shyamala's world

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!           ...

Feather tales: Talon, the falcon By Deepak Dalal                                                          1.         Compared to your recent previous books, this book is targeted at a slightly younger audience.  Your kids have grown up. Did you write this book exclusively for someone? No – this book wasn’t written specifically for anyone. ‘Talon, the Falcon’ is not a standalone book – it is part of a series. The idea behind this new series is to create an awareness of birds amongst our children. Most youngsters know nothing about birds. The only birds they are familiar with are crows, pigeons, kites and sparrows – b...

This  © article was created exclusively for the November 2016 issue of Kahani Takbak, a newsletter for children authors in India.)  Poet of little children: Kuzha Kathiresan, Bala Sahitya Puraskar winner 2016                                                                                 He passes off as a bureaucrat with his quiet demeanor and gentle voice. It is  only when he settles down  in his office surrounded by bookshelves that he shows his real talent by reciting poems close to his heart. Kuzha Kathiresan, winner of ...

(This  © article was created by author and poet, Santhini Govindan exclusively for the October,2016 issue of Kahani Takbak, a newsletter by authors for children authors.)                                            When I first started writing for children, I did not imagine that the stories and poems that I wrote would be used in text books (academic) books.  Initially, only a few of my stories were included in primary school English literature readers, but this increased over the years, and eventually, I started compiling English language readers myself, (with original and public domain content) for several major academic book publishers in India. It was during this exercise that I learnt how important it is, for a writer, to have a basic understanding of copyright and copyrig...

( 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 ....

(This interview is a piece from the November, 2016 issue of Kahani Takbak, a newsletter written by authors for children authors.  To subscribe to the newsletter click here  ) 1.What has prompted Duckbill to start this initiative now? Does the excellent performance by our sport stars in the recent Para Olympics have anything to do with it? At Duckbill, we believe in doing fun books which kids will want to read for pleasure, but we also like it if these books talk about dilemmas or problems that kids face. We believe that literature is one of the primary means through which we learn empathy and how to deal with the challenges that the world holds. So we have books where the themes, for example, of single parenthood, class, sexuality, bullying etc are also present. So, kids with special needs or problems was something else we are interested in. We published two books which feature protagonists with special needs--Zainab Sulaiman's  Simply Nanju-- or some kind...

Seven exercises to strengthen your fingers, wrists and arms for writing  Fingers, wrists and arms are important tools for every writer.  Be it writing or editing, they undergo a lot of stress on a daily basis.   Exercise is important for increasing productivity.  Here are seven exercises which will help you strengthen your fingers, wrists, and arms. 1  1.  Take a Happy/ Smiley sponge ball and place it on your left palm. Squeeze the ball with your fingers . Hold it for 30 seconds and release it. Repeat the same with your right palm. This simple and important exercise strengthens your fingers.  It can be done while taking writing breaks in front of the laptop. Do the exercise for  five counts in a day. 2. .  Sit on a comfortable chair. Stretch your arms and ball your fists.  First, rotate the wrists in clock wise direction ten times.  Then rotate the wrists in the anti clock wise direction for the same ...