The Journey Home

Author and Illustrator: Frann Preston-Gannon
Ages: 3+ years

The author of this story happens to be the only person from UK who has won the prestigious "Sendak Fellowship" and worked on this book while staying with the author himself during the fellowship program. The book is so neatly written and illustrated so splendidly that it is hard to believe that this is the author's first picture book, although she has illustrated for Walker books, Burt's Bees etc before.

The world as we knew it has since deteriorated. The world as we know it is being devastated by us even as I am writing this. I sometimes wonder if all this pollution and deforestation could ever do anything at all to Earth which has borne testimony to life and endurance since its genesis. One giant wave, one rapid solar flare, one meteor blaze and all the plastics in the world would vanish into thin air. And before long, life forms would start establishing themselves afresh. To quote one of my most favourite lines by Dr Malcolm from Jurassic Park, " Life will find a way".

But that does not in any way justify what Man is doing to his co-inhabitants- how he is unethically, unlawfully, inhumanely destroying their homes, their food and the creatures themselves. It is nothing but pure horror story. If this is what is the survival of the fittest, then I am ashamed to survive.

In this wonderfully penetrating book, the author handles just this very issue, but in such a simple way that children could understand. It certainly is a book that parents should read out to kids or read with them, because it opens up so many avenues for discussions and would hopefully linger inside the children long enough for them to decide on acting upon issues in any way they could ( walk more and use car less, reduce plastic bags, plant trees, recycle properly and be sensitive to nature. After all, as my DS2 said, we are 100% natural, but 100% acting against nature!).

The story opens with the Polar bear sitting on a tiny iceberg wondering where the ice had all gone, because its food had also disappeared with the ice. So he is forced to swim away, and finds a lone boat and climbs into it. Soon, he swims by a city of machines and sky scrapers and finds a lone Panda there. He is certainly the odd thing out in a concrete jungle with no bamboo shoots to eat, so he joins the polar bear.

As they float on into what was once a jungle before deforestation but now just tree stubs, they spot an Orang-utan looking so lost as there aren't any more trees to climb on. They invite his to join the boat and they all sail along. Very soon they spot an elephant who is hiding behind a boulder from poachers trying to steal his tusks. He joins the boat gang as well.

Then the boat sails into a storm and drifts very far away form their homes. The animals think of their homes and miss them so terribly. They feel completely lost until they sight a Dodo in a tiny tropical island. They tell the Dodo that they want to go back home. The wise Dodo says that that is very much possible "when the trees grow back and when the ice returns and when the cities stop getting bigger and bigger and hunting stops".

And when the Polar bear questions when that would be, Dodo just says " I don't know, let's see what tomorrow brings".

And there is the beautiful picture of those animals huddled together and looking at a lovely sunset.

All through the story, the animals never stop to admire nature - the gulls, the fish, the clouds and the sunset. It gives  you a feeling that they are really connected and completely blend into nature, unlike Man.

The illustrations have a hint of Eric Carle's tissue paper creatures. They are simple, but emote remarkably, a bit disturbingly as they seem to question our conscience so much. In all, this is a perfect bed-time cuddle book with a strong message.

The journey home. Perilous but Possible. If only...

Tea Break - Rooibos

... otherwise known as Red Bush tea, grown in Africa. Works as a natural remedy for asthma, colic, allergies, skin problems, gout and PMS symptoms. Caffeine free, so aids sleep as well.

I realized I haven't been blogging so much in the last few weeks. I have been making Hay while the sun was NOT shining! When I say hay, I am actually talking about my nemesis - Hay day, the ipad/iphone game that is truly the craziest, most addictive game I have played so far. If you are one of the lucky few who haven't really come across the same, I request you to skip this post and continue your blissful existence. And for the rest, let's make some more hay!

