shyamala's world

Rupa Gulab is a columnist and the author of six novels. Sandy To The Rescue(Duckbill) is her first  book for  children in the  6-8 year age group . Kahani Takbak interviewed Rupa to know more about her latest release.                                                        After addressing serious issues for teens in your previous books, Sandy to the Rescue is a light book for younger children.  What made you write it?  When an idea pops into my head and lurks around long enough, I don’t ignore it. I have never written for a specific age group. So far, I have written for adults and teenagers—and now younger children. I may even write a book for geriatrics, if the mood takes me. Who knows? 2.         Whose parent would you dread to be in crèche napping situation- Sandy...

                                         I Need to Pee is a recent picture book from Penguin Random House India.   The picture book rakes up the vital issue of peeing when one leaves the comfort of our homes.   With an increasing number of crimes committed on children outside/inside toilets, I hope this book initiates a much needed discussion about providing a safe toilet experience for children and adults as well.   A must for every home and school library! Kahani Takbak interviewed both the illustrators (Meenal Sigh and Eric Egerup) and author (Neha Singh) about this book. Meenal Singh  and  Erik Egerup  are currently based in Bengaluru and have a studio called Runaway Mill. With backgrounds in architecture, industrial design and game development, they deliver a wide and diverse range of creative design projects. These include illustra...

                                                           Alone By A. Coven Cover design by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan The first book in the Hill School Girls series meant for Middle Readers Published by Duckbill books and Publications Pvt. Ltd. Price: Rs. 225 “Alone” is the story of Elizabeth who is nervous about returning to school for a fresh term because there are so many impending changes. Her once familiar Hill School has changed hands and is now the “Hill School for Holistic Learning” which promises to be totally different, with a new principal, new curricula and a new approach to learning. To crown it all, Elizabeth has to face it alone because her best friend Pallavi has left. Elizabeth’s parents feel that she is going to enjoy the change and their new principal sounds really smart. Elizabeth, who is in Cl...

                                           Yet another nonfiction book for teens by Bangalore based children's author Roopa Pai! The framework of Ready 99 is based on Scouting for Boys written by Lord Baden –Powell , founder of the Boy Scout movement. While Lord Baden- Powell’s book is a collection of 28 Campfire yarns meant to serve the children of 20th century,  Roopa’s creation  is a tailor made,modern  version   with  99 skills and challenges for the distraction prone, time crunched, self absorbed digital children of today. Divided into six categories, the completion of every category is rewarded with a merit badge . The book shows no gender bias. Activities like cooking and flower decoration are included with activities needing wrench, pliers’ and hammer.  Ready 99  has arrived at the right time. From the importance of equ...

  Michael C. Baumann's Venom Wars of the Desert Realm is a book for 8-12 year old children. Set in the deserts of Arizona, the book has an unusual story line and   characters.  Michael shares more information about his first book. 1.        Hares and owls are common in picture books.   What made you choose them as protagonists for a middle grade novel? 2.        Spiders, lizards, snakes, yellow jackets and wasps are a unique set of supporting set of characters too. 1&2.  The animals of the Sonoran Desert (in Southern Arizona)  were the inspiration for all of the characters in my story.   There is such diverse life here, and is such a tough environment, it’s admirable.   As for the bad guys, there are so many poisonous critters, they all seemed like natural bad guys.  Besides creating a fun action story, I wanted to pay tribute to the beautiful world a...