tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22259180685043022422024-03-13T18:54:09.290+05:30Recommend BooksPeople say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading. ~Logan Pearsall Smith, Trivia, 1917Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.comBlogger150125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225918068504302242.post-12453867030448102272018-04-01T00:15:00.000+05:302019-08-28T23:37:17.046+05:30Book Review: After Kurukshetra by Mahasweta Devi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Title: After Kurukshetra<br />Author: Mahasweta Devi (translated by Anjum Katyal)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Seagull Books<br />Pages: 49<br />Price: 120<br />Genre: Fiction / Mythology / Women's studies<br />Rating: 8/10</span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Format: Paperback</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">‘After
Kurukshetra’ is a collection of three short stories, originally written in
Bengali by Mahasweta Devi and translated by Anjum Katyal. All of 49 pages,
though a short read yet this book attempts to explore the impact of the epic
war on common women. When we talk about Mahabharata, the narrative is usually about
the men and women of the Kuru clan and people directly related to them; but
this book actually makes us sit up and acknowledge what it meant to the common
folk. Was it really a war for justice? Was this inevitable? Did this war
justify the deaths of so many people, many of whom couldn’t even choose whether
they wanted a war or not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">These
stories are the offshoots of the main story of Mahabharata. They are born out
of the author’s imagination. All the three stories are about women. Each story
has ordinary women standing up to the royalty for what they think is fair and justified.
All these women have been wronged in the hands of the royal folks. They felt
used by them for their own greed and selfishness, in one way or another. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The
first story is about five ordinary women, also widowed in the war, who have
been brought into the palace to keep the pregnant and widowed Uttara (Abhimanyu’s
wife) company. The story depicts the contrast in which women of royalty and
common women are expected to deal with the loss of their husbands. Common
womenfolk have more freedom, they will remarry and have children because that’s
what nature expects of them; while royal widows will live a life of rules and
regulations, there life will be spent in shadows, inside the corners of the
women quarters. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">These women are not of the
rajavritta, women of royalty, nor are they servants or attendants. These women
are from the families of the hundreds of foot soldiers – padatiks – from various
other little kingdoms. They had been slaughtered every day, in their thousands,
their function being to protect the chariot – mounted heroes. They were issued
no armour. So they died in large numbers. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The
women make no bones about questioning the need for war. When the head <i>dasi </i>(servant) of the royal women
quarters call the war a ‘disaster’, they argue: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> ‘<i>Disaster?
What disaster? Huh, old woman? Was this some natural calamity? So many great
kings join in a war between brothers. Some chose one side, some cross over to
the other. It wasn’t just brother slaughtering brother. We know of quarrels –
jealousies – rivalries too. But such a war for just a throne? This, a holy
war?! A righteous war?! Just call it a war of greed!’</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The
war meant nothing to the common folks but there wasn’t a way to get away from
the war. They had no choice. If they were called, they had to go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">‘This was not our dharmayuddha.
Brother kills brother, uncle kills nephew, shishya kills guru. It may be your
idea of dharma, it’s not ours. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It implores
us to reflect on what true victory is. Was it truly a victory for Yudhishthir?
The war sacrificed so many people and cost so much in terms of people and matter. The dead included farmers and traders. Their pyres
burnt for several days, from which arose a sickening stench. The city was
covered in gloom because of so many deaths. Who was happy? Even Pandavas lost
all their children. None was left except Uttara’s unborn child. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Subhadra can’t hold back her
tears. Slapping her forehead she laments, the sons are dead, their fathers are
alive. Daughters-in-law have lost their husbands, while their mothers-in-law
are still married. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> “So many hundreds of widows! So many homes in
which mothers have lost their sons!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The
second story is about Kunti. After the war, Dhritarashtra, Gandhari and Kunti
retreated into the forest. Karna’s death intensified Kunti’s guilt of
abandonment. It gnawed at her during her last days and made her restless. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What irony! What irony! Not one
of the five Pandavas is sired by Pandu! Yet they are Pandavas. And Karna? A
carpenter’s (sic) son.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">While
she mourned how she always failed her firstborn, a Nishadin (tribal woman) accosted
her in the forest to remind about her gravest sin which she never acknowledged.
She accused Kunti of abetting the deaths of a Nishadin and her five sons for
her selfish interests; and that it was typical of the royalty to think nothing of
the lives of common folks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">You couldn’t even remember this
sin. Causing six innocent forest tribals to be burnt to death to serve your own
interests. That was not even a crime in your book.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This
story touches upon the conflict between the people from the royalty and common
folks (specifically the tribals, in this case); what was the attitude of the
kings towards ordinary people and how they only looked at them as means to their
ends. The people from royalty certainly considered themselves as superior and
therefore thought nothing of the sacrifice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The third story is about a woman called Souvali, a vaishya (trader) woman, who
was brought in the palace to serve Dhritarashtra while Gandhari was pregnant. She
bore a son called Yuyutsu (or Souvalya). She was never accorded the respect
and dignity fit for the mother of a king’s son and her son was also always
considered and treated like a ‘dasiputra’ (son of a servant). And yet he was
the one who did the final rites of his father Dhritarashtra as his only
surviving son.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Never went near him, never
called him ‘father’, and today I did the tarpan for him. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In
this story also, a common woman of vaishya (trader) community, Souvali, was
embittered by the injustice meted out to her and her son. She felt used and
never acknowledged. She thought her son was foolish to behave like the men of
royalty inspite of being the son of a common woman. She herself is not disillusioned to
follow the rituals expected of the royalty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>She thinks to herself, if you
must learn, learn from your mother. I was nothing but a dasi in the royal
household but here, amongst the common people, I’m a free woman.</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Though
quite a thin book, it sparks a lot of thoughts. For a book that has to offer
interesting facets of the war, the editing was a dampener. I have already
written a lot about the stories. I do think that reading the original would
make a bigger impact, so if you know Bengali, please read the original. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Undoubtedly, it is
a must-read for Mahabharata enthusiasts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><a href="http://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/p/mahabharata-inspired-literature.html">Check out my compilation of Books on Mahabharata here.</a></b> </span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Text in italics have been quoted from the book. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://compare.buyhatke.com/author/books-by-mahasweta-devi-hatke2695">Image credit</a></span><br />
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Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225918068504302242.post-496355475614937232018-03-21T13:08:00.001+05:302018-03-21T15:23:49.129+05:30Book Review: The Mahabharatha - a child's view by Samhita Arni<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Title: The Mahabharatha - a child's view</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white;">Author: Samhita Arni</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Tara Books<br />Pages: 288<br />Price: Rs 650<br />Genre: Children's books / Mythology / Religion<br />Rating: 10/10</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Format: Paperback</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This book has been with me for a really long time. I bought it before my son was born, may be even before I was married. At that time, I bought this book for myself. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Recently, we (I and my 6.5 year old) were discussing about Ramayana and the conversation veered off to Mahabharata. Mahabharata is so exhaustive and full of so many characters that I could not decide where to begin. The next day, I chanced upon this book in my collection and thought it was a perfect time to introduce him to this book.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">According to <a href="http://www.samarni.com/">her website</a>, Samhita Arni started writing this when she was 8 and it got published first when she was 12. This assured me that </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">the story will not be c</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">omplex and, moreover, when the book is written by a child it will strike the right chord with children. I also did not worry about what kind of details the story would have captured about adult relationships.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cInzPOoQzMk/WrIIXQE-S9I/AAAAAAAAEeY/43wALTeMGaI8T2wnsSdkJYhL0QZIXPGLQCEwYBhgL/s1600/mahabharata_1-600x600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="359" data-original-width="543" height="211" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cInzPOoQzMk/WrIIXQE-S9I/AAAAAAAAEeY/43wALTeMGaI8T2wnsSdkJYhL0QZIXPGLQCEwYBhgL/s320/mahabharata_1-600x600.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">He took to it immediately. When he likes a book, he gets possessed by it. He would read it every waking minute. It has been over 2 weeks. He has already read it twice. Mahabharata is a story that deserves to be read again and again. It always opens up multiple dimensions to the story or you start thinking about some different character every time. <a href="https://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/p/mahabharata-inspired-literature.html">I am personally a Mahabharata fan too</a> and I know my Mahabharata and Ramayana collection will be the last to go (<a href="https://reemasahay.wordpress.com/2015/08/30/minimalism-and-books/">considering I am no longer the hoarder I used to be</a>).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">No doubt, this is a fantastic book for kids who have started showing interest in Mahabharata. <b>The best aspect of this book is its ability to narrate a complex story in a simple way. </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Samhita Arni writes in her foreword: <i>"There is much that we lose in growing up.As one grows up, we feel a little less strongly about things. Sensations are blunted. We develop a terrible habit of refashioning the world around as we want to see it, and ignoring that which makes us uncomfortable. There is a freshness in the way children see things, in the instinctive, individualistic reactions they have.Unfortunately, many think that the best way to instruct children is mot to encourage them to reveal their own, innate reactions and thoughts, but to teach them the right (and only) way to think, to see, to respond. This seems to be the goal of education - not to allow children to ask questions but to indoctrinate them; to let them learn by rote. I think there is much e, adults, can learn from talking to children, from their own, strongly individual reactions ad perspectives."</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There are many things which work in this book:</span><br />
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-si7b18P5Z44/WrIHq_pPwVI/AAAAAAAAEeI/eKgnCk6RP4MHxGBe2574qo0KSFz4lLyJACLcBGAs/s1600/DSC_1626low.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="931" data-original-width="1386" height="214" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-si7b18P5Z44/WrIHq_pPwVI/AAAAAAAAEeI/eKgnCk6RP4MHxGBe2574qo0KSFz4lLyJACLcBGAs/s320/DSC_1626low.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">- The pictorial<b> family tree</b> at the beginning helps in understanding the relationships between all the characters. Especially, in a story like Mahabharata, it is very important. Naturally, it came extremely handy to my son while reading the book.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">- The neat pictorial layout at the end captures <b>'Pandava Alliance' and 'Kaurava Alliance</b>'. This was also very useful in understanding who supported whom in the battlefield.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">- The <b>illustrations</b>, created when the author was a child, capture the essence of the story beautifully. A child reading the book identifies with it and it certainly aids understanding. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">- Spread over 55 Chapters, <b>the story captures everything</b> <b>from Santanu to Janamejaya</b> and everyone in between. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sometimes children point out such simple and obvious things which we unknowingly overlook. My son pointed out that Hidimbi wasn't shown in the layout showing Alliances; even Draupadi wasn't shown. I had to finally explain that during those times women did not enter battlefields. He found Amba's story quite interesting. </span>He also asked if Ghatokacha looked the way he was shown; I said it was the author's imagination. Nobody has seen him! </span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XSsfLi3D75U/WrIIXWRjYqI/AAAAAAAAEeg/GhT3EYPY5dE3DPjN0Pv2S7k9dgPEhEIHQCEwYBhgL/s1600/mahabharata_3-600x600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="539" height="211" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XSsfLi3D75U/WrIIXWRjYqI/AAAAAAAAEeg/GhT3EYPY5dE3DPjN0Pv2S7k9dgPEhEIHQCEwYBhgL/s320/mahabharata_3-600x600.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">These days, we are having such discussions all the time since we have also added few more books to our collection. It is interesting how both of us are </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">reading different versions simultaneously and even fighting to read the same book. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This book certainly worked for us as the first book on Mahabharata for my 6.5 year old, and <b>I highly recommend this book to the enthusiasts of Mahabharata - young or old</b>. As someone rightly said <span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">'a children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest.' </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><b>Note:</b> <a href="https://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/p/mahabharata-inspired-literature.html">Here</a> is the link to the page on Mahabharata inspired books. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Image credit (except the page on Alliances): <a href="http://www.samarni.com/">Author website</a></span><br />
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Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225918068504302242.post-31523504599139837482017-11-01T14:06:00.001+05:302018-03-21T15:37:33.851+05:30100 Best Children's Books that Kids Love to Read Again and Again [Part 2]<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This post is part of a series on <u><b>100 Best Children's Books that Kids Love to Read Again and Again</b></u>. Read <a href="http://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/2017/06/100-best-childrens-books-that-kids-love.html">the first post containing books 1-10 here</a>. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>11. <a href="http://amzn.to/2tHv6TV">One Ted Falls Out of Bed by Julia Donaldson, Anna Currey</a></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Age: 2-4 years</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buy From: <span style="color: blue;"><b><a href="http://amzn.to/2sIVDkd">Amazon India</a></b></span> | <span style="color: blue;"><b><a href="http://fkrt.it/aGB1lTuuuN">Flipkart </a></b></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jsfW5tsuSXc/WVyNdre2AiI/AAAAAAAADMY/x8k03Pkf-qonsUzmfoKZdN39Fqqsp2jwACLcBGAs/s1600/412w0tF769L._SY498_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jsfW5tsuSXc/WVyNdre2AiI/AAAAAAAADMY/x8k03Pkf-qonsUzmfoKZdN39Fqqsp2jwACLcBGAs/s200/412w0tF769L._SY498_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I chanced upon this in a bookstore and was immediately charmed by the bedtime story which incorporates counting from one to ten, and back from ten to one. It helped that it was from one of our favourite children's authors, <a href="http://amzn.to/2ikKJcl">Julia Donaldson</a>! Combined with Anna Currey's delightful illustrations of a young child's room, this sure was a winner. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This bedtime book is for the kids who have just been introduced to numbers. The setting is that of a child's bedroom at nighttime. While the child is sleeping, his teddy bear falls out of the bed. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">(excerpted from the book)</span></span></span></span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">One Ted falls out of Bed,</span></span></span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">He tugs and pulls the bedclothes BUT</span></span></span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Two eyes are tight shut.</span></span></span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">He jumps and shouts and makes a fuss,</span></span></span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Till three mice say, "Play with us!" </i></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are four toy cars, five stars, six dolls, seven trolls, eight balloons, nine musician frogs and ten red bricks. The teddy bear tries to get back into the bed by building a stair with everyone's help but he fails to climb up and everything falls down. A commotion ensues. This leads to the countdown from ten to one, and at the end, the teddy gets back into the bed. