Date:19/07/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/07/19/stories/2006071918940200.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Join up... the Book Monsters are open for business

Staff Reporter

Travelogues, puzzles, comics and stories

CHENNAI : The Book Monsters are open for business, and they are telling everybody the good news.

They will be bringing to their members Yiddish yarns, Melbourne mayhem and other tales from across the globe.

A concept by Pages for Ages, an offshoot of the Manoj Prakashan publishing company, the book club offers its members discounts and free home delivery of 15 new titles every month. The target audience, aged 1 to 14 years, is told `what to read, when to read, how to read.'

The club revealed its agenda to the media on Saturday, an event attended by educationist Y.G. Parthasarathy, dean of Padma Seshadri Group of Schools. She said reading was a habit that must be inculcated in children right from the womb.

"Children pick up values and grand imagery from stories," she said. Mrs. Parthasarathy also advised parents to read to their children as this helps them bond.

The collection of books on offer cover a wide range of travelogues, puzzles, comics and stories. There are three membership schemes priced at Rs.600, Rs.900 and Rs.1,200. Besides the children's books, parents also get discounts on titles about parenting. The Book Monster Club offers the option of returning books in exchange for credit points redeemable against future purchases. These will be given to children from economically weaker backgrounds.

The Book Monster Club event was also attended by children's writer Subashree Krishnaswamy and illustrator and art critic Indran, who have both contributed to some of the books on offer.

For more information on the book club, call toll free number 1800 425 6786 or log on to www.bookmonsterclub.com