MOUSE SEES THE WORLD !!

Yesterday night, the sound of rain made me happy .The morning was unusually pleasant and breezy, I walked out with my tea and noticed….I had visitors.I was greeted by not one, not two but an unending queue of black ants marching into my house.

The ants go marching

The ants go marching one by one, hurrah,hurrah

The ants go marching one by one hurrah, hurrah

 The ants go marching right past the flower pots, the door, into the kitchen ….Now, that’s not a visit but an INVASION in broad daylight, I realise.

I RAISE THE ALARM !!!

FAMILY IN COMBAT MODE…IT’S ACTION TIME…

Hold on, where is Junior ?... We find him is in his room,  sitting on the bed holding the jars of M & M close to his chest… "Ma, will the ants eat my M & M ? Will they eat me too ? "

Author – Kuntie Ramdat Balkaran –her story 'A pot of money for hard  times ' was the 2000 winner of a Canadian Writing for Children Competition.

Illustration – Sunandini Basu

Publishers –Scholastic India Pvt. Ltd

Age – 5 to 6 years

An adventurous little pink mouse decides to go out and see the world.

On his way he meets the butterflies, snails, bees, spiders and other creatures that children commonly finds in the garden and in the neighborhood. He invites all of them to join him on his trip but they are all busy searching for food. Finally he meets a cat and extends his invitation to him too…..

The illustrations are bright and vibrant with information about the animal world and their feeding habits strategically placed for little readers to notice and read.

A wonderful attempt to introduce children to the world of life science.
Paperback, 24 pages, easy to carry for kids

The Penguin Who Wanted to Find Out

The 2005, award winning nature documentary 'March of the Penguin', captured the  yearly journey of  the Emperor Penguins of Antarctica. It renewed our interest in the life of these beautiful creatures.Though it is a wonderful documentary, it does contain occasional imagery that are disturbing - some penguins freezing to death, others being killed by predators. Parents might not think it as appropriate for their little children's viewing.

'The Penguin Who Wanted to Find Out' by Jill Tomlinson tells the story of Otto, the penguin chick.Through Otto,the author traces the journey of transformation of a penguin, from chick to adult.

Otto is a curious penguin. He asks a lot of questions to wise Claudius, a male Emperor Penguin,who carries him around on his feet. The questions that Otto asks are the many questions that young readers might have about penguins and their life in Antarctica.The books gives a vivid description of the climatic conditions,the prevailing topography and how penguins survive in the harsh weather.

 Otto, being the first chick, takes care of the other chicks.He learns that penguins help and take care of each other. The book tells how all the adult penguins in the community take turn to feed and nurture all the chicks.

Otto along with other chicks - Leo, Nap, Gusto, Alex grow up together, eagerly wait for their adult feathers to come through and finally toboggan into the sea.

A wonderful, easy and fun way for our curious kids to know more about the life of  Emperor Penguins.

How deep is the sea ?

Age group - 5 to 6 years

Author- Anna Milbourne

Illustration- Serena Riglietti

Design -Laura Wood

Publisher- Usborne Publishing Ltd.

 The cover illustration is that of a little penguin swimming in the sea as if in search of the answer to the question “How deep is the sea?”. It immediately reminded me of the endless ‘how’, ‘why’ questions that Junior asks.

The book is a wonderful way of introducing the child to the underwater world – the different life forms at different depths of the sea. It is told through a penguin Pipkin who asks his mother “How deep is the sea?” His Mum asks him to take a dive and find it for himself.

Salty the dog with a submarine is his companion in his journey.

Early readers - 5 to 6 years can read it without help.

Follow up parent child activity:

-   Do praise Pipkin for being curious. Encourage your child to ask questions.

-   Your little one might have a lot of questions. Be ready to answer his many “whys”- “ why does the sea get darker and darker as we go deeper and deeper? What are these strange sea creatures with lights? Has man ever been to such depths? Check out http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/

-   Listen to the Beatles “Yellow submarine”. Ask him whom would he like to take along with him on his submarine trip and what food would he like to take with him.