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is a wonderful bedtime story that ends on a calm note. We have enjoyed it a lot.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>12. <a href="http://amzn.to/2tfFJMQ">Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle, Jill McElmurry</a></b></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Age: 2-5 years</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buy From: <a href="http://amzn.to/2sIFpHH"><b>Amazon India</b></a> |<span style="color: blue;"><b> </b></span><a href="http://fkrt.it/OcrzI!NNNN"><span style="color: blue;"><b>Flipkart</b></span> </a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-czvjlcCK8rI/WVyO7K-4DkI/AAAAAAAADMg/rEH2B0Fwnn4jGHTFQV6qXZnCxZghjXWBQCLcBGAs/s1600/51m07BAiMTL._SY448_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="500" height="180" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-czvjlcCK8rI/WVyO7K-4DkI/AAAAAAAADMg/rEH2B0Fwnn4jGHTFQV6qXZnCxZghjXWBQCLcBGAs/s200/51m07BAiMTL._SY448_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">All kids go through a phase when they are enamoured by big trucks and vehicles. So, I was hunting for a good book on the same theme. This book showed up on a few websites and I never regretted getting it. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There's a little Blue truck, which is the friendliest truck around. It always makes time to say hello to all the animals that it meets along the way. The setting is that of an idyllic countryside. There's a big dump truck that is full of pride and self-importance. It feels that it has big important things to do and hasn't got time for anybody. Now this big truck gets stuck in mud puddle. The more it tries to get out, the more it gets stuck. Then comes the ever friendly little Blue truck that tries to help the dump truck, but it could not do much on its own. Its call for help is immediately noticed by all its friends, and with their help, both the trucks get out of the puddle. The big dump truck finally admits that no matter who you are, everyone needs the helping hands of friends in life. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This book deftly combines a whole lot of farm animals, trucks and an important life lesson. With rhythmic text and beautiful illustrations, children love to look at this book again and again.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">(excerpted from the book)</span></span></span></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>"Thanks, little brother,"</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>said the Dump to Blue.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>"You helped me</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>and they helped you.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Now I see</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>a lot depends</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>on a helping hand</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>from a few good friends!"</i></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>13. <a href="http://amzn.to/2sElKIV">Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown</a></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Age: 2-5 years</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buy From: <a href="http://amzn.to/2tP5Xq0"><span style="color: blue;"><b>Amazon India</b></span></a> | <a href="http://fkrt.it/OEgKH!NNNN"><span style="color: blue;"><b>Flipkart</b></span></a> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h2u-ApmOU4g/WVyPybEwBiI/AAAAAAAADMk/cb4Kcy3n5XsBlDx-j1jIM0Y1yGfoydZLgCLcBGAs/s1600/511AJngm9xL._SX420_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="422" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h2u-ApmOU4g/WVyPybEwBiI/AAAAAAAADMk/cb4Kcy3n5XsBlDx-j1jIM0Y1yGfoydZLgCLcBGAs/s200/511AJngm9xL._SX420_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="168" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Young kids love books on animals, and 'Big Red Barn' is another delightful book on the farm life. With rhyming text, the book takes you through the routine on a farm; introduces all the animals which stay on the farm in harmony, make noises, play together and at the end of the day settle down for sleep. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Kids love to look at the vibrant illustrations and all the different kinds of animals. They like to figure out how the barn is laid out, where each animal stays, as different pages show animals in different settings around the barn. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">(excerpted from the book)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The sheep and the donkey,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The geese and the goats,</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Were making funny noises</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Down in their throats.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">An old scarecrow</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Was leaning on his hoe.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And a field mouse was born ... </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>In a field of corn.</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">14. <a href="http://amzn.to/2wd8JEv">Watch Out / Saavdhaan by Ajanta Guhathakurta, Shamim Padamsee</a></span></span></b></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Be8OM5TPfzM/WWXpKM13WnI/AAAAAAAADNo/WSuP42_9uhYTJjLvhG4WJQw5zMQ8gj13QCLcBGAs/s1600/61Ie2b7xM7L._SY366_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="499" height="146" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Be8OM5TPfzM/WWXpKM13WnI/AAAAAAAADNo/WSuP42_9uhYTJjLvhG4WJQw5zMQ8gj13QCLcBGAs/s200/61Ie2b7xM7L._SY366_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Age: 2-4 years</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buy From: <a href="http://amzn.to/2wd8JEv"><span style="color: blue;"><b>Amazon India</b></span></a> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Kids are attracted to other kids, and animal baby stories. It's instinctive. When I got this book, my son must have been 2. With minimum text, it looked like a good one for him. It tells the story of a lioness and her cubs. When the lioness goes to look for food, she warns her cubs to take care of themselves because the forest is full of dangers for baby animals. But cubs do what kids do, they throw caution to the wind and start enjoying themselves - they play, they pounce on small animals, they roll, they run, and generally, have a good time; but there's danger at every step. Finally, as the day ends, Mamma lioness comes back to protect them, and they eat and go back to sleep. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This is a bilingual book with simple text like...</span></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Let's play.</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Let's pounce. </span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Let's roll.</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Let's drink. </span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This is also useful when the child starts reading another language (like it was hindi for us), since this is a bilingual book. This was read several times in our household. I used to talk some more about the forest, the animals, the dangers, how mothers protect their babies, etc. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>15. <a href="http://amzn.to/2vzsrNr">If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff, Felicia Bond</a></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Age: 3-6 years</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rjk8xCdk_Hg/WX7t3dHaNCI/AAAAAAAADkU/SHNp39QSZ50dPu02HBg3qJBO5GHji901ACLcBGAs/s1600/51qqiOXCo2L._SX431_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="433" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rjk8xCdk_Hg/WX7t3dHaNCI/AAAAAAAADkU/SHNp39QSZ50dPu02HBg3qJBO5GHji901ACLcBGAs/s200/51qqiOXCo2L._SX431_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="173" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buy From: <a href="http://amzn.to/2vzsrNr"><span style="color: blue;"><b>Amazon India</b></span></a> | <a href="http://fkrt.it/aC!h5TuuuN"><b>Flipkart </b> </a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I have 6 books from this series and each one of them is creative and entertaining. This book starts with a boy offering a cookie to a mouse, and how that triggers a chain of events which eventually leads back to the cookie.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">(excerpted from the book)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If you give a Mouse a cookie,</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">he's going to ask you for a glass of milk.</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></i>
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">When you give him the milk, </span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">he'll probably ask you for a straw.</span></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>When he's finished he'll ask for a napkin. </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The illustrations are super cute, and the story is humorous. We had fun following the mouse. Each book in this series follows the story in a similar format. You can also make your child imagine some alternative scenarios.<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">16. <a href="http://amzn.to/2htiyea">The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle</a></span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Age: 2-5 years</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Buy From: <a href="http://amzn.to/2htVOLt">Amazon India</a>| <a href="http://fkrt.it/La9AxTuuuN">Flipkart</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I love Eric Carle's books. They are simple and attractive, and
packed with a lot of information and learnings. No wonder <a href="http://amzn.to/2fNM2js">our first book was by Eric Carle</a>; and we have several of his other books, all equally worthy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This book starts when a spider is blown across the field by
the wind. A silky thread trails from her body. She lands on a fence post near a
farm and starts weaving her web. Now, as she weaves her web, animals from the
farm approach her one by one and offer an alternative, fun thing to do; but the
spider is so engrossed in her work that she doesn't stop to chat with any of
them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So, from a horse offering to go for a ride to a cow
suggesting to eat some grass, from a goat proposing to jump on the rocks to a
pig asking to roll in the mud; there are several farm animals that kids can
learn about. At the end, when the spider completes her web, a fly gets caught
into it just like that. So, she doesn't have to bother about catching one to
feed herself.</span></div>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What I personally love about this book is how it conveys a strong message in the most simple way (which is a characteristic of all Eric Carle books). It tells in the most subtle way how hard work, single-minded dedication and perseverance pays off. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Note: Pay attention to the size of the book you are ordering. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>17. <a href="http://amzn.to/2wkNWxZ">Marvin Gets Mad by Joseph Theobald</a></b></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Age: 2-5 years</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mOxKhjR-xpg/WYGEBKeHf7I/AAAAAAAADlI/MVJGEIazOmQJtvOGstB_PNrd6dW4dWNiwCLcBGAs/s1600/51Ds-5ELWrL._SX260_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="260" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mOxKhjR-xpg/WYGEBKeHf7I/AAAAAAAADlI/MVJGEIazOmQJtvOGstB_PNrd6dW4dWNiwCLcBGAs/s200/51Ds-5ELWrL._SX260_.jpg" width="177" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buy From: <a href="http://amzn.to/2wkNWxZ"><span style="color: blue;"><b>Amazon India</b></span></a> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I had bought this book quite by chance and both of us loved it so much that we bought the other book in the series called <a href="http://amzn.to/2x3AZJk">Marvin Wanted More</a>, as well.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span>
</span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The story is about Marvin, the sheep, and his friend Molly. While they are grazing, they find a tree full of juicy apples. Now Marvin really wants to eat one particular apple on the tree but no matter what he does to get that apple, he isn't able to reach it. After trying for a really long time, he dozes off. When he wakes up, he finds that the apple is gone; and when he looks around, he finds Molly eating that apple. That makes him really, really mad. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When he gets mad, his whole body changes - he grows mad teeth, mad horns, mad feet and mad tail; and also starts doing mad things, hurting everything around. He shouts at his friend, hits her with his horns and starts stamping on the ground, which makes the ground crack and he falls deep inside. He is alone in the dark, empty pit, from where no matter how much he cries for help, nobody is able to help him. Now that he is alone and stranded, he starts thinking about all the things he did in his madness and feels sorry for it. Meanwhile, Molly finds him and also gets a juicy apple for her friend. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is an excellent story with a powerful message. It is not only relevant for kids but also for grownups. When we all go mad, we do a lot of things which hurt others and which also get us into trouble. Moreover, we always end up with lots of regrets for our behaviour during the madness. It is a good book to discuss behaviour.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>18. <a href="http://amzn.to/2ijWtfd">Let's Go! by Anthara Mohan, Rajiv Eipe</a></b></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ookBQvw00MA/WZQJQgnE0CI/AAAAAAAADoA/uX6NyZtQWFYNOc4l01Ba1xJq5ZLcA54yQCLcBGAs/s1600/61SxJN06sML._SY373_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="499" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ookBQvw00MA/WZQJQgnE0CI/AAAAAAAADoA/uX6NyZtQWFYNOc4l01Ba1xJq5ZLcA54yQCLcBGAs/s200/61SxJN06sML._SY373_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="200" /></a></b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Age: 2-4 years</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buy From: <a href="http://amzn.to/2xFXAfn"><span style="color: blue;"><b>Amazon India</b></span></a> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">I came across this book while looking to buy a bunch of books on vehicles. I was thrilled to get my hands on this book which had most of the vehicles found on Indian roads like autos, cycles, rickshas, scooters, cars, bus, etc. At the same time, it also introduced young kids to numbers from '10 to 1'. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">Every page spread contains a number and that many children with a different mode of transportation. The text is minimum. <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">So, the book starts with '10 children come walking', and goes on to ...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">7 zoom in on motorbikes</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">6 get down from rickshas</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">5 climb out of autos</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">I love Rajiv Eipe's illustrations. I had noticed it in '<a href="http://amzn.to/2ht9xON">the Big Little Man</a>' as well and was looking to get another book by him. The pages are teeming with the bustling energy of Indian roads. It's a fabulous book for young kids. Even as a grown up, I felt drawn towards the way this book has been laid out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>19. <a href="http://amzn.to/2vtJUqJ">Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh</a></b></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Age: 2-3 years</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4cJ9rVOFJ9g/WYIKVViga0I/AAAAAAAADlo/DRcd_0Y5IKg8_rYFZlN1H0_j8VdxvddlACLcBGAs/s1600/51-9YdOHlcL._SY411_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="500" height="165" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4cJ9rVOFJ9g/WYIKVViga0I/AAAAAAAADlo/DRcd_0Y5IKg8_rYFZlN1H0_j8VdxvddlACLcBGAs/s200/51-9YdOHlcL._SY411_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buy From: <a href="http://amzn.to/2xeIqOS"><span style="color: blue;"><b>Amazon India</b></span></a> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It is a cute story about colour mixing. When your child starts learning about colours, this is a good one to have. My son used to love looking at it over and over again, and he learned how different colours mixed to form a third color. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We have a small board book. The story is about three white mice who find three jars of paint and discover the joys of colour mixing by chance!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">(excerpted from the book)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Once there were three white mice on a white piece of paper.</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The cat couldn't find them.</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">One day while the cat was asleep, the mice saw three jars of paint - </span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">one red, one yellow, and one blue. </span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">They thought it was Mouse Paint. They climbed right in.</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Then one was red, one was yellow, and one was blue. </span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">They dripped puddles of paint onto the paper.</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The puddles looked like fun.</span></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>20.<a href="http://amzn.to/2vvuTo4">Karadi Rhymes (Book 1) by Karadi Tales</a></b></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buy From: <a href="http://amzn.to/2xHzLYt"><span style="color: blue;"><b>Amazon India</b></span></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The best thing about this collection of poems is that it is centered around India. It </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HcUqNAFpd5A/WbvHTr0WqEI/AAAAAAAADs8/F2BCTK4n8P8ZTaqU-QCtqoRleUhaIg3_ACLcBGAs/s1600/51A%252BPpxiw6L._SX350_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="352" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HcUqNAFpd5A/WbvHTr0WqEI/AAAAAAAADs8/F2BCTK4n8P8ZTaqU-QCtqoRleUhaIg3_ACLcBGAs/s200/51A%252BPpxiw6L._SX350_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="140" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">celebrates different facets of India. T<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">he first poem, an absolute
favourite with me as well as my 6 year old is ‘Just Like You’. Essentially, it
