shyamala's world

  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...

Award winning children's author Rajee Raman is out with a book for Scholastic India. A collection of 12 unique and engaging stories from across the world, The Secret of Fire And Other Folktales  is not just for children of 8-12 years, but also teens and adults who love folktales.                                                1.Was this book commissioned to you? I suggested the idea to the publisher. 2. Which is your favourite story from the book? I like all the stories, as they deal with themes that are timeless and resonate across cultures – love and loss, pride, selfishness, resourcefulness, courage, and self-sacrifice. Having said that, I must confess that How Glooskap Tamed the Wind (a legend of the Wabenaki tribes of Canada) holds a special place in my heart. This story describes an encounter between Glooskap, a legendary hero, and Wuchowsen, the giant wind-...

Prize winning children's author Khyrunnisa is out with a new book for kids. Titled The Lizard of Oz and Other Stories, the book is a collection of engaging and well written humorous stories. Khyrunnisa shares her  thoughts on this new release from Scholastic India. 1.The title is intriguing.  When and how did the title flash into you?           I love playing with words and while thinking up a story that has a lizard as the main character, ‘The Wizard of Oz’ came to my mind and changing ‘wizard’ to ‘lizard’ was but natural. This is a story that I started with only the title ready. I had to think up a suitable plot after that.  Most people are allergic to lizards and snakes. What is your equation with lizards and snakes to make them into  protagonists for your short stories ?           I wanted to write stories about animals and creatures that people aren...

Scholastic India's  Puu has created a buzz even before its release.   Puu is the work of author  C.G. Salamader and  artist Samidha Gunjal.  The pink on the cover  is highly deceptive. Puu  is  the  tamil word for flowers.   However there is nothing  flowery about the book's theme.   Puu is India's first  children's book on manual scavenging. T his dehumanising practice  continues to exist all across  India e ven though it  was outlawed over two decades ago.                                                     There are many stages to solving any problem- awareness, finding optimal solutions  and their successful implementation . This book creates awareness about manual scavenging. Salamander's text and  Samidha's visuals work in ...

Deepa Agarwal is an award winning writer who has written over 50 books in various genres and for different age groups.  She is one of the rare , enthusiastic children authors who is comfortable promoting her books through school visits and internet.  The Scholastic Book of Hindu Gods and Goddesses  is her forthcoming title. Caravan to Tibet ,  Go Girl  and  Listen O King  are some of her middle grade books. To know about her visit  www.deepaagarwal.com Since virtual author visits are one of the convenient ways to promote a book from home, Kahani  Takbak interviewed Deepa to know more details. 1.What should be the ideal duration of a  virtual author visit? I think 30-45 minutes are enough. 2.                    What should be the criteria for selecting a school for a visitor author visit? The schools approached me directl...