave the donuts for free. The next step was to create new flavours and shapes and soon the obsession produced bizzare flavours like "Peanut-Brickle Buttermilk" and "Gooey Cocoa-Mocha Silk". Even the shapes changed so much that the donuts started looking like calamari and macaroni.  To cut long story short, they lost the soul and even the hole of donuts.

And finally the much needed wake up call came in the form of Debby Sue, a teeny little two year old. Debby Sue got dazed with all the choices found in the shop. After staring at all the weird shped and flavored donuts, she asked the Donut Chef:

""'Scuse me. Mister," said the tyke
"But, where's the donut that I like?
It isn't here, it isn't there -
You think it's under that eclair?" "

The donut chef, so confident that he has all the possible flavors and shapes, commented:

" "If we don't have it, you can bet
    It can't be found - at least, not yet." "

But, Debbie Sue was very adamant. She stated that "But I want ....glazed!"

The crowd as well as the chef were surprised at her choice. That was  a flavor nobody had heard for a long long time. Chef mocked Debbie as her choice was so old time. But then, one by one, the crowd demanded too - simple donuts dipped in glaze. The clever chef got the hint and hastily made a batch of simple glazed donuts. Debbie Sue got the first one which she gobbles up and comments:

"Mmmmmmm! There's nothing quite like glazed, I think! "

On popular demand, chef produced more glazed donuts and renamed his shop to "Amazing Glazed".

The book ends with

" The donut chef. he'd never guessed,
  Of all the flavors he did test,
  That most folks love a glazed the BEST! "

A very cute book with lovely illustrations. The author of the book is Bob Staake. According to the book cover his Golden Book "The Red Lemon" was New York Times best illustrated children's book of the year. Adding it to my ever growing wish list. So, sooner or later I will be writing about it :-)

Busy, Busy Town

If my previous post was about a cute little board book, 'Busy, Busy Town' is a HUGE book. Unless my previous posts, this is not a conventional story book. Neverthless, this will get a one year old to Pre-schooler engaged for some time. This book is kind of a cross between a picture book and a story book.The book is about daily life at Busy Town. It gives the child behind-the-scene information about various jobs that people are involved in. For babies, it is a colorful picture book showing bakers, postman, doctors, nurses, teachers and so on. Good to build vocabulary and imagination. For toddlers and Pre-schoolers, this book gives a general idea about various professions. It is a good book to turn to before a visit to doctor or after a trip to supermarket. They will be able to relate it to the scenarios easily.

Luckily my reading this book coincided with little D's visit to Post Office from her school. She posted a "Mom and Dad, I Love You" post card on her visit and we were so excited to get it on mail. So, she was really happy when I read her the part in the book where Huckle cat posts a letter to grandma and how the letter travels all the way to Grandma's hands.

This book is written by Richard Scarry who is the author of lots of children's classics like "The best storybook ever" and "Cars and Trucks and Things That Go". The main characters of this book Lowly worm and Huckle cat are present in many other titles by Scarry. The illustrations are interesting and colorful. All the characters are animals. So kids will be interested to find Dr. Lion, Farmer Pig and Mother Cat. Throughout the book we can find animals like cat, dog rabbit, pig, cow, sheep, worm, mouse, wolf, bear, porcupine etc. There are some funny situations like class getting dismissed after school janitor Joe accidently drops water on pupils and plumber nose deep in water trying to fix a leaky pipe and many more situations to get your little one chuckle.

The book starts with everybody rushing for work and ends with Sergeant Murphy going home for dinner after a busy day in Busy Town. A good book to read while our little ones are relaxing after their own busy day. I have to agree with Scarry on what he says in this book. "There are all kinds of writers. The best writers write children's books." They make our life so colorful! So cuddle up and enjoy!!

