The Snowy Day

Author: Ezra Jack Keats
Illustrator: Ezra Jack Keats
Ages: 3+ years

Ezra Jack Keats is one of my favourite illustrators. I was reading about him last week and I learned that it was his birthday yesterday - March 11. This post is a day late, but a tribute to his wonderful contribution to children's literature.

Ezra was born just after World War I. He struggled his way out of a childhood in poverty, served in second World War and later went on to become one of the most beloved American authors with his beautiful books and illustrations.

The Snowy Day is a book with a special background and a testimony to Keats' compassion and spirit of humanity. It was the book that Ezra created to defy the colour barrier in children's publishing prevalent at that time. The book, in his own words had "a black kid as hero".

"None of the manuscripts I'd been illustrating featured any black kids - except for token blacks in the background. My book would have him there simply because he should have been there all along", said Ezra in an unpublished autobiography. The character - Peter, was inspired by the clipping of a little boy from a newspaper that Ezra had preserved in his room for a long time. He won the Caldecott Medal in 1963 for the book's extraordinary illustrations accompanying a very simple, yet timeless storyline.

Today, you would barely notice the colour of the boy or ponder about it. In that way, he has certainly defied and thwarted not just the colour barrier, but also bridged generation gaps and created an ageless classic that appeals to children of this century as well, despite being created 52 years back!

The Snowy Day is about Peter's joy on experiencing snow for the first time, discovering the beauty of the flakes, awed by the canopy it creates and his urge to preserve a part of it for posterity ( in his coat pocket!). It reminds us of beauty of little children - their openness to nature and instant bonding to its wonders, their happiness in the most simplest things, their sense of exploring and discovering new things and most of all, their extraordinary ability to exist only in that moment and enjoy it to the fullest.

This book was also Ezra's first foray into illustrating with collages, home-made stamps and textured cloth and paper. The end result, as seen in the book, is so simple, which makes it even more stunning.

And the book reminded me of little M's first experience of snow - how he stood out looking at the flakes all day, asking me who threw them down, trying to catch them in his tongue and simply not getting enough of it even by the end of the day! And of course he wanted me to store bottles of snow in the freezer "for tomorrow"! :o)

Here is a Youtube reading of the book.

You can read more about Ezra and his books here.

Meet The Parents

Author: Peter Bently
Illustrator: Sara Ogilvie
Ages: 3+

Meet The Parents is a wonderfully thought-out and even more wonderfully illustrated comical celebration of all the funny, heroic moments of parenthood. I am not sure who would love this book more - the parents for being through almost all of it at least once in their toddler-raising times, or the kids for having been the perpetrators of all the mayhem and receptors of all the love!

You look inside any house with kids, toddlers in particular, and you'd think those parents are forever bossing around, teaching manners and trying to run an orderly, punctual, cleanliness-driven regime (they wish!) round the clock. At least that is what kids think about all the nagging. But that is not all that parents do.

Because then, who hunts for lost toys and retrieves them? ( from gardens, toilets, DVD players, and the gaps in the radiator and the most remote corners beneath the sofa!)

Who mends and fixes knee-caps and teddies and train-tracks?

Who heats up tiny toes and fingers? (DS2 would always ask me to sit on his palms to warm them :o))

Who carries bags while the tiny tot scoots around, then carries his coat and teddy, then eventually carries the tot and scooter as well!?

Who makes tents out of blankets and mop sticks and then holds wonky ends to keep the tent up?!

Who acts as dustbins for all the food not eaten and wipes for the grimy fingers and grubby mouths?!?

Who sorts messes and muddles and heals broken hearts with cuddles, and tucks kids in bed all cosy and warm with lovely stories?

And who says sorry to people they've just met! ( Gosh, I cannot count the many sorries I would have muttered out to strangers, mostly in trains - for noisy giggles, spread-out legs, blocked ways, banging legs on the sides, the list is endless)

And of course when all is fixed and happy and well, the kids better beware...

because parents love...

TICKLES!!!