talks about Unity in Diversity; how people from different parts of India look
different, speak a different language, and yet are like us.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"> There’s
a poem about Saree, about crows, about cricket, about Indian festivals, Indian
rivers, even Mangoes! </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">This book is accompanied with an audio CD in Usha Uthup's voice. You can find most of these poems on YouTube. It will help you get to know the book better. Here are some of the links:</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NlfFxjdtLA">Just Like You</a></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFQjK3ord28">Mangoes</a> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIhEJdZBU_c">Ganga Yamuna Krishna</a></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVId0T_euNU">There's a Cricket Match in Town Today</a></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d4OqIvmIyI">To the Beach I like to Go</a> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmbwyyAv2f8&t=22s">I salute my Flag (a song about Indian flag)</a></span></span></span><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeXHSU7Z9d4"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">'Sa' sing the Sunflowers</span></span></span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJL9EA1GVM4"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">Eid is Here (song about Indian festivals)</span></span></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoHjkckxcqM">Yards and Yards of Silk I see (a rhyme about sarees)</a></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"> </span></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Also Read: <a href="http://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/2017/06/100-best-childrens-books-that-kids-love.html">100 Best Children's Books that Kids Love to Read Again and Again [Part 1]</a></span></span></b> </span></span></div>
Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225918068504302242.post-84283107896169357852017-06-28T14:56:00.001+05:302018-04-02T12:44:36.199+05:30100 Best Children's Books that Kids Love to Read Again and Again [Part 1]<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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</span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When
I was putting this list together, my son asked me what was I doing. I informed
him that I was putting together a list of his 100 favorite books. He then
inquired "Why?" I told him that whenever I plan to buy books for him,
I search through the internet for books which have been loved by other children
his age. I read about those books, recommendations from other parents and then
I decide whether it will work for him or not. I am sure; other parents - moms
and dads - do the same because we all know <a href="http://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/2015/03/why-you-should-read-aloud-to-your-child.html">how important it is to read to your child</a>. So, I'm certain this list is going to come handy when
they decide to buy books for their own <a href="http://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/search/label/children%20books">little readers</a>. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
got him excited and he offered to help me. So, both of us got together to
collate this list of 100 books which we have enjoyed over and over again; the
whimsical, the nonsensical, the enriching, the inspiring, the captivating, the
informative, the local, the global - this list has it all! </span></span><br />
<u><br /></u>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="color: blue;"><b>NOTE</b></span></u><b>:</b> <b>Since this list is going to be long, and will take time to curate as well as read (because I want to do justice to the list); I have decided to break this down into <u>10 posts of 10 books each</u></b>. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>1.</b> <b><a href="http://amzn.to/2rEWGkK">The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle</a></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Age: 2-5 years</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buy From: <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://amzn.to/2thkkmh">Amazon India</a></span> | <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://fkrt.it/TU7paTuuuN">Flipkart</a></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5q8R8TDPhWg/WUewjXyO96I/AAAAAAAADEE/xiKnRXkv8PYTL7QoKyDsIVVD5q7L9NXUwCLcBGAs/s1600/51tOe0K5cIL._SY354_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="499" height="142" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5q8R8TDPhWg/WUewjXyO96I/AAAAAAAADEE/xiKnRXkv8PYTL7QoKyDsIVVD5q7L9NXUwCLcBGAs/s200/51tOe0K5cIL._SY354_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This was our first Children’s book which I bought when my son
was about 6 months old.<span style="line-height: 115%;">It begins with a tiny and hungry
caterpillar coming out of a small egg. He spends the entire week eating
all sorts of fruits and other food items. Each day he keeps eating more
and more, which leads to stomachache. He therefore eats through a green
leaf to relieve his pain. At the end of the week, he turns into a big,
fat caterpillar. He builds a cocoon around himself, and stays inside for
2 weeks. At the end he emerges out of it as a beautiful butterfly. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">It
is amazing how such a simple book, with minimum words and simple
illustrations, provides immense learning opportunities for children. The
illustrations are vibrant and child-like. Right from learning the name
of different fruits to numbers, from days of the week to life cycle of a
butterfly, there is so much to learn through this concise
yet beautiful story. To top it all, there are tiny die-cut holes on the
pictures of food items, which the caterpillar has supposedly eaten. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b>2. <a href="http://amzn.to/2rMYmnm">Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell</a></b> </span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YPqExeGtMj4/WUe0416fhqI/AAAAAAAADEQ/TPZr-rc1ZEQxTSKh5lzg-sxHJbR1Um7egCLcBGAs/s1600/51tI6xsTHEL._SX497_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="499" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YPqExeGtMj4/WUe0416fhqI/AAAAAAAADEQ/TPZr-rc1ZEQxTSKh5lzg-sxHJbR1Um7egCLcBGAs/s200/51tI6xsTHEL._SX497_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="199" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Age: 2-5 years</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buy From: <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://amzn.to/2tRtg3u">Amazon India</a></span> | <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://fkrt.it/TU7mwTuuuN">Flipkart</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This is
a Lift-the-Flap book and little ones love to open the flaps over and over again. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The narrative goes like this: the Zoo is requested for a pet, and it responds with a package. There's an animal hiding inside the package. The little one opens the flap and unveils the animal, who is found unsuitable to be kept as a pet, so it is sent back. Then the Zoo sends another package, the animal is again found to be unsuitable and sent back, and so on. Every time the animal is either too big or too tall or too grumpy or too heavy or too scary to be kept as a pet. After several back-and-forths, the Zoo </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">finally </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> gets it right and sends a suitable pet. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">With simple and minimum text, and flaps to entice the tiny tots; this book is a must have. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>3. <a href="http://amzn.to/2sOaxoZ">My Daddy and Me by Tina Macnaughton</a></b></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Age: 0-3 years<b> </b></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buy From: <a href="http://amzn.to/2thGswX">Amazon India</a> </span></span><b> </b></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4Oiq_lyvldc/WUj9YddF-lI/AAAAAAAADE0/yhVHJbXVJa89mm3foxAjFlsUhSpIsEQdwCLcBGAs/s1600/51C1LfqViCL._SX492_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="494" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4Oiq_lyvldc/WUj9YddF-lI/AAAAAAAADE0/yhVHJbXVJa89mm3foxAjFlsUhSpIsEQdwCLcBGAs/s200/51C1LfqViCL._SX492_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="197" /></a></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We have a good balance of books featuring Mommies and Daddies. This was one of the first books I bought for my son. I remember, he used to mimic the Little Bear's actions while telling the story. It has about 5-6 words for every page spread. It is a sturdy big-size board book with a touching story. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Little Bear talks about how he feels when he is with his Daddy. The illustrations capture the beautiful moments with Daddy, sometimes watching the sunset, sometimes sitting on Daddy's shoulder, sometimes keeping the faith that Daddy is there to take care! </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It is such a beautiful, heart-warming book that Daddies will love to read to their tiny tots.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"..I'm the very bravest bear ... when I know that you are there." [excerpted from the book] </span></span></span></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>4. <a href="http://amzn.to/2svSQav">The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton</a></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Age: 0-3 years</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buy From: <a href="http://amzn.to/2uKumtZ">Amazon India</a> | <a href="http://fkrt.it/TT83ETuuuN">Flipkart</a></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c9olthW7x7c/WUkEp8gJoUI/AAAAAAAADFE/fU_FfqFcLNAYLQHMucpytFihHauUNHNFwCLcBGAs/s1600/51NFBXDLZNL._SY497_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="199" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c9olthW7x7c/WUkEp8gJoUI/AAAAAAAADFE/fU_FfqFcLNAYLQHMucpytFihHauUNHNFwCLcBGAs/s200/51NFBXDLZNL._SY497_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Having a Bed-time storybook was inevitable for the new parents, so we got this. It is a fun book that takes you through the ritual of settling down for the day and going to bed. With simple and rhyming text for very young readers, this book follows a bunch of animals who are sailing on a ship. It starts with ...</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"The sun has set not long ago.</span></span></span></span></span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Now everybody goes below........"</span></span></span></span></span></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">and ends with ...</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"The moon is high.</span></span></span></span></span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The sea is deep.</span></span></span></span></span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">They rock and rock and rock</span></span></span></span></span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>to sleep."</i></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We used to read this with actions when my son was little. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>5. <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://amzn.to/2sm2A91">Numbers on the Farm by Stephen Holmes</a></span></b></span><br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JObUeMK-5D4/WUkMDazIg-I/AAAAAAAADFc/kkS_fs3Zi3wsXJ-m0yT6O4To8NuPWWQRQCLcBGAs/s1600/411Kxf5YtML._BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="206" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JObUeMK-5D4/WUkMDazIg-I/AAAAAAAADFc/kkS_fs3Zi3wsXJ-m0yT6O4To8NuPWWQRQCLcBGAs/s200/411Kxf5YtML._BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="160" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Age: 1-4 years</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buy From: <a href="http://amzn.to/2tqovec">Amazon India</a> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <br />
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</xml><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This book
was a surprise hit. I picked this up only because it was on a Sale. I thought
this book, with lots of busy pages, with several different kinds of animals and
farm things to look at; will be great to occupy my (then) 2 year old. And it sure became
his most favourite book for several months. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is a
sturdy board book of about A4 size with padded cover. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Every Number
(from 1 to 10) has 2 pages dedicated to it, and there are things to discover on every page
spread. </span>There's so much to look
and find inside this book. There are all kinds of farm animals like cows,
horses, rabbits, sheep, kittens, pigs, ducks, etc. Apart from animals, there are lots of other things like tractors, haystacks, milk cans, cow bells, bread loaves; and things
which are connected to a farm life. Besides, there is a Goose which is
hiding on each page spread, so the little one needs to look for her as well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This book is excellent for introducing very young readers with numbers and counting. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>6. <a href="http://amzn.to/2sPel8p">ABC and Counting by Gill Guile, Desmond Marwood</a></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Age: 1-4 years</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buy From: <a href="http://amzn.to/2thi52t">Amazon India</a> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sf_RDUmUtw0/WUo0BXpvgUI/AAAAAAAADGY/JtWCGFNWOWAvHIPwtbsDq9ysLy1eiL4EACLcBGAs/s1600/9780709716518-uk-300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="367" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sf_RDUmUtw0/WUo0BXpvgUI/AAAAAAAADGY/JtWCGFNWOWAvHIPwtbsDq9ysLy1eiL4EACLcBGAs/s200/9780709716518-uk-300.jpg" width="163" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Another basic book on Alphabets and Numbers that works! This is a huge lap-size book with padded cover. It starts with Alphabets and every Alphabet has a small story around it. For example, 'B' has a story called 'The Butterfly's Beauty Sleep' which tells the story of how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly; 'G' has a story about Giraffes called 'Food From The Top Shelf' which talks about how Giraffes developed long necks; 'O' has a story called 'Many Hands Make Light Work' which tells about the eight arms of Octopus; and so on. The stories are concise, simple, interesting and informative. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Then there are Numbers, with 2 pages dedicated to each number from 1 to 10. Here also there is a story connecting all the Numbers. So, 'One Dog' goes in search of lost sheep and meets different animals - 'Two Farm Horses', 'Three Cows', 'Four Goats', etc. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Towards the end, there are simple additions, a picture of the entire farmhouse with all the animals, and many such interesting things to look at. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The pictures are vibrant and engaging. It's fun to read this book, and the little one will not get bored of it any time soon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>7. <a href="http://amzn.to/2rPJsBq">Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr, John Archambault, Lois Ehlert</a></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Age: 2-4 years</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buy From: <a href="http://amzn.to/2sOQvpF">Amazon India</a> | <a href="http://fkrt.it/aSq8hTuuuN">Flipkart</a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iFVi1XDe5As/WUo0wplGGGI/AAAAAAAADGg/U1CLtfpOA1M9tfO3etnmW3mnIdD9rR5hgCLcBGAs/s1600/51HsU2QLyHL._SX378_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="380" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iFVi1XDe5As/WUo0wplGGGI/AAAAAAAADGg/U1CLtfpOA1M9tfO3etnmW3mnIdD9rR5hgCLcBGAs/s200/51HsU2QLyHL._SX378_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="151" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When I first picked this up, I found it crazy; but I have learned in these past 6 years that crazy works well with little kids. They love it. This book is very popular and it was my son's favourite too.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In this Alphabet rhyme book, alphabets are trying to get to the top of the coconut tree. All the alphabets get on top of the tree but there's not enough room so all of them fall. Most of them get hurt and they still try to get to the tree with their aunts and uncles, mummies and papas. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>(excerpted from the book)</i></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>A told B,</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>and B told C,</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>"I'll meet you at the top</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>of the coconut tree." </i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>"Whee!" said D</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>to E F G,</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>"I'll beat you to the top</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>of the coconut tree."</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Chicka chicka boom boom!</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Will there be enough room?</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Here comes H</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>up the coconut tree, </i></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WMARihOguNo/WUt83hQlIHI/AAAAAAAADGw/8zAbzo6nm0U82gtez43A-SWo6TRIOG8iACLcBGAs/s1600/61HjXa6k5KL._SY398_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WMARihOguNo/WUt83hQlIHI/AAAAAAAADGw/8zAbzo6nm0U82gtez43A-SWo6TRIOG8iACLcBGAs/s1600/61HjXa6k5KL._SY398_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WMARihOguNo/WUt83hQlIHI/AAAAAAAADGw/8zAbzo6nm0U82gtez43A-SWo6TRIOG8iACLcBGAs/s1600/61HjXa6k5KL._SY398_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WMARihOguNo/WUt83hQlIHI/AAAAAAAADGw/8zAbzo6nm0U82gtez43A-SWo6TRIOG8iACLcBGAs/s1600/61HjXa6k5KL._SY398_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WMARihOguNo/WUt83hQlIHI/AAAAAAAADGw/8zAbzo6nm0U82gtez43A-SWo6TRIOG8iACLcBGAs/s1600/61HjXa6k5KL._SY398_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </a><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">8. <a href="http://amzn.to/2tQUYcH">Hey, That's An A! by Jerry Pinto, Sayan Mukherjee</a></span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Age: 2-5 years</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buy From: <a href="http://amzn.to/2sIPK6m">Amazon India</a> | <a href="http://fkrt.it/OXp83!NNNN">Flipkart</a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This is another crazy Alphabet book but my son just loved it (still does). I have read it at least a hundred times. </span><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WMARihOguNo/WUt83hQlIHI/AAAAAAAADG0/1fN-k4bWBEUhRJwOMtBLru-nmJI6E5RYwCEwYBhgL/s1600/61HjXa6k5KL._SY398_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="500" height="160" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WMARihOguNo/WUt83hQlIHI/AAAAAAAADG0/1fN-k4bWBEUhRJwOMtBLru-nmJI6E5RYwCEwYBhgL/s200/61HjXa6k5KL._SY398_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> This book shows how to create each alphabet in a fun way. For example:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Put your right hand up.