Goodnight, Thumper

Goodnight, Thumper is one of the first story books owned by little D. It was her cousin's and my sis gave it to D when her son lost interest in it. Little D was too young at that time and she was more interested in songs than stories. So initially this book was more a toy for her to chew. I dont remember exactly when she started listening to stories. Not for the first 18 months for sure. But it was a releif when she did as I was running out of songs. So coming back to the book, it is a cute little one with just one sentence per page. Good one to start as a bed time read as this story is about a lovable bunny, Thumper, who is not sleepy at all. So he decides to take a stroll at the jungle and meets many friends who are preparing to go to bed. Mouse is washing his face with dew drops. Mama duck is kissing her babies good night. Chipmunk and squirrel have already snuggled together. He says good night to all of them. Thats when he hears his mom calling him and he goes back home. There all the bunnies snuggle together while papa bear tells a story. And finally Papa n Mama kisses him good night and he drifts off to sleep. Good Night, Thumper. Hopefully, by the time you reach the end, your bunny is also ready to sleep. Read with a soft tone and say good night, Thumper with a kiss and it will set them in a sleeping mood. Has worked for me most of the time. But not anymore. So I think this book is more suited for infants and toddlers. But I am saving this book for a time when she starts reading on her own. The words are very simple and repetitive. So it will be a good beginner book for reading onw their own.

Goodnight, Thumper is written by Kitty Richards and illustrated by Lory Tyminsky and Dean Gordon.The illustrations are very pretty as can be seen on the photo above. This is published by Disney press. It is a cute little board book that can be kept in your bag and will be handy in keeping your toddler busy during car rides and doctor visits. So, enjoy!!

The Story of Ferdinand

Have you heard of Ferdinand, the bull? I havent till I watched the movie "The Blind Side". In the movie, the character Leigh Ann (played by Sandra Bullock) reads The Story of Ferdinand to the male protagonist Michael Oher and compares him to Ferdinand the bull on a later stage. On watching the movie, I instantly added it to my Wish List and in less than a week, I had my own copy of the "The Story of Ferdinand" :-) Yeah..I know I am kind of impatient with stuff like this. But. I have to tell you - the book is totally worth it.

 As obvious from the title, the story is about Ferdinand, the bull who prefers sitting under his favourite cork tree and smelling flowers to fighting in the bull ring. While growing up, all the other bulls who grew up with him had only one dream - to be picked to fight at the bull fights in Mandrid when they grow up. So, they practised fighting and sticking each other with horns. But our hero Ferdinand just liked to sit quietly and smell flowers at his favorite spot in the pasture - under the cork tree. All the bulls grew big and strong and so did Ferdinand (I dont know how he became strong with all that lack of excercise. I should get the secret out of him he he.) One day five men came to choose the strogest, fastest, fiercest bull to fight in the bull fights in Mandrid.While all the other bulls were trying to show off their talents, Ferdinand. who couldnt care less,went to sit under his cork tree as usual. But, accidently he sat on a bumble bee and it stung Ferdinand. It hurt really badly and Ferdinand started running and puffing and snrting as if he had gone mad. The five men were really impressed with the sight and selected Ferdinand for the bull fight without realising the truth. On the day of the fight, Ferdinand the Fierce (as the men callled him) ran to the middle of the bull ring and all everybody in the fight got scared and the Matador was scared the most. The spectators were excited and anticipated a fierce fight. But, when Ferdinand reached the middle of the ring, he sat down and enjoyed smelling the flowers in the ladies' hair. Whatever the Matador and the rest of his team did, they couldnt provoke him and make him fight. So they had to take Ferdinand home and the author finished his story by saying

"For all I know he is sitting

there still, under his favorite

cork tree, smelling the flowers

just quietly.

He is very happy. "

I dont know about you, but, I think this is a happy ending. If you had expected some miracles like in movies that turns the softspoken hero to a ferocious fighter in a matter of moments, you would be disappointed. I feel this book is more about being yourself and being content, about taking the road less travelled. This book tells the kids that it is OK to be different. I really like the part that Ferdinand's mom, the cow, is very understanding. Though she worries in the beginning about Ferdinand's habits, once she understands that he is not lonely and is happy to be alone sitting under the tree, she stops pestering him. Hmm..May be I should learn from her.

And you wonder why in the movie Blind Side, Michael is being compared to Ferdinand? Coming from a very violent neighborhood, Big Mic is expected to be fierce and so he gets selected to the school's football team. So Leigh Ann gets surprised when he refuses to attack during the match. Thats when she realises that he is just like Ferdinand the bull. But unlike Ferdinand, Michael overcomes his nature when Leigh Ann convinces him that his team is his family and he has to protect his family from the opposing team. Thats what I call a filmy ending. Want to know more? Do watch "The Blind Side". A very inspiring movie.

