shyamala's world

Devika Carriapa is the winner of Bal Sahitya award for 2019.  She won the award for her nonfiction book -  India Through Archaelogy: Excavating History . Published by Tulika books, this mammoth nonfiction book of 160 pages is a wonderful reference material   for children of all ages. Devika shared her thoughts after winning the award instituted by Sahitya Akademi. Pic courtesy: tulikabooks.com                              . 1.Did you know about the Bal Sahitya awards before you won? Of course! And I’ve always felt that a national award that recognises children’s writing across languages and genres is something truly unique. 2. This is probably the first time that a non-fiction book has won the Bal Sahitya award. You are also the first archaeologist to win an award meant for authors who write for children. Your comments. I am delighted that the genre of non-fiction for chil...

                                                 The sequel to Malli is finally out.   Written by Jeeva Raghunath and Illustrated by Nancy Raj, Malli         is Coming is a picture book about gratitude and gifts. Malli was first published by Tulika in    2005. Jeeva and Nancy shared a few titbits about the book. Jeeva,Fourteen years is a long time for a book’s sequel. When did you finally start writing Malli’s sequel? What made you think it was time to write Malli’s sequel? I did send a few ideas in between but it didn’t work. That’s it, no deliberate reason! Again, I don’t plan, it happens. Why did you choose the 'return gift' idea as the book’s subject? What childhood memories do you have of gifts? No reason! I was in the flight, fast asleep. When I woke up, the spark happened and I wrote it. I sent...

Habib Ali is the illustrator of the award winning picture book, Neel on Wheels .   Written by  Lavanya Karthik and published by Duckbill , this book  was a winner in the Children First competition organised by Parag Trust and Duckbill. A riot of imagination, this rhyming book is a visual delight.   Habib Ali tells us more about his recent releases. How did this book come about? My alma mater, Riyaaz Academy, had set up a stall at the World Book Fair in 2017. My illustrator friends and I  had exhibited our artworks. I met Ms Sayoni Basu(editor of Duckbill books). She liked my artwork. A few weeks later, I received an email from Duckbill inviting me to work on a book. How difficult was it to create  images for this book?In every spread,the wheelchair arrives in a new avatar. Did the manuscript come with illustration notes? It was indeed challenging to create layouts for the book. Several of my final artworks had be abandoned. It...

Chennai based Tulika Books is about to launch a book club for children. Aneesha Vijay Kumar, Promotions and Marketing Manager of Tulika Books, shares some details about the  bookclub. 1. What do kids stand to benefit by joining  the book club? The Tulika Book Club, we hope, will be THE space for eight- to twelve-year-olds to meet like-minded peers and create their own community of readers and book lovers!  2.  How often will the bookclub meet? Twice a month. 3.  Will there be a theme for every meet? As of now the sessions are planned by theme.  4. I s there any fee/purchase to be made to join the bookclub? Yes, it will be Rs 1200 for four sessions over two months. The fee will include two books.  5.  Will there be any guided writing/drawing activities/workshops in the bookclub? Absolutely! The children will dabble with writing, play word games, discuss genres, writers,  illustrators, etc. ...