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Literary Review
The great book bonanza
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Children's books, both in the selection of stories and presentation, have come a long way and a bonanza of exciting reading awaits children this festive season. VIJAYA GHOSH looks at some of the books on offer, with valuable inputs from the intended audience, the children themselves.
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IF the new titles from Puffin Books and Rupa are any indication of what's happening to children's books, then one is in for a delightful treat. Not only is there an exhaustive list of titles, but much thought has gone into not just the selection of stories but also the presentation. Certainly a refreshing change from those days when publishers shied away from anything to do with creative writing for children (unless they were text books!) and if they did bother at all, they produced unattractive, badly-illustrated black and white books printed on poor quality paper.
While the number of titles from Penguin is larger, Rupa scores in its decision to test the market with new writers and illustrators. The curiosity factor therefore is higher as one gets an idea of a new breed of writers. Since the books in the range of review were meant for the 12+, I asked some youngsters in Class X to pick up the book/s they would like to read and perhaps review. Almost all chose the Rupa selection and then went on to the Puffins. When I asked why that was so, they said that they were familiar with most of the Puffin stories and wanted to see something different. I rather suspect that one reason was the slimness of the volumes. Barring The Buggles by Antara Ganguli (a full-fledged novel), most of the Rupa books were under a hundred pages.
The Puffin selection covers a wide range of subjects from novels by well-known writers like R.K. Narayan and Anita Desai, to collections of stories, folk tales as well as modern writers. There is the ubiquitous but popular quiz book, a history of India and "game" stories where the reader becomes the protagonist.
What did I, an adult pick up first? Mala Dayal's The Puffin Treasury of Modern Indian Tales and Meera Uberoi's Classic Indian Tales for Children. Both the volumes excel in choice of stories and qualities of production. And of course, some of the best illustrators for children had been tapped. Meera Uberoi has a lively way of narrating the 48 tales — Dhruva, Bhishma, Ekalavya, Krishna — ever enduring stories but familiar to the Indian child. An excellent introduction to new readers, particularly those in the NRI milieu.
In the same genre, Gita Ramanujam's The Wise Monkey and Other Animal Stories recounts well-known stories. Ajanta Guha Thakurta's exquisite illustrations breathe new life into familiar tales.
Modern Indian Tales, a collection that has been put together with much thought, ranges from Premchand, R.K. Narayan and Bhisham Sahni to Satyajit Ray, Ruskin Bond, Salman Rushdie and Vikram Seth. The story that totally steals one's heart is Mahasweta Devi's "The Why-Why Girl", about Moina, a young tribal girl, whose immense passion was to go to school and get to know everything there was to know! With cows to tend and siblings to care for, she still finds answers to her "whys". And Vikram Seth's "The Elephant and the Tragopan" in verse has one absolutely glued to the story. Poignant yet humorous, this story about encroachment into the animal territory by humans, the attempts to oust them and then rehabilitate them (shades of Narmada) is a damning indictment of the political ethos. A must for every school or general library.
R.K Narayan's Malgudi Schooldays and Anita Desai's Village by the Sea are classics of Indian fiction. Though both are reflective of their times, Malgudi Schooldays remains the favourite. The dry humour and evocative narration puts the swadeshi movement in perspective through Swami's eyes. Certainly everyone, young or old, loves Swami's trials, tribulations, joys and angst but there are lessons for all. Malgudi Schooldays must be made compulsory reading for our politicians: it's a guide to good governance!
Then the "knowledge books": Roshen Dalal's A History of India for Children, The Ultimate School Quiz Book by Ashoke Ganguli and Derek O'Brien's Discover with Derek. Joyita Ghose had used A History of India for a class 7 school project. She says: "This book takes us through the Indus Valley civilisation and the age of the Guptas to the Mughals and our Independence in 1947. The main attraction of the book for me was that it was concise and well written."
On The Ultimate Quiz Book, Tarini Manchanda says: "In today's day and age when children grow up on a diet of 30-minute serials and attention spans are short, this book is guaranteed to get students to do that extra bit of reading: and not consider it a chore! What's best is that answers are easy to find and have been adequately explained."
Joyita Ghose who read Discover With Derek says: "A `knowledge activity book' for eight to nine year olds, it covers a variety of topics like people, sports, travel, history and literature, science, India and nature. There is a mixed bag of questions and revision tests. It really adds to one's GK."