Coming back to the book, this is a classic written by Munro Leaf and illustrated by Robert Lawson. The illusrtations, though in black and white, are really cute. I really like the picture in which Ferdinand is looking at his height chart showing that he has grown really tall and strong. And the picture of Ferdinand sitting under the tree and relaxing makes you want to do the same..atleast I wish I could. Also, it is funny the way he has illustrated the cork tree. It is shown as if bottle corks are hanging from the tree. For a moment I thought thats how corks are made - silly me ;-) A google image search cleared everything. But that picture is good to get the kid understand what a cork tree is.

BTW, this book had been turned to an animated movie by Disney and had won the Oscars (1938) for best cartoon. You can find the video here. Also, there are lots of interesting facts about the book and its author can be found in Wikepedia.

So, thats it all about Ferdinand from me. I will be back with another book soon. Till then, Happy Reading.

The Runaway Dinner

This is a hilarious story about a hungry boy named Banjo and a sausage named Melvin who apparently is Banjo's dinner but refuses to get eaten by him. Imagine being hungry and as you are going to eat your dinner, it jumps off the plate and runs away. Thats what happens to Banjo. Banjo Cannon was planning to have his daily dinner of sausage, carrots, peas and french fries sitting on his own table and chair using his own spoon and fork. But this particular day, the sausage (whose name is Melvin) decides that he doesnt want to be eaten and so he jumps off the plate and runs away. And then the chasing begins with carrots, peas and fries run after Melvin and so is knife, fork, table, chair and poor hungry Banjo. Joining the chase is Banjo's parents  Mr and Mrs, their cat Mildred and their neighbours dog who apparently is after Mildred. They run through the road to the park and thats where different members of this running race end up in different situations. As the story unfolds, carrots and french fries manage to escape but two of the peas end up eaten by birds. Now, that is the part that worries my girl a bit. So if your little one is sensitive, handle this part accordingly. But, little D really likes to spot the one pea that manages to escape in the picture. Also she giggles at the part where the plate enjoys being thrown as a frisbee and a boiled egg named billy, seeing all this and gets confused, runs off. The table who is still running gets the attention of lots of park benches and enjoys it. To cut the story short, in spite of Melvin's efforts to escape, Banjo manages to catch him. But Mrs (Banjo's mom) becomes the spoil sport and asks Banjo to not to eat anything that has been on the ground. Seizing the chance Melvin escapes and runs off with a base ball and Banjo goes back home with his mom and dad. Since he isstill  hungry, he decides to finish atleast his dessert of plum pie and you can guess what happens then, right? This story is really funny, fast paced with lots of things happening at a time. It lets the kid's imagination run wild and do expect lots of questions and interruptions in between. The illustrations are simple and interesting. I really recommend this for the imaginative toddlers and preschoolers.

Introduction

Do you love the smell of new books? Do you love the smell of very old books? Well, I do love both. They bring back lots of good old memories. Memories of the first days of school, of the joy of getting a new comic book, of days scanning through and organising my dad's collection of books and comics, of whispering and giggling with friends at college library. Then there are some recent ones like going to book shops with my hubby, visiting library every week with my hubby and kid and cuddling up with my kiddo and reading her stories. As kids, me and my siblings were always surrounded by books. Being avid readers themselves, my parents always got us books. Four to five times a year, my dad used to go to bookshop and he will be back only late at night. How much ever late he comes, we kids used to wait for him or even if we sleep, mom used to wake us up when he is back. Scanning through the new collection with those sleepy eyes is one of my favourite childhood memories. So is reading books under the shade of our mango tree during the school vacations. I may not be able to give my kid the same kind of memories, but, she will definitely have her own. With the limited space in our apartment, I may not be able to give her a dedicated library or shade of tree to read. But she definitely has her own book corner in our bedroom and a mom who loves to read books to her everyday. She loves our weekend trips to book shops and library and the occassional surprise of new books being delivered by courier by the time she is back from school. She also is excited about the weekly magazines that come through mail with her name written on the address. So what you have to read the same story again and again, it is totally worth it and I enjoy every moment of it. After all what else can take you from the land of fairies to monsters with the turn of a page?