I even have a special nickname for this - Kichukichu Boodham ( Tickle Monster, in Tamil)! When I close my eyes and extend my arms and wiggle my fingers, it is absolute pandemonium as boys scramble away to escape and thwart the attacks. :o) This is a game we play ever so often and we all LOVE tickly fun times!

When we read the book, every single word and picture resonated with us, and we were amazed at how common and special the tickling game is in many other families as well! I am sure it will ring a bell with just every mum and dad and kid.

Peter Bently is the winner of Roald Dahl funny prize and this book reflects his funniness well enough. Sara Ogilvie's illustrations complement the funniness perfectly. Just look at the picture above, it is so amazing how an eye drawn with just a circle and a dot can emote so aptly in different scenarios!

Meet the parents in this book, you'll love them even more!

Of Thee I Sing - A Letter to my Daughters

Author: Barack Obama
Illustrator: Loren Long
Ages: 5+

Now I do not know much of American Politics ( for that matter, much of any politics of anywhere just wafts over my head as a barely audible mumble!). I usually do not like to pick up and read books just because the author is larger than life and famous. And I do not know of any politics behind the characters that Obama has chosen to include in this book.

For me, Obama, he is different. Not as a President, but as a very strong, dependable, gentle family man. I have always admired the way he treats his three girls. I adore his tender, fatherly exchanges with his daughters, his little teases and inside jokes, loving smiles, gentle hugs and kisses. You would instantly believe he is that perfect dad and husband. Mostly the dad part is what always tugs at my heart strings. Because I am a BIG fan of my Dad! A big fan of all daddies who truly love their children and guide them without preaching, encourage them without demeaning their tiny achievements, empower them with guidance and independence and love them unconditionally. Because that is my dad's gift to me, and it is the most priceless gift that I hold on to ever so tightly.

Have I told you lately how wonderful you are?
Have I told you that you are creative?
Have I told you that you are smart?
Have I told you that you are brave?
Have I told you that you are a healer?
Have I told you that you have your own song?
Have I told you that you are strong?
Have I told you how important it is to honor others' sacrifices?
Have I told you that you are kind?
Have I told you that you don't give up?
Have I told you that you are an explorer?
Have I told you that you are inspiring?
Have I told you that you are part of a family?
Have I told you to be proud to be American?
Have I told you that America is made up of people of every kind?
Have I told you that they are all a part of you?
Have I told you that you are one of them
and that you are the future?
and have I told you that I love you?

That is the simple and yet strong poem from a dad to his girls. And for each of these, he points out to a famous American personality who inspired the world - like Neil Armstrong, Georgia O'Keeffe, Martin Luther King, Einstein, Helen Keller. Together, they make a beautiful message of love and wisdom.

The illustrations by Loren Long are very delicately done. It is wonderful to see that all of the famous personalities have been drawn as little children as well. It kind of makes the children see that great people were all little kids just like them - boys and girls who just dreamed big and believed in their dream and worked hard to make it a reality.

And it is refreshing to see that he has picked up personalities from different walks of life, different background and gender - just how parents of today should encourage, guide and love children. I liked that a lot.

Here is a youtube reading of the book.

I am glad I picked this one up, we really enjoyed reading it.

To Market! To Market!

Author: Anushka Ravishankar
Illustrator: Emanuele Scanzani
Ages: 3+

We discovered this book last week on a trip to Crawley. It was raining and the trains were getting delayed and so we retreated into the waiting room, annoyed, cold and wet. The annoyance, however, was short-lived and our faces broke into huge grins the moment we saw this new collection of children's books in the unmanned charity library / book sale corner inside. Suddenly, delays became the in-thing and trains were a thing of the past!

DS1 spotted a HP book that wasn't there in his collection, so instantly dropped off the change (the donation asked was a minimum of 50p) and settled down in a cosy corner of the sofa and was lost to the world. I and Milind were looking to take a picture book and read, and that was when this vibrant, nostalgic front cover caught our attention. With an overloaded cycle, bangles, sarees, cats and mice, colourful buckets and plenty of bold, beautiful colours, it was the Indian market in all its splendour!