It all started off with my sister suggesting the game to me. I thought it was just another one of those endless games that kids play on the iphone/ipad and wasn't really interested. But because it was my dear little sis who recommended it, I casually asked my DH ( dear husband) to download the free game and check it out. And then I totally forgot about it and busied myself with the mundane. If only I had stayed that way :o(

Realizing the house had been unusually quiet for hours, I went into the bedroom and saw the DH huddled with DS1( dear first son) and DS2(dear second son), all of them talking farmer tongue -  "Dad, Milk the cows", " Oh no! the barn is too full, sell some stuff, Dad", " there's a school order that needs bread, harvest the carrots and sow more wheat". Apparently, they had been doing it for at least 4 hours, while all along I had been cleaning, then cleaning and after that, cleaning. I erupted with a force that was next only to Eyjafjallajökull's (no I don't know the spelling, I wiki-ed it), grounded all of them just like the volcano grounded the flights and gave a long sermon to DH about "setting a good example for the growing boys and rationing internet time". The house continued to be quiet, but now it was the usual quiet, the aftermath of the eruption :o) :o) :o).

Now I am a big fan of "Aunty Acid" and particularly her saying " I go to bed wide awake and wake up extremely sleepy". So when I was lying in my bed that night wide awake, I ended up picking the iPad to see what the bonkers that application was about.

"Hmmm... easy  to play, cute farm there. But not a good arrangement of the fields, lemme just change it".
"I see, oh, silly boys, they should have upgraded the barn to a bigger storage, lemme just earn some money and buy the things needed for that".
"Perhaps I should jussssst up one level to get those new kind of crops, they seem to be there in all the orders"
"Diamonds for achievements, eh. Well I'll prove who I am!".

"Just one harvest and I'm off".

"Just this sale".

"Only this last order".

"Last ever hunt for treasure boxes".

"Teeny peek to see if some farmer needs a hand".

"Never playing again for the next 10... nanoseconds".

And it never stopped at all. If I weren't milking cows in my dreams, I was shearing sheep or counting diamonds. I became a loonier-than-thou loony. Not even the smug smiles on the boys' faces would make me stop playing. Slowly, it became a family-run farm. DH would walk out from meetings to check if I had "harvested". DS1 would order me on phone( while walking to and from school) not to waste diamonds on useless decorating stuff. DS2 would just ask, "Did you do anything other than Hay Day"?.

It was official. We were hit badly by the Hay Day pandemic. We were losing it up there. Week after week, we were walking, talking, breathing the game.

All until the sun really started shining. It is amazing what sunlight can do to your gloomy, couch-warming self! The boys have been out all day these days, they don't bother about hay, it is all outdoor play. To become more presentable when the coats go off, I've put myself into my own correction facility to shake off those fluffy bits and bobs added during winter ( which is so very easier said than done if you LOVE chocolate. Or cake. Or Toffee swirl ice cream with toffee bits and honey coated pecan. With hot Jamuns. STOP!!!). DH is simply too harassed by office to think of anything. And I've promised myself to get back to blogging more.

But if you are thinking that the farm is now neglected and dead, that is where you would be wrong. Nobody really knows who has been tending to it, as nobody catches anybody playing, but somebody always ensures the jobs are completed. My guess is that it is everybody :o)

 

Private and Confidential

Author: Marion Ripley
Illustrator: Colin Backhouse
Ages: 5+ years

Children are always intrigued by anything and everything that is prohibited to them. If I ever say to my little one " Never open Dad's draw, he has some really important documents in there", I can be 100% sure he is going to get a sneak peek at the earliest available opportunity. Not take anything from it, not even touch the contents, just take that forbidden peek. Was it the negative suggestion ( DO NOT DO IT!), was it the thrill of breaking the rule or was it simply innocent inquisitiveness, I have no idea.

On the other hand, have you ever tried even touching the little ones' diaries, journals or cereal boxes that have been sealed with miles of cello tape dangerously criss-crossed? Anything private and confidential to them MUST never even be looked at from a long distance And if you ever break that rule even by mistake, you pay a dear price indeed. (And if it happens to be your PMS day, well, you'll have my hugs and sympathies galore!).

My son picked this book up exactly because he loved the title - Private and Confidential. Like Dad's draw! What we did not expect was the thought-provoking story with a learning inside.

The girl in the story, ten year old Laura, gets a bit upset when a "private and confidential" letter comes for her mum by the post. Even her brother gets his own letter and she longs to get a letter in her name as well. By chance, her teacher at school says he has some interested children in Australia who would love to be pen-pals.