- Make your submarine http://www.submarinesafaris.com/kids_build_your_own_submarine.php


For friends who are outside India, check out How deep is the sea ? in Amazon.com.

Hello Pepi : A Toy Dog for Real

This is 'Dragon' a.k.a ' Draggy'-thats what the children of my neighbourhood call him. We do not know what his owner had named him, but he responds with wags when the children call out for Draggy.

 Ageing and abandoned by his owner, he has found refuge in our neighbourhood. He has struck a friendly chord with the children as well as  with the adults. He has been adopted by one of the Security Guards of our neighbourhood and can be seen  patrolling with him at night.

It is amazing to see his williness to survive, ability to forgive and forget and move on.

Animals have the ability to teach us what a lifetime of learning cannot.

Now, meet Pepi - a spirited little Chihuahua, ever curious, a bundle of endless energy.  Based on a true story, Hello Pepi : A Toy Dog for Real - books 1 to 5, is a celebration of love and friendship.

In books 1 to 3 ( Hello Pepi,  Pepi's First Things and Pepi Goes Parkies) Pepi, raven black with a lightning bolt on his chest, piglet ears, warms up to a little girl Mona and in a way, chooses her to be his owner. Mona now a responsible Mum, feeds and trains Pepi with the basics. Pepi meanwhile, is busy exploring his new home, braving little accidents now and then. He loves going outdoor , a cynosure of all the little girls and boys of the neighbourhood. Pepi enjoys his trips to the park, specially ball fetching games. Once while playing in the park, he meets with an accident and is forced to stay in bed. It is a lesson for both Pepi and Mona. 

Alarna Rose Gray has written the book in verses funny, sweet and smart. There is a lovely rhythm. It is difficult to stop turning the pages. The illustration, done by Kim Sponaugle, in black and white is adorable.

Perfect gift for young readers.

Kindle edition available.
If you want to know about real Pepi, please visit Alarna's blog site.

Pepi is a hot favorite in our home. Junior enjoyed reading  books 1 to 3 and is looking forward to read the rest of the series. Pepi  is featuring regularly in Junior's dinner discussions..won't be long before he says," Mum, can I have a puppy too !!"  :)

The Giving Tree

On my last visit to the local bookstore, I picked up a book from the shelf marked 'Inspirational'.  

Hardbound, green in color with a sketch of a tree, apple and a child on the cover - looked more like a children's picture book. But why was it in the 'Inspirational' shelf ? I wondered.

I settled down with the book in one of the many 'moorahs' that careless lie around in the store.Reading it did not take much time. But I did sit there for quite sometime contemplating... questioning our attitude towards Mother Earth, our  short sightedness and our unending ' I want's..

What a wonderful way of telling the children and at the same time, reminding us adults to love and take care of our beautiful Mother Earth.

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein 

Quoting a few paragraphs from the book :

"Once there was a tree…… And she loved a little boy. And every day the boy would come And he would gather her leaves And make them into crowns and play king of the forest. He would climb up her trunk And swing from her branches And when he was tired,he would sleep in her shade.

And the boy loved the tree…..Very much..And the tree was happy."

As time went by the boy grew older and his visits  and love for the tree grew less. He no longer played on the tree branches, he started to WANT...fruits to sell, branches to make house and so on...

Finally,

"And after a long time the boy came back again.–“I am sorry, Boy,”said the tree, “but I have nothing left to give you— My apples are gone.” –“My teeth are too weak for apple,”said the boy.–“My branches are gone,” said the tree.”You cannot swing on them—”–"I am too old to swing on branches” said the boy. –“My trunk is gone,” said the tree.“You cannot climb—-” –”I am too tired to climb,” said the boy.–“I am sorry” sighed the tree. “I wish that I could give you something… but I have nothing left. I am just an old stump.