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Put your left hand up.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Bring your fingers together,</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Then your thumbs.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Hey, That's an A!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>(excerpted from the book)</i></span></span></span></span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Similarly, when you rub lines at the bottom, E becomes F. When C puts on a little moochie, it becomes G. Q is an O with a tail. When a line lies down on an I, it becomes T. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">With lots of such silliness, funny lines and attractive illustrations, this book keeps the young readers occupied. The little ones love to create the alphabets like it's shown in the book, sometimes with their postures, sometimes with their hands. It is a highly recommended book with an Indian flavour.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>9. <a href="http://amzn.to/2rUwHpj">Dr. Seuss's ABC An Amazing Alphabet Book</a></b> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Age: 2-4 years</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buy From: <a href="http://amzn.to/2uN9FxN">Amazon India</a> | <a href="http://fkrt.it/aFWXPTuuuN">Flipkart</a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mj3K5zRFg9U/WUt_a4QxZ6I/AAAAAAAADG8/yr7bD0UTkl8IH-ceM25aRvjrrJe1GIS7wCLcBGAs/s1600/51lbNnW%252B9pL._SX367_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="369" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mj3K5zRFg9U/WUt_a4QxZ6I/AAAAAAAADG8/yr7bD0UTkl8IH-ceM25aRvjrrJe1GIS7wCLcBGAs/s200/51lbNnW%252B9pL._SX367_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="147" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dr Seuss's books are different. If you are not used to them, you may not like them in the beginning. The words and illustrations are nonsensical. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This book works on the repetitiveness of the Alphabet sounds like 'Aunt Annie's Alligator', 'Four Fluffy Feathers on a Fiffer-Feffer-Feff', 'Goat and googoo goggles', 'a yawning yellow yak with Yolanda on his back', etc. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This cannot be the main book for introducing Alphabets to the little ones, rather this can be a fun book to learn Alphabet sounds. This works with slightly older kids (say 2-2.5 years and above) who are familiar with the alphabets.</span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>10. <a href="http://amzn.to/2st7EZ3">Eric Carle's ABC (The World of Eric Carle)</a></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Age: 2-4 years</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buy From: <a href="http://amzn.to/2uMELp1">Amazon India</a> | <a href="http://fkrt.it/adpulTuuuN">Flipkart</a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mhN8K5ZQ9Rs/WVKG8VrPHZI/AAAAAAAADH8/JlYBdjTtSy8SIyEZwEb77S7u1cN90ebRgCEwYBhgL/s1600/51--sSMr%252BYL._SX455_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="457" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mhN8K5ZQ9Rs/WVKG8VrPHZI/AAAAAAAADH8/JlYBdjTtSy8SIyEZwEb77S7u1cN90ebRgCEwYBhgL/s200/51--sSMr%252BYL._SX455_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="182" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There are so many different kinds of good Alphabet books and each one of them contributes differently to learnings.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This book comes with a flap on every page spread. Each alphabet shows an insect, animal or bird starting with that alphabet. So, there's A for Ant, I for Iguana, N for Narwhal, Q for Quetzal, X for Xolo, and so on. Even I learned a lot from this book!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Next Post</u>: <a href="http://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/2017/11/100-best-childrens-books-that-kids-love.html">100 Best Children's Books that Kids Love to Read Again and Again [Part 2]</a></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Note: <a href="http://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/p/affiliate-policy.html">This post contains Affiliate links</a>. </span><b><br /></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225918068504302242.post-64287131309126806512017-06-20T17:10:00.001+05:302017-06-20T17:10:58.255+05:30Coming Soon: 100 Best Children's Books that Kids Love to Read Again and Again<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225918068504302242.post-34710901084395859142017-06-15T13:09:00.002+05:302017-06-20T15:48:52.646+05:30Books on this Blog<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I didn't know that I have <u>over 100 book reviews</u> on this blog. I learned this only when I consolidated all of them on<a href="https://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/p/books-by-name.html"> one Page</a> (which you can find at the top, below the header image). I decided to put them all together when I found it on several book blogs, and realized how convenient it is for everyone. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3649447/The-woman-help-live-100.html">Image credit </a></span></span></span></div>
Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225918068504302242.post-83803187652671741472017-04-17T16:45:00.000+05:302017-04-18T17:25:30.089+05:30Book review: 3 Books on Food, Nutrition and Wellness<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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</xml><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>1. </b></span><u><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Don't Lose Your Mind Lose Your Weight</b></span></u></span><br /> </span></span><br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9mGmXFSnRiM/WO4RMndoPPI/AAAAAAAACJc/VG4EGUd26p8bZMBl5ZMmxPdNDJMC5yhpQCEw/s1600/51mUu-avpPL._SX319_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9mGmXFSnRiM/WO4RMndoPPI/AAAAAAAACJc/VG4EGUd26p8bZMBl5ZMmxPdNDJMC5yhpQCEw/s200/51mUu-avpPL._SX319_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="128" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Author: Rujuta Diwekar<br />
Publisher: Random House India<br />
Pages: 288<br />
Price: Rs 199<br />
Genre: Non Fiction / Self-help / Health / Nutrition<br />
Rating: 10/10<br />
Format: Paperback<b> </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b>Of all
the books I have ever read about food and nutrition, this book has been the
best and the simplest to follow. I first read this book about 4 years back and incorporated
a lot of learnings into my lifestyle. I benefitted tremendously along the way;
but no matter how motivated you had been, you lose some amount of enthusiasm as
time passes. So, I re-read it recently.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
first read about Rujuta Diwekar when Kareena Kapoor accredited her for her own
metamorphosis during <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tashan_(film)"><i>Tashan</i></a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When
Rujuta wrote this book, it was lapped up by everyone. The best thing about this
book is its simplicity. The book is easy to read, even for non-readers. The
language is very simple; in fact, it is very conversational (with a liberal use
of hinglish). This was perhaps the first time a nutritionist talked about the
wisdom of eating traditional Indian food and giving more importance to local
food.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">She
tells you to follow some basic principles and use your common sense. For
example, don’t start your day with tea or coffee but with a fruit. She asks you
to eat every 2 hours and keep the food portions small. Eat more during the day.
Food should be directly proportional to your level of activity. Give importance
to nutrition over calories. Add Ghee to your daily diet. There are several such
nuggets of information which are easy to understand and adopt. Once you
understand the basic principles, you can plan your own diet according to your
lifestyle. But she cautions, just eating right without exercising is only half
the battle won. Both are equally important. She writes <i>“….exercise is a part of adopting a better lifestyle but it is NOT an
alternative to eating right.”</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">She
says that food has unnecessarily been made into a villain, when in fact; all
food is good if eaten wisely. Follow a diet which you can follow all your life.
Any sort of extreme diet doesn’t work because they are not sustainable. This is
what I love the most about this book, you are not asked to eat some fancy or
exotic things, you just need to eat regular Indian food – but you must take
care of the proportions and timing. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have
always recommended this book to everyone and cannot say enough how
life-altering this can be. It is every bit worth the time and money.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you
want to read only one book on food and nutrition, this has to be it. I have
also read the author’s second book ‘<a href="http://amzn.to/2oCLPTG">Women and the Weight Loss Tamasha</a>’, but it
didn’t appeal to me much. I do wish to read her latest book ‘<a href="http://amzn.to/2ppCTnn">Indian Superfoods</a>’
though. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">2. <u>The Great Indian Diet</u></span></b></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HQ10rrT5Wws/WPSdHHRADJI/AAAAAAAACKA/xYwJ1zrbgGk7WU2txTCeYULbdpOi9RN2ACEw/s1600/512EQc0%252BjFL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HQ10rrT5Wws/WPSdHHRADJI/AAAAAAAACKA/xYwJ1zrbgGk7WU2txTCeYULbdpOi9RN2ACEw/s200/512EQc0%252BjFL.jpg" width="130" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Author: Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Luke Coutinho<br />
Publisher: Random House India<br />
Pages: 288 <br />
Price: Rs 299<br />
Genre: </span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Non Fiction / Self-help / Health / Nutrition</span></span><br />
Rating: 7/10<br />
Format: e-book<b> </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Shilpa
Shetty has, unarguably, one of the best bodies in Bollywood. She is a strong
proponent of healthy living. She managed to shed all the weight she had gained
during her pregnancy through healthy eating and exercising. I had read some
excerpts from the book and found it interesting. This book has been co-authored
by Luke Coutinho who is a nutritionist, master coach and mastermind behind
GOQii’s lifestyle and health coaching model. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In its
approach towards healthy eating, this book is similar to Rujuta’s ‘Don’t Lose
Your Mind…’ but it certainly has a lot of additional information about
different things that create the Great Indian food. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It
dwells into the evolution of Indian food, the incredible health benefits of
common spices, different oils and variety of grains that we usually eat in
Indian homes, the Acidic and Alkaline food, reading labels before buying
packaged food, and so on. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Obviously,
different books and authors bring different things to the table, so one needs
to use common sense and not blindly follow anything. Shilpa recommends 3 main
meals and 2 in-between meals as against Rujuta’s recommendation of eating every
2 hours. Shilpa starts her day with tea, while Rujuta’s first principle talks
about never to start your day with tea or coffee. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In my
opinion, this can be a good book to read in addition to Rujuta’s <a href="http://amzn.to/2nYHZXT">Don’t LoseYour Mind, Lose Your Weight</a>’. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">3.<u> Eat Delete</u>: <u>How to Get Off the Weight Loss Cycle for Good</u></span></b></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s0nDRXIcD2A/WPSd4nsHM_I/AAAAAAAACKE/_Mb5A9yJ39cLbAruZ5YUaA7u_6PdTsrKwCLcB/s1600/41H3-S9l6-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s0nDRXIcD2A/WPSd4nsHM_I/AAAAAAAACKE/_Mb5A9yJ39cLbAruZ5YUaA7u_6PdTsrKwCLcB/s200/41H3-S9l6-L.jpg" width="123" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Author: Pooja Makhija<br />
Publisher: Collins<br />
Pages: 248 <br />
Price: Rs 199<br />
Genre: </span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Non Fiction / Self-help / Health / Nutrition</span></span></span></span><br />
Rating: 6/10<br />
Format: Paperback</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have
a fascination for books on food, nutrition and health. I have read quite a few
books in this genre and several are on my TBR list. It never kills to learn
more, right? You always take away something useful from each one of them.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
book came to me a long time back through the publishers. Pooja Makhija is also
a celebrity nutritionist (like Rujuta Diwekar). </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
cover page is vibrant and appealing. The book comes with a little booklet to
record your diet. The back cover informs: <i>For
the first time in India, a leading nutritionist has worked with psychologists
to give you a combined mind-body weight loss solution. Figure out not just what
to eat, but also why you eat the way you do. Tackle the problem at the source.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Much
of the initial part of the book dwells into convincing the reader that food is
not an enemy, neither should it be considered entertainment. As they say ‘it’s
all in the mind’. I have read this often about running too. To beginners, even
1 Km looks impossible but people are doing ultra-running like it is a jog in
the park. So, Pooja targets the psychology of people first in her book. Will
power is not something that you are born with; you can cultivate it with
practice. If you want to lose weight, you need a strong will power. She has
even given tips on how to avoid a party or how to stick to your healthy eating
plan if you must attend a party, because most people flounder when they eat out. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There
are questions which show you if you are in the red zone of weight loss. The
book discusses different mindsets of people and why inspite of the fact that so
many people want to lose weight, they even know that they should be eating
healthy; and yet their will power is not strong enough.</span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In her
book, Pooja also talks about the significance of eating frequently and
exercising. She advises how one can go about restricting certain food items
initially to achieve the desired weight loss. She says <i>“Whatever you want to eat can be re-integrated into your system when
you have lost the weight you wanted to. Long term weight loss is about balance,
proportion and control.”</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">She
has certainly put me into a spot by saying that drinking warm lemon water can
cause bone leeching! I haven’t found any solid proof to support this; on the
contrary I have found several articles on benefits of drinking that. I even
checked with a doctor, who said that lemon water may not have any benefit (though
I disagree) but it surely does no harm.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Personally,
I found this book as an average read, however, the experience of reading any book is
unique to every reader. To someone who hasn’t read anything on food and
nutrition and requires some conditioning of the mind to get on the path of
eating healthy, this book can certainly offer much more. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Review Book Courtesy: HarperCollins India</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225918068504302242.post-5644782097417301222017-02-09T23:39:00.001+05:302017-06-12T17:44:07.861+05:30Book Review: Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nJ6_E0SJ8HQ/WJoVeEakJbI/AAAAAAAACHY/IzaI5GG2WjYRTpZvUSD7JYdmfFiFhvb0ACLcB/s1600/510yMBywRjL._SX331_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nJ6_E0SJ8HQ/WJoVeEakJbI/AAAAAAAACHY/IzaI5GG2WjYRTpZvUSD7JYdmfFiFhvb0ACLcB/s200/510yMBywRjL._SX331_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="133" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;">Title: Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored</span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Author: Rishi Kapoor & Meena Iyer</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Publisher: Harper Collins India</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pages: 284</span></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Price: Rs 599</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Genre:Autobiography / Films</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Rating: 6/10</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Format: e-book</span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>About the book [from
the publisher's website]</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b>
<br />Only, Rishi Kapoor was and is so much more. Few actors in Hindi cinema
have had this sort of a career arc: from the gawky adolescent pining for
his schoolteacher (Mera Naam Joker, 1970) to the naughty
ninety-year-old (Kapoor & Sons, 2016), Rishi Kapoor has regaled
audiences for close to fifty years. He won a National Award for his
debut, became an overnight sensation with his first film as a leading
man (Bobby, 1973), and carved a niche for himself with a string of
romantic musical blockbusters in an era known for its angst-ridden
films. He was the youth icon that is still the toast of the satellite TV
circuit. The songs he lip-synced are the bread and butter of all radio
stations even today. Then there was the second coming after a brief
hiatus in the 1990s – as one of the finest actors in mainstream Hindi
cinema with powerhouse performances in films like Do Dooni Chaar, D-Day,
Agneepath and others. Characteristically candid, Rishi Kapoor brings
Punjabi brio to the writing of Khullam Khulla. This is as up close and
personal a biography as any fan could have hoped for. He writes about
growing up in the shadow of a legendary father, skipping school to act
in Mera Naam Joker, the workings of the musical hits of the</span> era, an
encounter with Dawood Ibrahim, his heroines (their working relationship,
the gossip and the frisson that was sometimes real), his approach to
his craft, his tryst with clinical depression, and more. A foreword by
Ranbir Kapoor and a stirring afterword by Neetu Singh bookend the
warmest, most dil se biography an Indian star has ever penned.
