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Know More About Shruthi Rao's Latest Nonfiction Releases

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Author Shruthi Rao shares details about her two latest nonfiction reads for middle grade readers- India To The Rescue(Juggernaut) and Spaceship To The Universe( Duckbill) . Both the books are based on little known topics and packed with interesting information never explored before in Indian children's books. 1.What drew you to this nonfiction project on armed forces? The unique topic? - Yes. And that it was completely out of my comfort zone, and hence a splendid chance to push my limits. Also, that I knew little about the army and this was an opportunity for me to learn.   2. India to the Rescue is your first book as a co-author. Was it an easy role to fit in? - Co-author would usually suggest that the two authors wrote it together. That was not the case with this book. The original was already written and published, and had been on the market for a few years already. I had to pick it up and rework it to suit a young audience. So, it wasn't very difficult. I did appr...
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Jamlo Walks: When the roads were empty and the nation stood still

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Written by Samina Mishra and richly illustrated by Tarique Aziz, Jamlo Walks (Penguin Random House India)  is a lockdown tale of twelve-year-old migrant worker Jamlo Makdam who walked through forests from the chili fields of Telangana towards her home in Chattisgarh. The Why's fail to leave your mind. Tarique Aziz captures every mood of Jamlo's journey with subtle colour tones and beautiful illustrations. Jamlo Walks is one of the rare books which leaves you empty and wonder how unjust life can be.   Samina Mishra sheds some light on Jamlo Walks . 1.When and where did you discover Jamlo's story? I read about it in the papers last year during the lockdown and then read a more detailed story on the PARI website.   2.What do you want children to take away from the book? I would like readers to think about the differences and similarities between themselves and Jamlo and other children like her who work to contribute to their families. The pandemic has affected all of us...
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Uncle Nehru's Elephant Diplomacy: Devika Cariappa

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  Archaeologist Devika Cariapa is out with a new picture book for children- Uncle Nehru, Please Send An Elephant . Beautifully illustrated by Satwik Gade, this book has been published by Tulika Books. Devika shares more details about  her new book which has loads of elephantine details. How long have you been excavating information for this story?   The book has an interesting origin. Although I typically write longer, non-fiction books for children, I had always wanted to write a picture book. Quite soon after I shared this dream of mine with the editors at Tulika, they happened to see a story about Nehru’s ‘elephant diplomacy’ in a leading newsmagazine. They felt that there was an idea there that would make the basis of a wonderful story for children. They asked me if I would write it. Of course, I said yes right away! The process of research took a few months, since the topic is quite specific and limited in scope. Why did you feel this story needed to be share...
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Hope with Pragati Sureka

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  Hope Stories for a Healthy mind is a collection of three stories aimed at building emotionally healthy children. Author Pragati Jalan Sureka has been working in the field of mental health for over fifteen years. Here are a few questions she answered .about coping with mental health challenges faced by the children in her stories,                         1. As a psychologist, how often do you come across kids like Shoma, Kabir and Ryan who face challenges because of OCD, depression and divorce in and around them? Very often. Poor performance in school is an alarming trend and more often than not, there is some issue at home that has caused it. 2. In all three stories, the parent/parents are patient with their kids. In actual life, how supportive are parents? Unfortunately, parents are not very supportive. They want the best for their children, and yet they have very little time to listen to children. This book aims...
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Bewitched by Colours: Nancy Raj

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  Written and illustrated by  Nancy Raj,  It's My Colour  emerged from a workshop jointly conducted by Tulika Books and Parag Trust in 2018. Published by Tulika books, the picture book is ideal for chidlren of ages 3-8 years. Chennai based Nancy Raj gives more details about the book which marks her debut as an author. Your thoughts about writing and illustrating a book for the first time. While I naturally paid attention to forms, shapes, composition, colour palette and other visual aspects of storytelling, this book gave me the opportunity to imagine and think of words, texts, it’s expressions and narration for the first time. This was a challenging journey but a joyful one.   Also, this  is my first attempt making mystical characters and scenes. Flying lorries, talking tomatoes, carrots as pirates etc. I have always drawn only people and their everyday life in India. (Except once some Indian wildlife for Pratham’s Achoo ) This book has mystical creat...
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Ghosts and Cows galore in C.G.Salamander's latest mystery books

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  C.G.Salamander aka Andrew David is out with two mystery chapter books for young readers in the 6-10 years. While Yamini and the 7PM Ghosts is published by Scholastic India, Moodunnit is from Duckbill(Penguin Random House).Andrew shared a bit of information for his readers about his new releases. 1. You seem to be on a mystery book writing spree. Passing phase? Or just testing to your writing abilities in this genre? I am, and it's so much fun! I just sent out a middle grade mystery the other day, and I have a chapter book mystery that I'm editing at the moment. So, I don't think it's a passing phase, I've always enjoyed writing mystery and I think I'm going to continue to enjoy it. You are right about the exploring my writing abilities bit though, and more so when I write across age groups. For really young readers, I write like I'm rooting for them to solve the mystery, I'm sneaky with middle grade books, and with YA, I genuinely want to make a mo...
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Asha Nehemiah : C for Chapati

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Bengaluru based award winning children's  author Asha Nehemiah is out with a new book for early readers. Part of Duckbill(PRH) Hook Book series, The Grand Chapati Contest is a delectable tale around the simple chapati. Chetan Sharma's illustrations are captivating and Asha's story engages the readers till the end. Asha Nehemiah shares more about her book written in simple language for 5-7 years.                                   1. What inspired you to write The Grand Chapati Contest? I’m quite an adventurous and experimental cook. I can make fancy cakes and biryanis and even my hand-rolled lasagna sheets! But I’ve always failed miserably at making soft, round chapatis.  That’s what gave me the idea. I had to set the story in a palace – because who else but a queen could organise a ‘Grand Chapati Contest’?   2. Have you ever taken part in a Chapati making contest? How good are you at ma...
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