For those who like a little shiver down their spines "The Haunted Bicyle" and "A Face in the Dark" are delightfully eerie.

The tone of the book is determined by the first person narrative device adopted by the author who allies himself with the child reader and guides him down the course of the book. The author's use of a luminous kind of imagery creates a style that is simple and unpretentious and likely to make a deep dent in the reader's memory. Tapas Guha's imaginature illustrations are an added asset.

The child reader is likely to have a different kind of transaction with Limelight by Shirin Darasha, a collection of plays for Indian schools brought out B.P.I. Educational. Undoubtedly Shirin Darasha is making a substantial contribution to the existing slender corpus of plays meant for children in India. The playwright, herself a school teacher, has handled socially relevant themes with caution and originality. Strongly resisting the temptation to moralise, she has highlighted in two of her plays, the problems of the underprivileged, especially in urban societies. As a teacher, she has understood the fact that Indian students cannot easily relate to English drawing-room comedies. They need plays that are relevant to their environment and to their distinct needs.

At the outset, the first play "Dimtikar Road" sound a bit daunting for an amateur theatre group to attempt. However one is encouraged after reading the introduction, where the writer says that it was a roaring success when staged, and the actual inhabitants of the Dimtikar Road who witnessed the show applauded it heartily. The play is about groups of people who live their lives in footpaths, impoverished immigrants from another State unaware of their basic rights. A band of social workers, determined to empower this group, battle with the municipal workers who periodically demolish the huts of these poor workers. It becomes an historic event when the social workers actually succeed and this event is celebrated in the play "Dimtikar Road".

After reading the play, one may wonder how well it would go down with audience. Here again the writer assures us that, with a good director and committed actors, it is likely to arrest the audience as it did on their maiden performance. It must have been extremely gratifying for the young actors when the actual inhabitants of Dimtikar Road showered them with grateful appreciation.

"Lip-service" is another very realistic presentation of a situation one comes across often in urban households. Ushatai, uncaring in the beginning, changes into a dedicated female activist in the end, while the caring avuncular Sunil turns out to be an ineffectual mentor. The play will require a good bit of historic talent in order to be convincing for children. The most enjoyable play was "Madame Curie" on the life of the famous scientist presented without any addition of any moral tag. Students will enjoy reading this life story spiced with human interest which has lent itself easily to the contours of a play. Shirin Darasha, a committed teacher, advocates drama as one of the most exciting learning activities for school children. Apart from being exposed to literature and poetry through good drama, they also learn about greater issues of life and how to understand themselves and those around them.

One recalls George Orwell's pithy comment that "many people who would consider themselves extremely sophisticated are actually carrying through life an imaginative background which they acquired in childhood." It is therefore essential that childhood reading material, should be enriching, suited to the needs and interests of children Both Limelight and Bond's Treasury of Stories will in their own unique ways be making a significant contribution to this process of enrichment.

Treasury of Stories for Children, Ruskin Bond, Viking, Rs. 295. Limelight, Shirin Darasha, BPI Educational, price not mentioned