</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Thou<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">ghts: </span></b></span></span>
<br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">Bollywood
biographies attract a lot of eyeballs and interest, especially if you are a
Bollywood buff. Rishi Kapoor may not have been part of any path-breaking cinema
but by virtue of being part of Bollywood’s supposed first family, his biography
was anticipated to be interesting. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">As the
book promises, Rishi Kapoor is candid about his life. He talks about growing up
as Raj Kapoor’s son and how they were always allowed to drop in on their
studio, how he dropped out of school to be part of the movie business, his debut,
his years as the rich lover boy on the celluloid; he accepts that he never
experimented, never prepared for any role, never went out of his way to work
with anybody. He just kept on doing what he was offered. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">He writes
“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">For decades, I had breezed through a
steady line-up of romantic roles. It came so naturally to me that except for
choosing a new jersey, there was little pre-shoot work to do.”</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">He is
also unafraid of ruffling some feathers in the way he points out his grievances
with colleagues like Amitabh Bachchan or Rajesh Khanna, or with friends like
Rakesh Roshan and Jeetendra. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">The
biggest charm of this book is its candor and openness, as if he is unafraid of
being judged. Otherwise about his life or filmography, there isn’t any insight. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">The
book also lacks a structure; though he writes about his father and grandfather,
his brothers and sisters, his children, his wife, his movies; yet the stuff
somehow does not seem organized in a logical way. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">He has
also written about his family. There is no new revelation apart from the fact
that may be his daughter also nursed a desire to be an actress but let her
ambitions bite the dust because her father was protective (?). Most fathers are
protective. But to not let your daughter pursue her dreams is selfish. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">As a boyfriend,
he was difficult and extremely possessive. Neetu Kapoor keeps on saying that
she dreamt of having a family and not of stardom. But he admits that he never
went out of his way to encourage her to pursue acting. As a father, he always remained an
unapproachable guy like his dad used to be. He never questioned the kind of
relationship a father and son must share. He did not bring his personal
approach to the relationship.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">The
biggest revelation is to accept as Raj Kapoor’s son of the former’s affair with
Nargis and Vyajantimala. And another thing note-worthy in the entire book is
what Naseeruddin Shah told him once - </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">‘Why don’t actors, male and
female, understand that hands have been given to us by God as a biological part
of the human body? Why do they have to do all kinds of weird things with their
hands when they don’t know what to do in a scene?’ </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">It is
not an exciting read, it is not unreadable either (I finished it in a day!). It is just an open account of
Rishi Kapoor’s life. Do you get to know him as a person? Yes, you do. I don’t
know if the expected outcome was positive but to me, he came across as
snobbish, even selfish a lot many times. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://amzn.to/2jZ3O2F">Image credit</a></span></span><br />
<br /></div>
</div>
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Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225918068504302242.post-23879345278280350212017-01-31T19:51:00.000+05:302018-08-10T19:17:13.866+05:30Book Review: Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-utGuOIngEQk/WI41ZLl-E9I/AAAAAAAACHA/yXHTS4nJoYAEnpsnpoT3VGbcKGTfMEpkACEw/s1600/51-RGx0wyGL._SX324_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-utGuOIngEQk/WI41ZLl-E9I/AAAAAAAACHA/yXHTS4nJoYAEnpsnpoT3VGbcKGTfMEpkACEw/s200/51-RGx0wyGL._SX324_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Title: <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Train to Pakistan</span></span></span><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span>
</b></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Author:Khushwant Singh</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Ravi Dayal Publisher</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Pages: 207</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">
Price: Rs 195</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Genre: Fiction / Historical fiction / India</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Rating: 7/10</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Format: Paperback</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>About the book [from
the cover flap]</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Train
to Pakistan was first published in 1956 and is now widely accepted as being one
of the classics of modern Indian fiction. The novel has steadily grown over the
years.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
novel has implications which reach far beyond the little village on the
frontier between India and Pakistan, where its action takes place. It is the
summer of 1947. The frontier has become a scene of rioting and bloodshed. But
in the village, where Sikhs and Muslims have always lived peaceably together,
Partition does not yet mean much. Life is regulated by the trains which rattle
across the nearby river bridge. Then a local money-lender is murdered.
Suspicion falls upon Juggut Singh – the village gangster who, when not in jail,
is carrying on a clandestine affair with a Muslim girl. A Western educated
Communist agent is also involved. A train comes over the bridge at an unusual
time and the villagers discover that it is full of dead Sikhs. Some days later
the same thing happens again. The village becomes a battlefield of conflicting loyalties,
and neither Magistrate nor police can stem the rising tide of violence. It is
left to Juggut Singh to redeem himself by saving many Muslim lives in a
stirring climax.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Train
to Pakistan, with its fine descriptions of village and river, and its study of
characters under stress, is an exciting novel, both intellectually and
emotionally. Khushwant Singh makes his readers share the individual problems of
loyalty and responsibility facing the principal figures in his story, and to
understand the human implications of a momentous historical event. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Thoughts:</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Khushwant Singh’s Train to Pakistan is
a famous book like <a href="http://amzn.to/2kLdWO2">Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children</a> (which I have not been
able to finish, by the way, despite three attempts) or <a href="http://amzn.to/2jR3pQl">Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy</a> (which I found underwhelming). I don’t know what it is about these widely
acclaimed books, most of the time they are weighed down by the baggage of their
fame and end up underwhelming. So, I was apprehensive. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have read two more books on
Partitions – <a href="http://amzn.to/2kLmeW8">Ice-Candy Man by Bapsi Sidhwa</a>
and <a href="http://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/2015/03/book-review-partitions-by-amit-majmudar.html">Partitions
by Amit Majumdar</a>. And I have liked both of them. That time in history
evokes immense curiosity among people from this subcontinent. It is hard to
believe, today, that something of such magnitude happened right here, in our
country, not too long ago. We keep seeking such stories from our shared history
to make sense of such an event that left millions of people killed, orphaned,
raped or displaced. How could people like us do this to their fellow
countrymen, even close friends?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Train to Pakistan attempts to explain
perhaps that incredulity in us. How could this happen? Mano Majara is a
fictitious village populated with Muslims and Sikhs predominantly (with only
one Hindu family), who live in harmony. In a short book of 200 pages, much space
has been dedicated to the life in this village, and not too much on individual
characters. When the country is going through the turmoil of partitions and its
after-effects; this quaint little village remains unaffected, even surprised at
the turn of events. It is difficult for them to fathom how people from the same
village could turn hostile towards each other when they should have fought for
their friends, so what if they belonged to a different community.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But that is only till real tragedy
hits them. The arrival of a train full of corpses acts as a catalyst, and
people could not remain unaffected for too long and turned murderous with
little instigation because they are only human. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The village is the central character
in this book, all other characters play secondary roles. Though I am a reader
who usually seeks identifiable characters, I still liked this book. Khushwant
Singh’s writing is no doubt the best thing about it. If you would ask me, if
this book is one of those must-reads; I would say – No! But if you appreciate
good writing and if that thrills you as a reader; then sure.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here
are a few lines often quoted from the book:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>“India is constipated with a lot of humbug. Take religion. For the Hindu,
it means little besides caste and cow-protection. For the Muslim, circumcision
and kosher meat. For the Sikh, long hair and hatred of the Muslim. For the
Christian, Hinduism with a sola topee. For the Parsi, fire-worship and feeding vultures.
Ethics, which should be the kernel of a religious code, has been carefully
removed.”</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Read more quotes from the book <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/105288-train-to-pakistan">here</a>.</span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://amzn.to/2jL1Cw5">Image credit</a></span></span><br />
<br /></div>
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Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225918068504302242.post-42796713733467459202017-01-03T00:55:00.000+05:302017-01-03T00:55:13.849+05:30Goals for 2017<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I drop in here, I am filled with nostalgia (as also happens with <a href="http://penpaper.blogspot.in/">my other blog</a>).
It’s a pity that I haven’t written about any books in a long while. But this
year I want to change that. </span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I want to read at least
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">35 books</span> </b></span>this year and review all of them. So, I’m targeting about 3 books in a
month.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I want to review at least
<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">24 children’s books</span></b>; also since over the last 5 years, I have read some amazing
children’s books. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">New
Year is always an exciting time for me. I love making plans, creating new goals
for the year. I love the anticipation, the positivity, the hope that a New Year
brings. It is just an opportunity to start over. Forget the past. Look ahead!</span></div>
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Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225918068504302242.post-11323988702400325252015-04-02T16:57:00.001+05:302016-12-13T11:16:09.583+05:30Book Review: The Bear in the Cave by Michael Rosen and Adrian Reynolds<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f7zx4RS_nE8/VPbhFHns6YI/AAAAAAAAB6w/dH4qh8xcKUE/s1600/bear%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bcave-amazon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f7zx4RS_nE8/VPbhFHns6YI/AAAAAAAAB6w/dH4qh8xcKUE/s1600/bear%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bcave-amazon.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.4799995422363px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Title: The Bear in the Cave </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #222222; line-height: 13.6pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Writer: Michael Rosen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #222222; line-height: 13.6pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Illustrator: Adrian Reynolds</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #222222; line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Bloomsbury<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #222222; line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Pages: 32<br /><span style="line-height: 15pt;">Genre: Children's literature / Fiction</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #222222; line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Rating: 10/10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #222222; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="line-height: 15pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Format: Paperback (includes Audio CD)</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Suitable for: 2 years+</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>About the Book (from the <a href="http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/the-bear-in-the-cave-9781408801475/">website</a>):</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A very happy bear hears the sounds of the city
from his quiet home by the sea and decides to find out what city life is like.
Buying the ticket and travelling on the train is all very exciting. And so is
the city! But after a while the bear finds the city a little too noisy and a
little too busy - and people are beginning to laugh at him. He feels very sad
and alone, until four children find him and show him the way home, with much
fun along the way. </span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><b>Thoughts: </b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #222222; line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; color: #222222; line-height: 15pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">I
chanced upon this book while hunting for some good story books for my son. I
was not aware about its celebrated author, Michael Rosen, of ‘<a href="http://www.flipkart.com/we-re-going-bear-hunt-english/p/itmdzzkqekfzyzkh?pid=9780689853494&affid=INReema">We’re
Going on a Bear Hunt</a>’ fame. But this book took me by surprise. It clicked
with my 3 year old from the first day, and then we read it every day for about a
month. He is still not tired of this book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">First
of all the illustrations are gorgeous. I am totally in love with them. Secondly,
the story is engaging and dynamic. It is interesting to follow the bear through
the city in his adventure. Through the bear’s eyes, the young kids look at
different aspects of city life.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">Another very attractive aspect of this book is
the use of onomatopoeia (yes, I just
discovered this word, which means ‘a word that phonetically imitates,
resembles or suggests the source of the sound that it describes’). In simple
words, the author has used similar-sounding, rhyming words. We all know how
kids love such tongue-twisters. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">Sample these lines: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">“And I play with the waves all
day.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">Splishety splash<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">Splishety splash<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">Splishety splashety splish.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">Or
these:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">“The sound of the city in my
ears.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">Vroomy vroom<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">Vroomy vroom<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">Vroomy vroomity vroom.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">Moreover,
this book is a great bedtime book despite all the commotion and laughter-inducing
repetitive / rhyming words because it slows down towards the end. After much
splashing about in the waves, the kids and the bear go to sleep inside the
cave, surrounded by the tranquility of the sea at night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">It is a
must-read. You are going to love reading this to your kids as much as the kids are
going to enjoy listening to the adventures of the bear. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">An Inside view of the book:</span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-97nZp6USLFs/VRIz-oBIzHI/AAAAAAAAB8I/xKV-YjmCf3M/s1600/The%2BBear%2BIn%2BThe%2BCave%2BInside%2Bpage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-97nZp6USLFs/VRIz-oBIzHI/AAAAAAAAB8I/xKV-YjmCf3M/s1600/The%2BBear%2BIn%2BThe%2BCave%2BInside%2Bpage.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
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Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225918068504302242.post-88734499352802799022015-03-30T17:16:00.000+05:302016-12-13T11:17:15.721+05:30Tips for buying children's books<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Here
are a few tips for people who are starting to build up their children’s books’
collection:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">1. Learn
about children’s books and authors by reading on the internet. There
are a lot of websites and blogs dedicated for children’s books.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">2. Don’t
buy everything you read about. Make notes. Find more about the books. Evaluate on the basis of your child’s interests and level of understanding. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">3. How to
look inside the book, when you are purchasing it online? Most books on <a href="http://www.amazon.in/?tag=recombooks-21">Amazon</a>
offer sample pages (2-3 pages) to give a peek into the book. You could search
specific books on YouTube also. Many people upload videos of books and book readings
where you can see the inside pages and find out more about the book. Another way is to do Google Images search
of any book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">4. The
easiest way to check best prices on various websites is any price comparison
website like <a href="http://www.indiabookstore.net/">India Bookstore</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uhmkt3zQqtM/VRkhldCVbtI/AAAAAAAAB8w/Tp7hIY4O0ck/s1600/buying-books-1pwvca5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uhmkt3zQqtM/VRkhldCVbtI/AAAAAAAAB8w/Tp7hIY4O0ck/s1600/buying-books-1pwvca5.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">5. Online
shopping websites like <a href="http://www.amazon.in/?tag=recombooks-21">Amazon</a> and <a href="http://dl.flipkart.com/dl/?affid=INReema">Flipkart</a> are undoubtedly best places to buy
your books for their competitive pricing. <a href="http://www.infibeam.com/Books/?trackId=ree">Infibeam</a> is another website where you
would often find books not available on any other site but the prices may be a
little higher. I have personally used all these websites. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">6. There
are also some places from where you can buy second hand books because let’s
face it, international titles are expensive. I have used <a href="http://passarobooks.com/">Passaro Pre-owned Imported Children’s Books (Chennai)</a> for buying second hand books. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">They have good
storybooks in the range of Rs 100-150. Apart from these, there are several
Facebook Groups on Used Children’s books. Many metro cities also have booksellers
selling ‘Books-by-weight’ which means they will have Rs X per Kg of Books. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">7. Indian
children’s books publishers like <a href="http://tulikabooks.com/">Tulika</a>, <a href="http://www.tarabooks.com/">Tara Books</a>, <a href="http://www.karaditales.com/">Karadi Tales</a> and <a href="http://www.prathambooks.org/">Pratham Books</a> have a
