My first book is here!

My debut picture book - Mala's Silver Anklets - for babies (I mean the 2-3 year old variety). Loved love loving the illos of Nancy Raj, she has brought so much life to my character. Thanks to Tulika...the first step to my dreams of being published has happened.

buy here: http://www.tulikabooks.com/picbooks41.htm

Check out the launch video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFR88mjnnfI

Remix contest - new that is three months too late

So, Ammulu and Furry did it. They won the competition for me!

http://blog.prathambooks.org/2011/06/and-winner-of-retell-remix-rejoice.html

The link has a link to Scribd where all the stories are posted. It was fun reading all of them (imagination rocks)...waiting for my book to come out soon!

Pratham Book's Story Telling Competition

Pratham is a publisher that works towards ensuring that every child can read. Their books are priced at Re. 25 mostly and their work is shared under the Creative Commons License. Pratham is running a story telling competition... simply rewrite the below story...

Listen to My Body

Malli - A beginning

This story came to me the other day on the wings of a sleek, black-as-ebony raven. He cawed at me while perched on the window sill and I thought of Malli (in Tamil, the name means Jasmine).

xx--xx--xx--xx--xx--xx--xx--xx--xx

   Billa the crow sat on the wall preening his feathers.

   "Malli is coming, Malli is coming," the watchman muttered as he went hastily to the shed.
   Billa the crow stared at him curiously and decided to follow him. He took flight and landed on the window sill of the shed. The watchman was going through an old box. He threw down dusty newspapers. He threw down some plastic cans. He dug deeper into the box and came up with rubber chappals.
    "For Malli," the watchman said, grinning a toothy grin.

    "KAA KAA," someone called Billa. It was time for breakfast; he flew to the second floor balcony. Soft fluffy idlis for Billa. YUMMM. Billa perched eating his idlis.
    "Malli is coming, Malli is coming," the lady of the house said as she took out a bag from under the bed.
    Billa the crow stared at her curiously as she pulled out brightly colored clothes. The lady shook her head at a green skirt.She shook her head at a yellow shirt. She finally found a red paavadai chattai with a faded gold border.
    "For Malli," the lady said with a bright sunny smile.

    CRASH
    Billa flew to the balcony below. It belonged to a little girl who fed Billa his favorite treats - bread and honey. The little girl stood with her hands on her hips looking at an upturned box of toys. She sat cross-legged and searched among the toys. She said no to an old wooden train. She said no to an alphabet board. And as Billa watched, the little girl found the perfect toy - a big plastic doll with long black hair.
    "For Malli," the little girl said with a twinkling laugh.

    Who is Malli? Billa wondered as he flew back to his wall. He spotted two women hanging clothes to dry.
    "Lakshmi, I heard your daughter Malli is coming," said the first woman.
    "Yes Devi, it's puja holidays for her in the village. My father is bringing her to me for a week!" said the second woman with a very happy smile.
    "I can't wait to see her," said the first woman. "There's a carnival near my house, why don't we take her there to play?"
    Billa decided he wanted to see Malli and flew to the gate. A little while later, an auto came to a stop before the gate. The watchman, the lady of the house, the little girl and the two talking women came running to the gate.
    An old man got down carrying a tiny suitcase and a yellow bag. He adjusted the towel on his shoulder and kept his luggage on the ground. Billa saw Malli's face peeping out of the auto, and as she got down he saw the steel braces on her legs glinting in the sunlight. Her grandfather grasped her hand as she turned towards her mother and friends.

   "Welcome, Malli," everyone sang, and Billa cawed.

Glossary:
Chappals - Slippers
Paavadai Chattai - Traditional silk blouse and skirt

Multiculturalism

My most recent work for GlobalKidsOz - a wonderful resource to help Australian parents and kids develop a positive attitude in a multicultural society...

Diversity in the classroom:
http://multiculturalisminschools.wordpress.com/2011/01/09/diversity-in-the-classroom/

Celebrating Waitangi Day
http://multiculturalisminschools.wordpress.com/2011/01/21/waitangi-day-new-zealand-february-6/

The Chinese New Year
http://multiculturalisminschools.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/celebrate-the-chinese-new-year-in-your-school/

What happened when I found an Indian poetess...

I have a confession to make: I have never touched Indian poetry or poets/poetesses. I'm drawn to and relish the likes of e.e.cummings, Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou et al. But it's been an ongoing effort on my part to learn more about contemporary Indian writers. So imagine my pleasant surprise when I discovered a Indian poetess from very early 20th century. Here is the woman I'm talking about...

Poet's Parlour

Padmabhushan Nalappat Balamani Amma: A poetess who loved children

Nalappat Balamani Amma was born in Kerala in the year 1909. She is considered to be one of the best Malyali poetess and won the Saraswathi Samman, which is the highest literary medal in India. She is also a Padmabhushan awardee - the third highest civilian award. But Balamani Amma never went to school; she was tutored at home and learned Sanskrit and English Literature. Balamani Amma is also the mother of Kamala Das, a famous writer who wrote many Malayalam short stories as well as English poems. A lot of Balamani Amma's poetry is on the love for children and grandchildren. This is one the reasons she is called the Mother/ Grandmother of Malayalam poetry. Balamani Amma passed away on September 29, 2004, at the age of 95.

Red Pyramid - A tween's dream come true.

It's fast. It's sassy. It's peppered with facts about Egyptian mythology - easy to digest and fun to learn. What are we talking about? Rick Riordan's Red Pyramid: The Kane Chronicles of course! I recently picked up the book, realized that it had been out for a considerable time, and because I enjoyed the Percy Jackson series decided to give the RP a shot.
Now, I'm the Cornelia Funke kind of a reader. I love exquisite prose, the rise and fall of rhythm, the way beautiful prose can soothe you and take you to a different dimension. Rick Riordan's writing does not fit into this category by any measure.
But I picked it up because I like the man's sense of adventure, plot pace, characters and the twists and turns in his book. Here's my two pennies on the Red Pyramid: The Kane Chronicles.

Book Review

The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles, Book 1)

Author: Rick Riordan

If you loved Rick Riordan's extremely popular Percy Jackson series, you will worship The Kane Chronicles. This series opens with The Red Pyramid – an action oriented story that zooms from start to finish. The Red Pyramid is the story of Carter and Sadie, siblings who have grown apart ever since the mysterious death of their mother Ruby. Carter is dragged all over the world by his archaeologist father Dr. Julius Kane, and Sadie lives a normal life in London with her grandparents. But their world is turned upside down when their father disappears while trying to destroy the Rosetta Stone, which unleashes powerful Egyptian gods who are out to destroy the world. The book is funny, fast-paced, has a solid take on Egyptian mythology and characters whom you will love by the end of the book. Author Rick Riordan was born in Texas and taught in schools for fifteen years before turning to writing. He is also the author of the wildly popular Percy Jackson series. 

courtesy of coffeeforthebrain @blogspot

Excerpt:

If you’re hearing this story, you’re already in danger. Sadie and I might be your only chance. Go to the school. Find the locker... The combination is 13/32/33. By the time you finish listening, you’ll know what those numbers mean...The most important thing: when you open the package and find what’s inside, don’t keep it longer than a week... it will grant you almost unlimited power. But if you possess it too long, it will consume you. Learn its secrets quickly and pass it on... I guess it started in London, the night our dad blew up the British Museum. My name is Carter Kane. I’m fourteen and my home is a suitcase.

This review was meant to be very brief. For a lengthier look into the book, I recommend Coffee for the Brain.