I am sorry…” –”I don’t need very much now” said the boy. “just a quiet place to sit and rest. I am very tired” –“Well” said the tree, straightening herself up as much as she could, “well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting. Come, Boy, sit down…and rest.”

Add this wonderful, thought provoking book to your 'Must Read ' list ...Spread the word ...

The actual 1973 'Giving Tree' movie  in the voice of Shel Silverstein is   available on youtube.

The book is available in Flipkart, India as well.

Age group :  can be read to kids as young as  3 years, revisit when they can read on their own again, read it whenever you need to stress on"  recycle, reduce and reuse" mantra.

For more , read The Giving Tree - Wikipedia.

The Story of FERDINAND

“Books can make a difference in dispelling prejudice and building community: not with role models and recipes, not with noble messages about the human family, but with enthralling stories that make us imagine the lives of others. A good story lets you know people as individuals in all their particularity and conflict; and once you see someone as a person—flawed, complex, striving—you’ve reached beyond stereotype.”  ― Hazel Rochman

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf  and illustrated by Robert Lawson conveys the above-mentioned message beautifully.

Ferdinand , is a bull from  Spain. Unlike other bulls,he does not like to fight  or butt his head  or stick other bulls with his horns. He does not dream of being picked to fight at the  bullfights in Madrid. He prefers sitting quietly under the cork tree and enjoy the smell of flowers. His DIFFERENT behavior and preference worries his mother. However, she realises that Ferdinand enjoys his quiet moments and lets him sit there and be happy.After some years, due to an unexpected, highly dramatic event, Ferdinand  gets the reputation of being the fiercest bull in Spain and is selected to fight at a bullfight at Madrid.

What does Ferdinand do in the bullfight arena ? Do the Banderillos, Picadores and the Matador manage to make Ferdinand snort, butt and stick his horns?

Tonight, I'll read The Story of Ferdinand to him. I want Junior to feel secure, understand that it's Okay to be just yourself.

I'm also expecting a discussion on bullfighting, tonight. Junior, is bound to have many question about the sport and the blood bath involved. Personally, I find the tradition cruel and wish this abomination ends soon.

The Story of Ferdinand - Wikipedia gives an interesting insight into the story, its  political relevance, the subsequent film adaptations.

This picture book is suitable for Early readers age group - 5 to 7 years. 

Harold and the Purple Crayon

Is your little one in love ♥ ♥ ♥ with crayons ?

Are the walls of your house, now, canvas for your budding artist ?

Does your little one have a favorite color ?........G-E-R-EEE-N or BU-LOOO...

Harold loves his Purple Crayon. One evening he decides to go for a walk in the moon light. He draws anything that he thinks 'needs to happen' with his Purple Crayon.

He draws the moon and a straight road to follow and sets off on his adventurous journey.  He draws  what he desires and sometimes falls in difficult situations. He is a smart child and  draws his way out. When Harold found himself drowning in the ocean, he quickly drew a boat, climbed on it and sailed off.

He comes across a forest, is frightened by a dragon,  enjoys a picnic on the beach and has many more adventures before he returns home and falls asleep.

This book is a wonderful way of exploring the powers of imagination, quick thinking and perseverance. It encourages the child to think creatively when faced with problems.

Age Group : Early readers, 4 to 6 years

After reading the book, there are a lot of parent- child activities that you can do with your child.

• When you are stuck in the traffic, next time, you can ask your child what Harold would draw to help  you out of the situation. Hopefully,  you can  avoid the usual - "why is the car not moving, Mom ????" question  by doing this :)
• On a big drawing paper both of you can take turns to draw. Say, you draw a mountain,"It is the highest mountain in the world". Your child adds some more details.He draws a boy with a bag pack "This is me, I want to climb it".  Go on and spin an amazing story together !!!

What is your child's favorite color ?