wide range of books in very affordable prices. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">8. In
last 4 years I have learnt that one needs to be patient in buying books for
kids. I have bought books for as much as 800 rupees. Honestly speaking, for
regular people, this is not a sound practice. Be in the lookout for discounts in
the range of 60% and above. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">9. You
can also select a price range. For example, I select books upto Rs 200 and then
go about choosing books. Kids just need some good story books to read.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Image source: Google</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><b>You may also want to see: </b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><b><a href="http://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/2015/03/why-you-should-read-aloud-to-your-child.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">Why you should Read Aloud to your Child</a></b></span><br />
<b style="color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><a href="http://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/2015/03/how-to-start-reading-to-your-child.html">How to start Reading to your Child</a></b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;" /></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/2013/07/5-childrens-fiction-titles-we-love.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">5 Children's Fiction Titles We Love</a></b></span></span></div>
</div>
Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225918068504302242.post-52825984150023625422015-03-23T18:04:00.002+05:302015-03-23T18:07:23.777+05:30How to Start Reading to Your Child<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j5ojVfKGBz8/VQ_-EPPc48I/AAAAAAAAB74/VDAUKNrQEV8/s1600/pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1. Start Early</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Remember:
the sooner, the better, the easier. It is easy to form habits in very young
children because you make the rules. Once they grow up, and start seeking
independence; it gets more challenging. You can start even
when they are in womb. Trust me, many people do it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2. Read Yourself<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My question
is do you read? Personally, I read a lot while my husband reads zilch, but he
still reads to our son. So, if you are trying to inculcate that habit in your
child, chances are you are a reader yourself or at least you understand the
value of doing so. So, be the role model for your child. Let him see you read. If
nothing else, read children's books. You won’t believe how much you can learn
from them, plus they are gorgeous. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3. Set the Mood<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is
important to create an environment that encourages reading. Good books and
opportunities to read are two important parts of setting the mood. If you want
a habit to grow, you need to curb some of the other things like screen time (in
the form of TV and tablets). Too much of screen time is not good for kids. <a href="http://www.ahaparenting.com/ages-stages/toddlers/toddler-preschooler-tv-computer">Here
is an excellent article on the subject</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">4. Good Books (appropriate size and content)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If the
kids are very young, say 0-1.5 years old, get them bright board books with minimum
words. Books on Animals, Trucks, Construction vehicles or everyday objects usually
work very well for that age group. Choose a size that they can handle easily like mini board books. Also, avoid paperbacks for very young kids. Board books are available in various sizes - from mini to lap size.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In
this day and age, there is no dearth of good literature for young kids. There
are several foreign and Indian authors and publishers for children’s books. The
subjects are also exhaustive. You can also pick books on subjects that they are curious about or just plain entertaining stories. Besides, if you are confused, many people are writing
about children’s books across the internet. You just have to look.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>5. </b></span><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Movie to Books</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There
are books which have been turned into movies like <a href="http://www.flipkart.com/the-gruffalo-english/p/itme4gcrubjzmsbs?pid=9780230747937&affid=INReema">the Gruffalo</a>, <a href="http://www.flipkart.com/gruffalo-s-child-english/p/itmdyy9yb2zwyhbb?pid=9781405020466&affid=INReema">the Gruffalo’sChild</a> and <a href="http://www.flipkart.com/room-broom-english/p/itmeycd799hpbmr7?pid=9780142501122&affid=INReema">the Room on the Broom</a>. We read the books first and then watched the
movies but you can do the other way round. There are books for ‘Finding Nemo’
or ‘The Jungle Book’ too, besides many others. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j5ojVfKGBz8/VQ_-EPPc48I/AAAAAAAAB74/VDAUKNrQEV8/s1600/pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j5ojVfKGBz8/VQ_-EPPc48I/AAAAAAAAB74/VDAUKNrQEV8/s1600/pic.jpg" height="200" width="320" /></a><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">6. Bedtime Routines<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is
easier to make reading part of their bedtime routine because when they settle for night,
kids usually want to listen to stories. Moreover, they are eager to do anything as long as they don’t have to sleep right away. I think one can start with
familiar characters or subjects from animated movies which the child identifies, and then
move on to others gradually.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">7. Never make it a chore</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Don’t
make it another 'thing-to-do' in the list. It will put them off, especially if they are
older. When my son was 1-1.5 year old, we did not have a fixed time to read. Like
other kids, he would keep fiddling with stuff around the house; and I would
just sit and read his books aloud. At that age, they want to do things you are
doing. So, he would come and sit, and take the book from me. And now we read 5 books every day on an average. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>8. Give it importance</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Many people don't think too highly of reading to kids. It is not just story-time, believe me. I already wrote <a href="http://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/2015/03/why-you-should-read-aloud-to-your-child.html">why you should Read Aloud to your kids</a> in my previous post. Take it seriously. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>You may also want to see: </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/2015/03/why-you-should-read-aloud-to-your-child.html">Why you should Read Aloud to your Child</a></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/2013/07/5-childrens-fiction-titles-we-love.html">5 Children's Fiction Titles We Love</a></b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 14px;">Image source: Google</span></div>
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j5ojVfKGBz8/VQ_-EPPc48I/AAAAAAAAB74/VDAUKNrQEV8/s1600/pic.jpg" with "https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j5ojVfKGBz8/VQ_-EPPc48I/AAAAAAAAB74/VDAUKNrQEV8/s1600/pic.jpg" --><!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-j5ojVfKGBz8%2FVQ_-EPPc48I%2FAAAAAAAAB74%2FVDAUKNrQEV8%2Fs1600%2Fpic.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j5ojVfKGBz8/VQ_-EPPc48I/AAAAAAAAB74/VDAUKNrQEV8/s1600/pic.jpg" -->Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225918068504302242.post-8652195916833769572015-03-18T17:00:00.003+05:302015-03-23T17:23:58.792+05:30Why you should Read Aloud to your Child: a Personal Experience<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8reHWqu2hEM/VQlcA6fmVwI/AAAAAAAAB7c/w7Z0zCmN-f4/s1600/mother-daughter-reading.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Since
I have been reading more of children’s books these days, I thought it was time
to start writing about them here. I am amazed at the kind of literature there
is for the young and very young kids. If you assumed that children’s books
would be childish, you could not be more wrong. I have learnt so much by just
reading to my son. And I love them as much as he does. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8reHWqu2hEM/VQlcA6fmVwI/AAAAAAAAB7c/w7Z0zCmN-f4/s1600/mother-daughter-reading.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8reHWqu2hEM/VQlcA6fmVwI/AAAAAAAAB7c/w7Z0zCmN-f4/s1600/mother-daughter-reading.jpg" height="211" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As a
book lover myself, I knew I wanted to raise a reader. Yes, he could become a
reader on his own but on my part, I wanted to do my best. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I
started READING ALOUD my own books to my son (yes, you heard it right) when he
was a tiny baby because at that time kids just need to hear your voice and
language. I got him the cloth book of ‘Fuzzy Bee and Friends’, and board books
of ‘Squishy Turtle and friends’ and ‘the Very Hungry Caterpillar’ when he was 6
months old. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the beginning, books are just another playthings. He would not even sit on one place to be READ ALOUD but that was his
age and not disinterest in books. I still continued reading to him. At that
time, it felt may be he really wasn't interested in books but once when he was
9-10 months old, I asked him to get me ‘the Very Hungry Caterpillar’ and he
did. It was such a thrilling moment for me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">From
that moment to this day (3 years later), I can tell you from personal
experience that there are only positives to reading aloud. There are hundreds
of articles and enough research on why we should READ ALOUD to our children.
You just need to Google. But here, I would share my personal experience:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Focus.</b> When you encourage the habit
of sitting on one place and engage your child with a story, where he looks at
the pictures, tries to make sense of what is happening; you enable him to
focus. Young kids are restless with high energy flying all over the place. But
reading to your child develops focus and the ability to concentrate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Learn new words and</b> <b>concepts</b>. When you read books after books each day, you obviously
come across several new words. A child is introduced to new words and concepts
in a much better way than it can ever happen through videos and television. Even I have learnt so many new
words while reading children’s books. Many times, when the kids are little, it
is interesting to explain even simple words which they do not have life’s
experience to understand. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Imagination. </b>Books open a world of
imagination for them, where even animals and machines talk and emote. Anything
is possible in their books. Soon they start imagining their own stories with
their own favourite things. The gift of imagination is priceless.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Love for Learning. </b>Initially, what attract young
kids to books are the pictures. Slowly they start noticing the words. I have
observed that the kids who are read to, are more interested in learning the
alphabets. My 3.5 year old can read words with simple sounds like CAT, MAN, MUG,
etc., and honestly, I have never sat him down to teach alphabets. Of course, I
tell him when he asks and correct his mistakes; but absolutely no rote
learning. My goal is to inculcate the habit of reading and love for language,
and I trust, rest everything will fall into place. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Bonding. </b>This is the best part of
reading to your children. It is a great one-on-one time. It offers the opportunity
to sit with them and ask questions related or unrelated to the story. It offers
the perfect chance to connect with them. And it is very important to connect with them, no matter what age they are in. </span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>You may also want to see: </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/2013/07/5-childrens-fiction-titles-we-love.html"><b>5 Children's Fiction Titles We Love</b></a></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Image source: Google</span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bnRyOz5MMoI/VPoS_XSY0JI/AAAAAAAAB7E/7as8eMTBDls/s1600/17698127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bnRyOz5MMoI/VPoS_XSY0JI/AAAAAAAAB7E/7as8eMTBDls/s1600/17698127.jpg" width="129" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Title: The Newlyweds</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Author: <o:p></o:p>Nell Freudenberger</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Penguin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Pages: 335</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Price: Rs 399</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Genre: Fiction / Contemporary<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Rating: 7/10</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Format: Paperback</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">From the Back Cover:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Amina
met George online. Within months she has left her home in Bangladesh and is
living in George’s house in the American suburbs. Theirs is a very
twenty-first-century union, forged from afar yet echoing the traditions of the
arranged marriage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But as
Amina struggles to find her place in America, it becomes clear that neither she
nor George have been entirely honest with each other. Both have brought to the
marriage a secret - a vital, hidden part of themselves – which will reveal who
they are and whether their future is together or an ocean apart. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My thoughts: <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The
first reason to read this book was its cover page. I loved it. The title appealed
to me too; however, the book is not about ‘newlyweds’ in the strict sense of
the word. The story has been narrated by Amina Mazid of the time when she
considers herself a newlywed. She clarifies that usually a couple would be
considered newlywed till their first anniversary, which is the time they need
to settle down in their new life. But in her case, until the time her parents
join her in America she would not be truly settled. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Her
parents’ only child, Amina wants to get away from her circumstances. Hailing
from Bangladesh, her childhood and growing up years were difficult. She even
had to drop out of school because the money was scarce. George, who is from
America, embodies her chance to escape from the bleak future she foresees for
herself in Bangladesh. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Both
Amina and George find their own reasons to believe that they would complement
each other in marriage, but when they actually begin their journey, there are a
few surprises in store. The book surely reflects the reality of an arranged
marriage well. People keep their best foot forward; and when they actually
start living together, the reality of how a person is a mix of several things -
not all good, not all bad – dawns.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I am
in conflict about the story. There is nothing spectacular about it and yet there
are a few above average real moments. t is not very clear why
George would want to marry someone from a dramatically different background,
different upbringing, values and beliefs. Moreover, irrespective of the fact
that it is about newlyweds, this is certainly not a romance novel. But, give it a
shot. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Here
are a few lines quoted from the book:<i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> “..wasn’t that what it was like for all
newlyweds? ……. It felt strange until one day it didn’t.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“It wasn’t that George was old
but that he felt sorry for himself that drove her crazy. If her father was
Thunder, then George was Smoke – and how could you argue with someone who began
to disappear as soon as you opened your mouth?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“What a strange thing, she
thought, to find out one day that you had built your whole life on a mistake,
and the next to discover that this fact would allow you to have your dearest
wish.”</span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image source: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17698127-the-newlyweds">GoodReads</a></span></b></span><br />
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></b>
</div>
</div>
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Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225918068504302242.post-43570361552965743562015-03-03T17:29:00.001+05:302016-12-13T11:30:36.372+05:30Book Review: Partitions by Amit Majmudar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KGL8Iw1UbOI/VPWfjcQ3Q2I/AAAAAAAAB6Q/OvDIlsEJQwk/s1600/17690863.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KGL8Iw1UbOI/VPWfjcQ3Q2I/AAAAAAAAB6Q/OvDIlsEJQwk/s1600/17690863.jpg" width="121" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Title: Partitions</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.6pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Author: Amit Majmudar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Oneworld Publications<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Pages: 216</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">
Price: Rs 350</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Genre: Fiction / Historical fiction / India<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Rating: 9/10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Format: Paperback<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">From the Back Cover:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">July 1947. India is torn in two. Violence erupts on both sides
of the new border and waves of refugees flee the carnage and chaos. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Fighting to board the last train to Delhi, six-year-old Hindu
twins Shankar and Keshav are torn from their mother and must begin a terrifying
trek to find her again. A young Sikh girl, Simran Kaur, having escaped the
honourable death planned for her by her father, dreams of a spiritual sanctuary
at the temple of Amritsar. And Ibrahim Masud, a timid doctor driven from his
home, treats all those he finds along the way as he struggles towards the new
state of Pakistan.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This is the story of their journeys across a ravaged land, of
the acts of compassion and cruelty that shape their new lives and their new
nations. <span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My thoughts:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The first time I came across ‘Partitions’ by Amit Majmudar was
while I was reading about <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/94737.Ice_Candy_Man">‘the Ice-Candy Man’ by Bapsi Sidhwa</a>; and after having
read both the books, now I know why the parallels had been drawn. Both the
books are set against the partition of India in 1947. Both the books follow the
changing circumstances of a set of characters before and after the partitions. What
also connect these books are their unusual yet relatively neutral narrators.
The former has been narrated by a spirit; while ‘the Ice-Candy Man’ has been
narrated by a young Parsi girl. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">‘Partitions’ is a fictional account of the plight of common
people who were affected during that period in history which is often
remembered for the extent of violence and uprooting of millions of people. The
story has been narrated by the spirit of the twin children’s father, Dr. Roshan
Jaitly. Although he died a few years ago, Dr Jaitly’s spirit still watches over
his children because as a dead person he has the ability to foresee their
future. In the beginning, the three stories run parallely taking the readers
through the turn of events which eventually lead the characters to each other.