A little girl gathers her pocket money and goes off to the market with mum. She has been given permission to buy anything she wants and she is eager to find out what she might get. But when she reaches the market, she is so taken in by its scents, flavours, textures and hues that she completely forgets her mission. She has so much fun just gazing and playing around that getting something for herself never even crosses her mind.

This was a nostalgic read for me and every small detail in every single picture brought back wonderful memories of trips to market or to the shops inside temples. Anushka has done a beautiful job of bringing such a simple theme to life with even more simple, yet catchy verse.

"Creeping creeping creeping, I am peeping, I am a spy"
"Tutti tutti tutti, I'm a fruity kind of dish"

It is, however, the illustrator who has poured so much life into the scenes. Emanuele Scanzani is an Italian illustrator who resides in the serene village of Auroville in Pondicherry, India. His familiarity, or rather, the acceptance of Indian culture is visible in even the tiniest detail. From the colourful rangoli powders heaped up in sacks to the Ganesha idol in black decked with flowers, the vibhoothi (sacred ash) and kumkum (vermillon dot) on the foreheads of most of the people, the many framed deities in golden frames and the demon faces hung in the front door to ward off evil eye, the rubber slippers in brilliant colours, the sarees, fruits, crows, cobwebs, bangle shops and hanging coir baskets, the detailing is so perfect that it teleported me right back to the stream of traditional shops inside Meenakshi Amman Temple in my hometown, Madurai. No doubt he is a very talented artist who has found peace in Auroville ashram.

Anushka is an award winning Indian writer whose books have been published internationally. She is popular for her "nonsense verse" and has won many international awards. I couldn't find any nonsense in this book though, but I suppose much of little children's healthy imagination is built on a foundation of remarkable nonsense!

In all, a brilliant book that will appeal to everyone with its colourful Indian backdrop and a bubbly storyline.

Online Story books from Oxford Owl (tablet-friendly eBooks)

I came across a mention of Oxford Owl website from a beautiful blog, Teaching ideas, that I happen to follow in facebook. They have loads of resources for kids covering all aspects of school life and also fun out-of-school activities. When I checked out the site, I was pleasantly surprised by what I found!

If you have children in Primary School, you would only know too well about "The Oxford Reading Tree", "Magic Key" and the adventures of Biff, Chip, Kipper and their dog Floppy. They have helped children get on the reading ladder and build confidence in beautiful steps ( colour coded in schools as reading levels) for many many years and are quite tried, tested and trusted by schools all across UK. The books range from wordless ones to chapter books for confident, free readers and apart from the magic key stories, there are also non-fiction books and even classics retold for kids.

Oxford Owl (http://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/) has a collection of 250 eBooks from the Oxford Reading Tree series and also other picture books, all tablet-compatible and free to be enjoyed by children on-the-go! The children could read the books by themselves, or can turn on the audio to listen to while reading. The classics are all audio books (Black Beauty, The Secret Garden, Treasure Island, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, White Fang) and are really handy as stand-by for mums when they are too busy to read to kids, and also on long car journeys. The books are meant for ages 1+ to 11 and you'd be quite spoilt for choice as well. For a while, at least!

DS2 was very pleased to find a book there about the very first illustrator he knew from his nursery days - Alex Brychta, the illustrator of the Oxford Reading Tree series. It was interesting seeing his very first drawing (which was smashing, for a 9 year old!) and how he made his challenging journey from a little displaced boy to a talented and renowned illustrator that he is today.

The website also has help for parents on ways to assist the children who struggle with reading and many phonics resources as well.

All you need to do is to create a login credential so the children could access the books.

Check out the library here and enjoy!

Chocolate Mousse for Greedy Goose

Author: Julia Donaldson
Illustrator: Nick Sharrat
Ages: 1+ years

Mealtime, manners, mischief and mayhem with a myriad of animals and the merriest of colours. That would be the perfect summary of this book by Julia Donaldson, the former Children's Book Laureate and author of the famous Gruffalo books.

