shyamala's world

Illustration notes are guidelines shared by the author to a book's illustrator. Not all picture books need illustration notes. The text is enough to bring a book to life. Nonfiction books on specific topics  may need  illustration notes as accuracy is important.  Some fiction books may have one or two illustration notes to comunicate the twist in the story through an illustration. Shruti Rao's engaging picture book, Look Again!(Pratham Books) relies heavily on illustration notes. Artist    Kalyani Ganapathy has done a wonderful job bringing Shruthi's imagination to life.  About the book, Shruthi says,"I got this idea one morning,in those hazy moments before I completely woke up from sleep. It was just the seed of the idea. Over the next couple of days, I thought up some appropriate situations, and wrote them down." Do browse through the ebook before you scroll down to read the illustration notes.  Look Again!(Pratham Books) ...

                                                                                                                                        What is the scariest word in the English language? If the level of its scariness is decided by a word's power to make otherwise reasonable, clear-headed and intelligent adults blanch, in b...

The year 2016 is very special to me. After dreaming about it for the last three years, this is the year when my first children's picture book, Brushing is no fun , was published. The journey of this book started about a year ago. After getting rejections from various publishers, I was graciously asked by one of them (Pratham Books) if I would be interested in writing a story about brushing teeth and keeping good hygiene. It took me by surprise, but when I got over it, I accepted the opportunity. The result was “Brushing is no fun!” Soon after accepting the assignment, I researched general information on the topic as well as looked for other similar books in print. Next, I worked on the characters and the storyline. I knew it had to be something fun and non-didactic. After toying around with a few ideas, I finally arrived at one. The bossy big sister and naughty little brother (as in my family) would be perfect!           ...

( This piece was created exclusively for the October 2016 issue of Kahani Takbak, a newsletter by authors for children authors. www.kahanitakbak.com )                                          Roopa Pai's children's pictorial book , How old is Muttaji (Pratham Books) is a unique Indian book which blends mathematics, local history with national history. It was shortlisted for Publishing Next’s The digital book of the year award.  Kahani Takbak interviewed Roopa Pai to know more. 1.  Is the book based on a real person? Do you know anyone who is as old as Muttaji? The book is not based on a real person but my children's Muttajji certainly provided a lot of the inspiration. She is my husband's grandmother, and she turned 100 years old in June this year. Her memory is not like Muttajji's - she remembers EVERYTHING from her childhood and younger days! 2 ....