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.