Laura wants a girl with similar interests, but instead gets to be pals with a boy, Malcolm. They write to each other and exchange photos. But after her reply, Laura never gets another letter from Malcolm. Just when she was beginning to wonder if he didn't like her picture, she receives a letter from Malcolm's sister explaining that Malcolm has to have his eye operated as he is almost blind. And that she was the one who'd read her letters to Malcolm, as Malcolm could only read Braille.

When Laura sits deeply saddened by the fact that Malcolm never told her this in the first place, her Dad tells her that Malcolm had just wanted to make friends, have happy talks and perhaps would have told her later. And he asks her how this would make any difference at all if he is her friend.

Very soon, Laura gets a letter from Malcolm in Braille ( The book actually has the Braille letter inside that you can feel and read) and is so overjoyed! And when he brother asks what it is about, she comments that it is "private and confidential"!!

What a beautiful way to introduce a sensitive topic! We took so much time figuring out the letter and my little boy was so overwhelmed by the difficulty. He instantly commented "But how is Malcolm not sad about it at all, why did he not tell Laura he had a problem or he couldn't read!". We re-read what Dad told Laura about it, and I thought it was such a beautiful discussion on how he doesn't think of it as a disability and does not want to project it so.

Malcolm never brings out any negativity regarding his condition. He is very positive and outgoing and it is a trait all of us could do with. Laura never feels sorry for Malcolm, but instead, starts writing to him in Braille. That is the beauty of friendship. And the beauty of children. They simply are full of love and understanding, pure and fresh. They take things by face value, never look up or look down, and when guided rightly, never discriminate. All that happens right after we "adult"erate them with our thoughts and actions.

Again, this is one of the stories that are going to be woven into our talks and discussions for a long time to come.

Private and Confidential. A moving story with a positive note. The Braille letter is an added touch of genius.

Solo

Author and Illustrator: Paul Geraghty
Ages: 4+

When you look at the book you might almost mistake it for an educational one about life in the Antarctic. With original photographs. That is how vivid and detailed the pictures and the story look.

Solo is a very beautifully illustrated book about the life of an Emperor penguin family and its struggle for survival in an almost uninhabitable corner of the Earth. Mum Floe, after being back from the sea,  finds her soulmate Fin and gives birth to Solo - still inside the egg, and then makes it back to sea to travel hundreds of miles to get food for her yet-to-be-born chick. Daddy Fin then gets ready for the toughest ordeal of going without food for months together and huddling close with the penguins in the rookery to keep himself and the newly hatched chick Solo warm. And alive.

After what seems like ages, Floe returns and takes charge of Solo while Fin finally gets his chance to venture out to sea and have some food and get some for Solo. But time moves on and while other daddies return, there is no sign of Fin. Floe realizes she must leave Solo alone and go herself to get some food, or Solo would starve away. She makes that toughest decision of leaving Solo alone and toboggans off to sea, wary of the leopard seals that are ready to make her a meal, should she be any less careful.

Left to its own self, Solo becomes an easy catch to all the mother penguins that have lost their chick as they tug at her quite violently to adopt her as their own. Solo somehow manages to escape their clutches, only  to be pinned down by the Skua, a scavenger bird that preys on penguin chicks that stray from the rookery. Just when the skua is about to nip Solo's belly off, Fin makes his heroic entry and lunges at the Skua and chases it away. Then you see what had taken so long for Fin to get back - he had gotten himself entangled in a net, and had somehow escaped, dragging the net along. A while later Floe is back as well, and the family has a very happy reunion.

Solo brought back memories of the Emperor Penguin documentary by Sir David Attenborough. Very beautiful ones, you can watch them here:
 Daddy penguins in the rookery
Return of mummy penguins
Leopard Seal hunting out Emperor penguins

This book proved to be a great topic for discussion, both scientific and sentimental and is definitely a very good read about life in the Antarctic, survival instinct and the extreme endurance of the animal kingdom and the continuous threat that humans impose on these magnificent beings.

Solo. A beautiful tale of love and endurance.