Rupa books are simple and easy to read for the under-10s except for The Buggles that is for the 12 +. The attraction is that they are by new writers but the drawback also is that some of the stories tend to be amateurish. Tarini Manchanda, 14, an avid reader says, "Time for a Tale by Joyeeta Dutta Ray reads like a mediocre effort by someone who isn't a writer by profession." Harsh words but then she is a discerning reader. She says, "The words are strung together not to tell a tale but somehow stuff a moral down one's throat. Why do so many Indian authors feel story telling has to be blatantly educative?" She does go on to say though that such stories may be fine for the under-10 age.
Friends Colony, an amusing tale which can be called a modern fable, is a spoof on all politicians. It appealed to Jaskiran Warrick: "Mani Dixit", she says, "captures democracy at its best, comparing human beings with their petty squabbles and egos with animals who show how, by taking turns to be leader in the jungle, everyone benefits. Even gadhas (donkeys) are useful when the time is right!"
Humour is something sadly lacking in our fiction for children and in that context, Kalpana Swaminathan's Gavial Avial and Weekday Sisters are great fun, guaranteed to keep the reader smiling. Gavial (what else but the Gangetic gharial Gavialus gangeticus), who starts off life as an Abandoned Egg grows up an orphan, befriends humans and finally acquires its own Human Family!
"The Weekday Sisters," says Joyita Ghose "is about six sisters named Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday as their parents had no time to name them. Fourteen busy years after the birth of their first daughter they suddenly realise that they have six children and die of excitement! The children are now left with only an electric iron and a pile of books. They learn to live alone happily with their special qualities of enterprise, compassion and hard work. But things couldn't go on like this forever and they are told they need an adult to live with them or they become wards of the Court and live in a rescue home. The story of an extraordinary family begins from here."
Short Short Stories by Anupa Lal is an amusing collection of really short stories, a little over a page of captivating stories from all around the world. Themes include value of time, jealousy, love for all, greed and many other issues. There is a lesson for all at the end but it is a dose given with a combination of both wit and wisdom.
Joyita Ghose found A Long Walk for Bina by Ruskin Bond an excellent introduction not just to the flora and fauna of the Tehri hills but also the problems of displacement and rehabilitation of people and animals. "Bina, her brother Sonu and their friend Prakash walk several miles to school every day observing the plants and animals they come across. A chain of interesting events follows, the most important being the sighting of a leopard, which has been displaced by the construction of the Tehri Dam. The debate over the Dam has been going on for years and this book sensitises children to the controversial issue."
For Shankhdeep Mitra and S. Nagarajan, students of Class 10 in Bangalore, writing is a passion. Perhaps because they are teenagers, they instinctively understand what young readers would like. For Teens from Teens covers a range of exciting adventures, from a jewellery store robbery to mysterious encounters. Their writings reflect an adult cynicism. Jayanth, who is looking for a job, is given all kinds of advice. His uncle tells him, "If you are a good-for-nothing opt for a government job. Don't work but still take your salary. Take bribes and lead a luxurious life". A must for every aspiring young writer.
I have kept Antara Ganguli's The Buggles for the end because it is really an extraordinary book. Its deep environmental messages interwoven subtly in an exciting story bordering on simple sci-fi will touch every reader. Anjali, the heroine of the story is visited by Buggles Nobu and Lool, exiles in the underground land of Nozrabu where there is neither sky nor time. Persecuted by the Boils (they are actually the conglomeration of all the pollution we dump on the earth) who eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner, they have come to explore the possibility of a "hoomun" helping them out. And Anjali is whisked off to the timeless world of Nozrabu...
Antara writes with flair and humour. She is contemporary and imaginative. We need more such writers.
One word about the illustrations. Puffin illustrations on glossy paper are gorgeous, colourful. Atanu Roy's cover of Modern Indian Stories is outstanding. And the list of illustrators — Suddhasatwa Basu, Tapas Guha, Sujata Singh, Ajanta Guha Thakurta, Bindia Thapar, Neeta Gangopadhyay — reads like a who's who of illustration.
Rupa on the other hand has mostly black and white illustrations by new illustrators not in the same class as Puffin. Their books are therefore cheaper and more affordable. Having said that, I do feel that good illustrations hone the visuals skills of young readers from an early age. Still, a bonanza of exciting reading this festive season.
(With inputs from Tarini Manchanda, Jaskiran Warrick, Joyita Ghose, Vidyun Sabhaney, Tarini Nirula, Danika Parekh of Class 10, The Shriram School, Gurgaon.)
Vijaya Ghosh was associate editor of Target and writes for children. She is now Editor, Limca Book of Records.
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