This glossy book has been eye-captivatingly illustrated by Nick Sharrat, who has illustrated books for famous authors and has been drawing for as long as he can remember!

Children love mealtimes, but not for the meal itself. Parents sometimes hate mealtimes for the same reason! This book has all of that joy, anger, irritation, chiding, licking, smelling, good-for-youing, sharing at the table , a very reluctant cleaning afterwards ( it was only a suggestion by a nice animal!) and a collective sleeping at the end of the meal. The rhyming is catchy and the children love seeing all the animals misbehaving like them :o).

This book was a firm favourite of DS2. He would read it again and again. And again. And... you get the point.

If he gave it away to his little sister, it was only because he thought she would love it just as much, and boy, does she love it!! There is just nothing as comforting to see someone love your book as much as you loved it. It is simply infectious! Here is a beautiful reading of the book by my sweet little sister Lakshmi!

When we were down at the International book festival in Edinburgh clamouring for Francesca Simon's book signing, Nick Sharrat was at the opposite table, and I was just so disappointed I didn't have this book in hand to get him to autograph it. Of all things about Edinburgh, it is this book festival that I really miss so much. Same goes for the Chennai Book fair as well!

In all, a very colourful book with lots of things little kids love.

Runny Babbit - A Billy Sook

Author: Shel Silverstein
Ages: Anybody who can afford to be silly and have a good laugh!

Spoonerism: NOUN: a verbal error in which a speaker accidentally transposes the initial sounds or letters of two or more words, often to humorous effect, as in the sentence you have hissed the mystery lectures.Origin: early 20th century: named after the Revd W. A. Spooner (1844–1930), an English scholar who reputedly made such errors in speaking.

The New York Times called Shel "That rare adult who can still think like a child". If you read this book with your kids, you will get to know how true that statement is! 

To giggle at deliberately committed spoonerisms is a silly pastime of all children. I used to do it all the time with my sister, and my mum was quite an expert at it as well. To make a book out of the silliest lot of spoonerisms is just pure genius. How many books have you seen out there made of jumbled words, yet read and enjoyed by millions of people all over the world!

Now to the book, Runny Babbit is a Bunny Rabbit who has so fuch mun. Sorry, so much fun and hilarious adventures alongside Millie Woose, Snerry Jake, Toe Jurtle and other frilly siends. Okay sorry again, silly friends, I meant! And with him, you end up having so fuch mun as well! 

The collection of poems about Runny and his friends and their adventures will have your tongue (and brain) all muddled up and eyes extremely watery from all the giggling and chortling. I mean, you can let out your inner child and have the most wonderful family reading time with kids ever! Even the grumpiest child is bound to be in stitches after reading this. At least, that is what always happens in our house. Needless to say, we kind of monopolise this library book and borrow it the moment we spot it, again and again!

And it is this exact page that has entertained many a tea-time and bed-time in our house :o)

The boys sure love to "shake a tower" but not to "bake their med". What a hilarious set of reminders!

This book was completed prior to Shel's death in 1999, but published much later and bears testimony to the remarkable talent that Shel had in connecting with children instantly and making readers of all ages laugh a lot, and ponder a lot as well. 

And if you think all this word play is utter nonsense and waste of time, think again. Or read again. It takes quite a bit of rearranging and some sharp observation to order and read the words. Actually, the children would be exercising their brain and phonetics (or phonemes or phonics or whatever name that goes by these days- in olden days I suppose it was just called "reading") without even realising it, in fact thoroughly relishing it!

Runny Babbit. What a bovely look! Mot to be nissed at all :o)

The Mysteries of Harris Burdick

Author: Chris Van Allsburg
Ages: 5+

Warning: Extreme over usage of the word mystery, because, well, it is an extremely mysterious book!

When you find a beautiful story, you find yourself getting transported to the world it portrays. When you find a story though, with a title, a picture and just one line as caption, you are treated to not one, but a thousand possible worlds and stories and the result is just endless hours of intrigue and extreme suspense. And when you find a book that has 14 such pictures, it is a riot of imagination! And that is exactly what this book is.