These characters from different religious groups unwittingly come to each other’s
succor, flouting prevalent suspicions for people from other religion. And
therefore, irrespective of the painful circumstances, this story is
surprisingly more uplifting than depressing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The author has a beautiful, poetic style of writing. His prose
is fresh and captivating. In a very well-handled back and forth between past-present-future
and parallel stories of the four characters, he narrates a story that shows how
humanity and empathy triumph over mindless hatred. Without having any personal
connection with the partitions, it is commendable how he has been able to
achieve a narrative that is so soulful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This book will appeal to most readers of fiction, and more so to
those who are interested in reading about what people went through during
partitions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Here are a few lines quoted from the book: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“Some killing must be done. It is a
form of communication, the only kind that can cross the partitions between this
country and its neighbor, between this world and the next. Their enemies must
hear the deaths, and know rest.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“She pauses there, filling with
admiration and adoration. The imitation-love a kind-hearted stranger is capable
of feeling for a beautiful child. Not love.”</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“How little we knew each other, though for
centuries our homes had shared walls. How little we will learn, now that all we
share is a border.”</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> “I can
almost always get a clear read on people. Each mind swims in its skull before
me like a fish in a glass bowl. But with Aisha right now…… I can’t see clearly
how she feels about Simran. The water is murky, the glass frosted.”</span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 15.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“It’s such a miraculous device, a voice. I never
knew how miraculous when I had one.”</span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Image source: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17690863-partitions">GoodReads</a></span></b></div>
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Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225918068504302242.post-26175084497974876772014-03-29T14:35:00.003+05:302016-12-13T11:20:39.394+05:30Book Review: Aisle Be Damned by Rishi Piparaiya<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SHTihmMvwkw/UqxEL5AzpHI/AAAAAAAABt8/b7TjaS6XKyI/s1600/J-2259_s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SHTihmMvwkw/UqxEL5AzpHI/AAAAAAAABt8/b7TjaS6XKyI/s200/J-2259_s.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Title: Aisle Be Damned</span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Author: Rishi Piparaiya</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Jaico Books</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Pages: 216</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Price: Rs 250</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Genre: Non Fiction / Humour</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Rating: 9/10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="line-height: 15pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Format: Paperback</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15pt;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">The
moment I saw this book, I was immediately taken in by its unusual cover page
and the title. Both do justice to the theme of this book. ‘Aisle Be Damned’ is
a work of non-fiction that finds humour in every aspect of air travel. The humour
is not forced. What really works in this book is that the author has pulled out
some common observations which anyone with air travel experience can relate to.
I finished this book in one sitting and laughed a lot till the end. Every
person who has done a bit of air travel will get the humour in this book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">By
virtue of being a frequent traveler, the author offers loads of wisdom and
suggestions on how to make the most of your air travel, peppered with plenty of
humour. He has thought of everything, right from the baggage trolleys to
airport, the boarding strategies to seats one must opt for, trivia and funny
anecdotes related to air travel from around the world, and several such pieces that
will tickle your funny bone. He tells you stuff like when are the business
tycoons likely to travel, how can you get your economy class ticket upgraded to
business class, how to choose your seat well, how to handle immigration
officer, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">The
author confesses at one point that several publishers found this book niche,
but air travel has become so common that I am certain there is a huge target
audience for this book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">It was
a fun book to read, except perhaps the last chapter [Commerce, Literature and
Zen] which looks a little forced. The book is perfect without that extra chapter.
You must pick it up if you are feeling a little down or feeling stressed, this
book will instantly perk you up. This can also make a nice gift. The only
prerequisite for enjoying this book is a little experience of air travel. It is
one of those books which you can pick any time [even after you have read it],
read random lines again; and it will still give you a few laughs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">Here
are few funny lines from the book: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">[During
Immigration] <i>He will languidly open your
passport, look at the photograph, look at you, then look back at the
photograph. You can see the nuts and bolts in his brain rasping, straining to
draw some correlation to the grotesque face in the photograph and the pasted
smile standing in front of him, but there is none…….He lets it go though – it’s
not the right time or place to empathize with you on the shortcomings of your
gene pool.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"> “<i>I am
always on a first name basis with anyone from Sri Lanka, neither of us being
able to pronounce the other’s last name.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">“There is a sign above the
basin that says the water is not for drinking. Okay, thanks for letting me
know. Because I usually love to drink water from bathrooms.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">“An experienced pilot earns
well over $100,000 and flies about 800 hours a year. That’s $125 an hour for
essentially playing Flight Stimulator. He has no monthly goals, no boss and all
his colleagues are hot. The job calls for some travel yes, but stay is at
luxury hotels, meals are included and life is one long MTV Grind party.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">Note:
The text in italics have been quoted from the book.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 15pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15pt;">
<div style="line-height: 15pt;">
<b style="line-height: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Review Book courtesy: <a href="http://www.jaicobooks.com/j/j_searchtry.asp?selcat=title&keyword=Aisle%20be%20Damned">Jaico Books</a> </span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 15pt;">
<span style="line-height: 17px;"></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 15pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Image source: </span></b><b style="line-height: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.jaicobooks.com/j/j_searchtry.asp?selcat=title&keyword=Aisle%20be%20Damned">Jaico Books</a> </span></b><br />
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
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Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225918068504302242.post-54577378079246468142014-03-25T15:16:00.004+05:302014-03-25T15:18:07.375+05:30The Catching-Up Post<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">When I
started receiving <b>review copies</b>, I must admit, I was overwhelmed initially. I
was like ‘Whoa! I am getting free books to read all the time!’ But let me tell
you, it is a vicious circle [atleast it was for me]. Allow me to explain why. In January this year, I
emptied both my bookshelves into one of the balconies for the much-needed
airing. [Before the baby arrived, it used to be one of my favourite
activities.] That whole week, I spent a lot of time with my books –
categorizing them, removing the stuff that I had read and would never read
again, putting the rest back on the shelves [surprisingly despite removing more
than 100 books, the shelves are still overflowing]. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yTcjLbiFiE8/UzFN4rf0YMI/AAAAAAAAByg/oV4pQ0_xkMk/s1600/DSC_4947_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yTcjLbiFiE8/UzFN4rf0YMI/AAAAAAAAByg/oV4pQ0_xkMk/s1600/DSC_4947_1.jpg" height="132" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Not the Sunday secondhand book market;<br /> just a view of my balcony </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">When I
was going through my books, I realized what an amazing collection I had; and
many of those books have been with me for a couple of years now. In reading
review copies, I could not make time for my own collection. I must also confess
that while I was reading review copies, I never stopped buying books.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">To
give you a perspective, </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/690344"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">I read 49 books in 2013</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">. Out of those 49 books, 33
were review copies. And the truth be told, I would not have read many of those
33 books, if they had not landed at my place for review. When you get a lot of
review copies, you feel compelled to review at least a few. Many times those
books are not according to your taste, so you come out not liking the book; and
the whole experience is unsatisfactory. When I review, I attempt to articulate what I liked about the book
and what I did not like, because eventually, every person has an individual
taste. For example, I love <a href="http://www.flipkart.com/affiliate/construct?start=0&query=sophie+kinsella&vertical=books&submit=Search">Sophie Kinsella's books</a> and yet I don’t generally like to
read chicklit. But I don’t miss her books because I have so much fun while
reading them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">Anyways,
I decided at the beginning of this year, I would stop taking any more review
copies for some time. First of all, I need to review the books which I have
read but never got around to reviewing. Secondly, I still have several review
copies which I want to read and review. And the third aspect is my own collection,
which I certainly want to read pretty soon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oWGrljo3QQY/UzFQYvj3ikI/AAAAAAAABys/Ul_tKs6PhEA/s1600/DSC_5003_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oWGrljo3QQY/UzFQYvj3ikI/AAAAAAAABys/Ul_tKs6PhEA/s1600/DSC_5003_1.jpg" height="200" width="132" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">Apart
from that, I would like to start <b>reviewing children’s books</b> also. I have
discovered this whole new genre after having baby. Since I am a passionate reader, I am doing everything to ensure that my son grows up to be one too.
Reading is part of our daily routine. I never imagined I would enjoy children’s
books so much. The biggest revelation is that they appeal as much to the grownups
as much they do to the kids. There is a huge collection of interesting and
attractive books for every age-group now. One can choose books from Indian
publishers as well as foreign. Just take Alphabets for example; the variety of
books available on just Alphabets is unimaginable. There is <a href="http://www.flipkart.com/alphablock/p/itmdkkbvycfgurbx?pid=9781419709364&affid=INReema">Alphablock</a>,
<a href="http://www.flipkart.com/abc3d/p/9780747595793?pid=9780747595793&affid=INReema">ABC3D</a>,
<a href="http://www.flipkart.com/eric-carle-s-abc-series-world-carle/p/itmczz8wfquyz7r5?pid=9780448445649&affid=INReema">Eric
Carle’s ABC</a>, <a href="http://www.flipkart.com/eating-alphabet-fruits-vegetables-z/p/itmczyrtzxctqzkk?pid=9780152244361&affid=INReema">Eating
the Alphabet</a>, <a href="http://www.flipkart.com/sleepy-little-alphabet-bedtime-story-alphabet-town/p/itmczz3vgrfpdrzq?pid=9780375940026&affid=INReema">The
Sleepy Little Alphabet</a>, <a href="http://www.flipkart.com/alphabeep-zipping-zooming-abc/p/itmdyyhpzpccnuhx?pid=9780823420766&affid=INReema">Alphabeep</a>,
<a href="http://www.flipkart.com/alphabet-city/p/itmczyrcmxcxucks?pid=9780140559040&affid=INReema">Alphabet
City</a>; and I can go on and on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">Trust
me, hunting for suitable and interesting books for the little one [and for
myself] is one of my favourite pastimes. I can do that for hours. Our kiddie
books’ collection is growing day-by-day and I enjoy them as much as my little
one does. I have mentioned a few favourites </span><a href="http://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/2013/12/book-recommendations-5-books-for.html"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";"> and </span><a href="http://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/2013/07/5-childrens-fiction-titles-we-love.html"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">. Watch out for more reviews
soon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">Another
thing I wanted to bring up is that when I was in the process of sorting my
books, I was also reading about <b>minimalistic lifestyle</b>. I would like to just
say that finally I was convinced that I need not keep every single book that I
purchase. I must let go to make space for new. So, believe it or not, I cleared
over 100 books from my home. But I haven't given up on my dream of <a href="http://penpaper.blogspot.in/2013/05/may-photo-day-day-18-want.html">a home library</a> or reading nook. It will take a couple of months for sure because right now [actually
since January 2014], I have been de-cluttering my home bit-by-bit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">Did I
tell you, I have started <b>reading e-books</b>? And frankly, they are not that bad. I
have read just 2 books so far but I had a decent experience. Moreover, e-books
align well with my new mantra of minimalism. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">That’s
all from me at the moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225918068504302242.post-9068854484029647552013-12-27T14:40:00.000+05:302016-12-13T11:25:37.948+05:30Book Recommendations: 5 Books for Toddlers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><i>This post was first published on <a href="http://www.parentous.com/2013/12/26/best-5-books-toddlers-bed-time-stories/">Parentous</a>.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I love reading books. Naturally, if there is one
habit that I would like to pass on to my son, it has to be love of reading. So,
I exposed my son to books quite early. To a newborn you can read just about
anything. They just need to be exposed to the sound of words. So, I would
usually read my own books aloud in the initial months. Gradually, I introduced
cloth books and board books. Initially, books are also playthings for little
ones, so be prepared to see the books getting abused [loved, in their way]. Now
at 28 months, I cannot say my son is a reader yet but we enjoy reading books
before his afternoon naptime and going to bed at night. Since now it is part of
his bedtime routine, he himself gets the books he wants to read. He would
usually have a pick of few favourites at one time, and it is interesting to
listen to his observations while reading those books.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Here is a list of 5 books which are the current
favourites: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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alt="starting-school-400x400-imadgvazmhngvpam.jpeg" style='position:absolute;
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<w:wrap type="tight"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">1. </span></b><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://amzn.to/2hnlUy4">Starting School by Janet andAllan Ahlberg</a></span></b><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-teXGe66obQg/Ur1C3s0k1pI/AAAAAAAABuU/ARSTbhhJHMg/s1600/starting-school-400x400-imadgvazmhngvpam.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-teXGe66obQg/Ur1C3s0k1pI/AAAAAAAABuU/ARSTbhhJHMg/s200/starting-school-400x400-imadgvazmhngvpam.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This beautiful picture book follows a bunch of
kids [8 of them] who are starting school – their first day, their second day,
the first week and how they get used to the school. The kids are shown doing
all sorts of exciting activities like playing with blocks, puzzles, colours,
play dough or learning new things like reading, writing, saying prayers, etc;
thus creating a fun and positive image of school. This book does not dwell into
negative feelings like missing home or first day anxieties, and focuses more on
making school a fun experience. A few things may not be relevant in our context
like involvement of kids’ parents in different kinds of activities but those
things can be ignored. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Read more about this book in </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2011/sep/20/ahlbergs-starting-school"><span style="line-height: 115%;">this
review</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">2.
</span></b><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://amzn.to/2hh12I8">Watch Out! by Shamim Padamsee andAjanta Guhathakurta</a></span></b><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tkvwldsa82w/Ur1DTMCdo3I/AAAAAAAABuc/rT-IPWPl_UA/s1600/344_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tkvwldsa82w/Ur1DTMCdo3I/AAAAAAAABuc/rT-IPWPl_UA/s200/344_cover.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This
is an attractive bilingual picture book from Tulika Publishers. All kids are
fascinated by animals, and more so with their babies. This brightly illustrated
book has bare-minimum text on each page [2-3 words on most of them] and
educates about the action words like pounce, roll, drink, climb, roll, eat, sleep
etc. “This book follows the playful adventures of three curious lion cubs while
their mother is away. Minimal text and lively illustrations with an edge of
drama skillfully introduce young readers to the fact that those we see as
predators can be under threat themselves.” [Quoted from the book] <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Read more about this book </span><a href="http://www.tulikabooks.com/our-books/bilingual-books/bilingual-picture-books/watch-out"><span style="line-height: 115%;">here</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">3. </span></b><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://amzn.to/2hnhkzU">Karadi Rhymes Book 1</a></span></b><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I am always on the lookout for Indian literature
for kids. I found this collection of Indian Rhymes by Karadi Tales, and I knew
I had to get it. I got Book 1 more than a year ago and it is still a favourite.