Mulled over by many and attempted to be solved by many more, Chris Van Allsburg's book is truly a sensation. And the mystery and suspense became too much to bear that a group of choicest authors from all over the world ( including Stephen King, Louis Sachar and Chris himself) put down to pen their own versions and published it as a book, "The Chronicles of Harris Burdick".

As if this isn't mysterious enough, the origin of the book is another mystery in itself. Chris saw a set of 14 drawings during a visit to a children's book publisher, Mr Peter Wenders. Mr Wenders explained that thirty years before that day, a Mr Harris Burdick came into his office with these pictures, which were samples from the 14 stories he had written.

Mr Wenders was fascinated by the drawings and wanted to read the stories. Mr Burdick left the samples with him and agreed to bring the stories the next day, but he never turned up. Mr Wenders was never able to find him, and Mr Burdick remained a big mystery. Inspired by the drawings, many children including Mr Wenders' had written so many stories about each picture. Chris read the stories and was amazed at the endless possibilities and got inspired himself. He reproduced these drawings and made them into a book including Mr Burdick's original captions as well, in the hope that it will inspire children of generations to come. I'm including a picture here with it's caption and you can see how hard it is to not imagine a story!

Title: A Strange Day in July. 
Caption: He threw with all his might, but the third stone came skipping back.

This book has been used by teachers, parents, story competitions all over the world to stimulate the children's imagination. The drawings are stunning and in keeping with the black-and-white pencil drawing style that Chris has used to create so many timeless magical books like Jumanji, Zathura and my favourite one, The Polar Express. 

Chris' works have won many awards and have even inspired directors to create enchanting and extraordinary movies, all of them going on to become mega hits! And although Polar Express would always be my favourite as a book and also as an entrancing movie ( particularly during the Christmas season), it is always Robbie Williams in Jumanji who would come to my mind whenever I read any work of the author.

More at Chris' website here. Story Competitions and an opportunity to win signed copies here.

P.S: Many years later, the mystery of Harris Burdick became even more profound when another picture made by him was located elsewhere in a library collection. Read all about it here.

The Unboy Boy

Author: Richa Jha
Illustrator: Gautam Benegal
Ages: 5+

I always used to admire Georgina, or George, one of Enid Blyton's Famous Five . With a boy cut and boy's gut and always up for adventure, she was breaking gender cliches long before they started to be talked strongly about. I also admire parents who try to thwart these gender barriers and simply let kids be kids, playing with anything they fancy - girly or boyish. But of course most of the boys would be mud bathing, stick-fight holding boys and girls would be pretty-in-pink girls and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that at all! Like the author Richa Jha says, there are no unboy boys or ungirl girls in the world. It is simply cool enough to be just the girl or boy that the child is!

Gagan is a gentle boy who loves nature, loves to explore nature, loves his teddy and stamp collection. He hates fighting games, harming even little ants, hates cape guns and battle stories. So he is promptly named "sissy", "scaredy cat", "chooha" by classmates and  made fun of. Even his Dadu tries hard to make him a Boy boy by getting him a cape gun. Only Mum understands how gentle and wonderfully kind he is and reassures him that he is perfect just the way he is and he makes her ever so proud.

All this continues until the class goes for a summer camp. Are the brave Boy boys really brave? Is gentle Gagan really a scaredy cat? All is unveiled in the last few pages of the book with a positive finishing note.

The illustrations are good and there is a part where the children peek into a dark staircase and imagine scary things, which has been done beautifully. Like all those exaggerated, vivid imaginary creatures and dark fears kids picture in their minds until the light is turned on! Reminded me of what kids talk about Prabhu's house in the "Anjali" movie. However, some parents may feel one or two illustrations look a bit scary, perhaps. Although I have to say they are not the gory type, just a little scary and very much aligned with the story line. :o)

Richa Jha writes @snuggle with picture books. I had previously written about her blog here. She has been kind enough to send us this beautiful book to read and review and the boys were so thrilled about it! Thank you so much Richa, we hope you continue to write more wonderful books in future!