I am getting the second Part soon. Book 1 has an interesting line up of rhymes
very relevant for Indian kids. The most favourite rhyme from this book is
called “Just like you’. It tells you about different people from different
places in India, speaking different languages, and yet they are like us. Check
out its video </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jihVhB_TXeU"><span style="line-height: 115%;">here</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">.
It is quite a catchy song. There are songs [or rhymes] about mangoes, crows, festivals
celebrated in India, cricket, sari, flowers, Indian flag, etc. Essentially, the
book attempts to capture the essence of India. My son makes me read all the
rhymes in this book over and over again. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This book also comes with an audio CD which contains
rhymes in the voice of Usha Uthup.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Read more about the book</span><a href="http://www.karaditales.com/FormProduct.aspx?SeriesId=25#22"><span style="line-height: 115%;">
here</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">4.
</span></b><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://amzn.to/2hh7bUE">What Shall I Make? by NandiniNayar and Proiti Roy</a></span></b><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I
am convinced that playing with kitchen utensils and dough should be part of
developmental milestones. I am certain every kid goes through that phase. Since
my 2 year old loves playing with the regular dough on daily basis, when I
chanced upon this book, I thought this was apt for reading to him. To add to
the fun, we sometimes also keep some dough handy to make the things that the
little boy, Neeraj, in the book makes. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This book is about Neeraj. He gets a little dough
from his mother, and his imagination lets loose. He turns it into a snake, a
mouse and a cat. This book is about how a child’s mind is full of imagination
and creativity. The illustrations are extremely endearing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Read more about the book </span><a href="http://www.tulikabooks.com/our-books/picture-books/general-picture-books/what-shall-i-make"><span style="line-height: 115%;">here</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">5.
</span></b><a href="http://amzn.to/2hnrPDm"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell</span></b></a><b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This book was a hit with our toddler from the first day. It
is a lift-the-flap book. The text is minimum and prompts the child to lift the
flap on each page, which reveals an animal inside. It is exciting for the child
to lift the flap one-by-one and discover the animal. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Learn more about the book from </span><a href="http://www.rodcampbell.co.uk/DZ/zoo.html"><span style="line-height: 115%;">author’s
website</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">You may also want to read: </span><a href="http://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/2013/07/5-childrens-fiction-titles-we-love.html"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">5 Fiction Titles
for Toddlers</span></b></a><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">.</span></b></span></div>
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Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225918068504302242.post-82219883690225100152013-12-14T16:57:00.003+05:302016-12-13T11:26:49.933+05:30Book Review: Meena Kumari by Vinod Mehta<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3jhd1rpa_6o/UosmiQpU4YI/AAAAAAAABrI/9TfiZvNa7hY/s1600/meena-kumari-400x400-imadn2bgehmsarca.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3jhd1rpa_6o/UosmiQpU4YI/AAAAAAAABrI/9TfiZvNa7hY/s200/meena-kumari-400x400-imadn2bgehmsarca.jpeg" width="147" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Title: Meena Kumari - The Classic Biography</span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15pt;">Author: Vinod Mehta</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Publisher: HarperCollins India</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Pages: 248 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Price: Rs 350</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Genre: Non Fiction / Biography / Films</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Rating: 8/10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0in;">
<div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 15pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Format: Paperback</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div style="line-height: 12.75pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">I
read about this book somewhere and then chanced upon a chapter in <a href="http://www.flipkart.com/greatest-show-earth-writings-bollywood/p/itmdfhgv9duuf68u?pid=9780143416128&affid=INReema"><b>The
Greatest Show on Earth</b></a>. Life of a movie star is intriguing and there is a
dearth of such biographies about any Indian film star. I don’t know why I
wanted to read about Meena Kumari. I haven’t even seen too many of her films,
and it was from my mother. I first came to know that Meena Kumari was known as
the tragedy queen. In fact, people of her generation had started using the term
‘Meena Kumari’ as a word for ‘sad’ [in the way, the term ‘<i>Devdas</i>’ is still used]. So, when people would say “don’t be a Meena
Kumari”! They would mean ‘sad and melodramatic’. Whether she was one of the
best actors of all times is highly debatable, but certainly her life was intriguing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 12.75pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 12.75pt;">This
book was written in 1972, immediately after her demise [republished in 2013]. The author confesses “</span><i style="color: black; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 12.75pt;">I found that it was impossible to
collect even one ‘undisputed’ fact about this woman. Everything connected with
her life had atleast four versions" [quoted].</i><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 12.75pt;"> He never met the actor. He admits that facts and opinions were
piling up and weighing him down, and without being over-ambitious, what he sought
to achieve was to offer a few glimpses of who Meena Kumari really was; for who
can really claim to know a person completely.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">The
book begins with everyone’s reaction on Meena Kumari’s death. The chapter is
interestingly titled “Lies” to connote how all the reactions by film industry
as well as media were superficial. The various chapters in this book tell us
about the circumstances she was born into, her family, her early life, her
romance with Kamal Amrohi, her journey as an actress [which started at the
tender age of seven] as well as her turbulent personal life, her various
relationships, her addiction to alcohol, her self-inflicted depression, the most
important movie of her life - <i>Pakeezah</i>,
Meena Kumari – the actress, Meena Kumari – the woman, and her death [few weeks
after<i> Pakeezah’s</i> release]. Even with
her disturbed personal life and poor health, she worked relentlessly and did
very well professionally.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 12.75pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Despite unreliable lovers, despite
unreliable alcohol, despite unreliable dinner, despite unreliable friends, she
had Bahu Begum, Manjhli Didi, Noor Jehan, Abhilasha in various stages of
completion. All of which goes to prove that India’s No. 1 tragedienne did not
live by bread alone.” [Quoted]</span></i><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 12.75pt;">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="line-height: 12.75pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Her
alcoholism is legendary. But surprisingly, she drank seriously only for three
years. What started as a small peg to cure her insomnia later became addiction.
This continued till she died of cirrhosis of the liver. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 12.75pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 12.75pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">“The question is how could she stop
drinking. She had as she saw it, no emotional support; her family life was not
exactly ideal; and the possibilities for the future looked extremely grim. In
these circumstances she needed a crutch, and for people the world over in her state
the bottle has been the most potent, if disastrous, crutch.”</span></i><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;"> [Quoted]</span></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="line-height: 12.75pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Meena
Kumari as a person was known to be generous, attentive and empathetic. The
author believes that most of her pain and depression was self-inflicted because
she felt she was let down by her relationships. She did not get love, and fell
into the trap of her screen image. Perhaps she always missed a part of her life
she never lived – a normal childhood. Isn’t it widely known the world over, the
fate of most of the child actors?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 12.75pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 12.75pt;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 11.0pt;">“The great tragedienne Meena Kumari
became the great tragedienne not only in front of the camera but behind it. And
this is the real sorrow, she aided the latter.”<o:p></o:p></span></i><i><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;"> [Quoted]</span></i></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 12.75pt;">
<i><span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="line-height: 12.75pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">I
liked the book. May be I haven’t read any outstanding biography to compare it
with, but generally speaking, I liked reading about the many aspects of Meena
Kumari’s life. There aren’t too many biographies or autobiographies of Indian
film stars, and if you like this genre, I certainly recommend it. It is always
interesting to know interesting people. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Read an excerpt from the book <a href="http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/1ycLOcuFweVxxxRb8p8ypL/Excerpt--Meena-Kumari.html">here</a>.</span></div>
</div>
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<div style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">
<div style="line-height: 15pt;">
<b style="line-height: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Review Book courtesy: <a href="http://www.harpercollins.co.in/BookDetail.asp?Book_Code=3899" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;">HarperCollins India</a> </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Image source: <a href="http://www.flipkart.com/meena-kumari/p/itmdmercuhafmeve?pid=9789350296257&affid=INReema">Flipkart</a></span></b></div>
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<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=IN&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=recombooks-21&marketplace=amazon®ion=IN&placement=B00E9Y3RX0&asins=B00E9Y3RX0&linkId=7d79b7aaf57666a3e27fe7d035aad30a&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225918068504302242.post-36118271347196321232013-11-29T00:56:00.002+05:302016-12-13T11:28:23.636+05:30Book Review: Pakeezah by Meghnad Desai<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qNGhesmtGyY/Ul5drG99CcI/AAAAAAAABoU/ApAhM8y7Di4/s1600/pakeezah-400x400-imadnyg4s3wmerpm.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qNGhesmtGyY/Ul5drG99CcI/AAAAAAAABoU/ApAhM8y7Di4/s200/pakeezah-400x400-imadnyg4s3wmerpm.jpeg" width="123" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Title: Pakeezah - An Ode To A Bygone World</span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15pt;">Author: </span><span style="background-color: transparent;">Meghnad Desai</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Publisher: HarperCollins India</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="line-height: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Pages: 160</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Price: Rs 250</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Genre: Non Fiction / Film</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Rating: 8/10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Format: Paperback</span></div>
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<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">About the Book [from the blurb]<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">An
entertaining look at one of the landmarks of Hindi cinema.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">Meghnad
Desai tracks the film’s tortuous journey and reveals fascinating, little-known
aspects of it. He foregrounds the craftsmanship, perseverance and perfectionism
of its maker, Kamal Amrohi, who would wait weeks for the perfect sunset. The
director even took on MGM, because the CinemaScope lenses they supplied were
out of focus by 1/1000 mm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">Desai
sees the film as a ‘Muslim social’ set in a ‘Lucknow of the Muslim
imagination’; as a woman-centric film with a dancing heroine at a time when
they were a rarity; and above all, as a film that harked back to an era of
‘nawabi culture with its exquisite tehzeeb’, a world that is lost forever. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">Pakeezah:
An Ode to a Bygone World is a fitting tribute to a film that Meghnad Desai
calls ‘a monument to the golden age of Hindustani films’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">My thoughts:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">I love
reading about films, especially Indian films. I feel there is a dearth of literature
in this genre despite the fact that so many films are made every year in India and
the fact that we recently completed 100 years of Indian cinema. I think it is
commendable that HarperCollins India saw the need. This book is part of the recently
released HarperCollins India’s Film Series, which also includes books on <a href="http://www.flipkart.com/amar-akbar-anthony-masala-madness-manmohan-desai/p/itmdnafvy58qsynn?pid=9788172239350&affid=INReema">Amar
Akbar Anthony</a> and <a href="http://www.flipkart.com/mughal-e-azam-legend-epic/p/itmdnafvxypxyrgy?pid=9789350297636&affid=INReema">Mughal-e-Azam</a>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">The
author of this book, Meghnad Desai, says that “<i>if there has been a film which has captured Muslim culture of a certain
period albeit with contemporary resonance, it has to be Kamal Amrohi’s
Pakeezah.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">His
approach is methodical in analyzing ‘Pakeezah’ - what makes this movie iconic.
He discusses every aspect of the film to offer a complete perspective - the story,
the origins, the making, the rewriting, the many themes in the movie, the man
behind the movie - Kamal Amrohi, the stars of the movie and the unforgettable music.
Take for example, the story. By culling information from various sources about
the film, he speculates on what the original story might have been and how it
must have been modified over a period of time, considering the movie took 15
years to complete, Meena Kumari’s health deteriorated towards the end and interpersonal
dynamics changed a great deal between Kamal Amrohi and his wife, Meena Kumari. Did
you know that the movie initially did not get a good response on its release?
But probably Meena Kumari’s untimely death within a month of its release piqued
people’s curiosity and they started queuing up to watch the great tragedy queen in one of her most memorable roles of her career. If <i>Pakeezah</i> could not have been made without Kamal Amrohi, it is hard to
imagine <i>Pakeezah </i>without Meena Kumari
as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; line-height: 15pt;">I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves reading about films. After all, the making of a movie is
as fascinating as the movie itself; more so, a classic. Imagine we are
talking about the times when scripts weren’t finalized before filming; they
were developed on the sets, on locations, under the influence of a lot of things.
At 150 pages, this book isn’t too long, though may be a few times repetitive. Nevertheless,
I personally loved it. It offers a lot of insights, observations and information
about the film, and at the same time quite easy to read.</span></div>
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<b style="line-height: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Review Book courtesy: <a href="http://www.harpercollins.co.in/BookDetail.asp?Book_Code=3946" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;">HarperCollins India </a></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Image source: </b><b style="line-height: 15pt;"><a href="http://www.flipkart.com/pakeezah-ode-lost-era/p/itmdnafvvhdtsh6n?pid=9789350293690&affid=INReema">Flipkart</a></b></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-in.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=IN&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=recombooks-21&marketplace=amazon®ion=IN&placement=9350293692&asins=9350293692&linkId=7ee31f96d247b35258ccd182d62a2c27&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225918068504302242.post-65167214605114153872013-11-28T14:21:00.000+05:302013-11-28T22:18:08.798+05:30Featured on Random House India Blog: the Future of e-Reading<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LBqsCSRUeEw/UpcDKWe1_VI/AAAAAAAABsI/IvOIdKcRmwg/s1600/ebooks-iplj.net-blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LBqsCSRUeEw/UpcDKWe1_VI/AAAAAAAABsI/IvOIdKcRmwg/s200/ebooks-iplj.net-blog.jpg" width="158" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Image source: www.against-the-grain.com</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, the <b>Random House India blog</b> features a post on '<b>the future of e-reading</b>' which includes my two pence. Read the complete post <a href="http://randomhouseindia.wordpress.com/2013/11/21/leading-bloggers-talk-about-the-future-of-ereading/"><b>here</b></a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span>
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">Here are my thoughts on the future of e-reading:</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">For my
generation, physical books will continue to play a huge part. I have several
books on my Kindle but I am yet to read a single e-book. I prefer reading physical
books. I like to think that e-book readers are extremely handy while
travelling, when you just need to pick it up and go with all your books inside
it. But it never happens that way. Personally, I leave behind the Tablet and take
along a few books.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w7YJC6CvgeM/UpcDDFCmu8I/AAAAAAAABsA/TFhaQvqSd08/s1600/download+(9).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="139" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w7YJC6CvgeM/UpcDDFCmu8I/AAAAAAAABsA/TFhaQvqSd08/s200/download+(9).jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Image source:www.digitalbookworld.com</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">But
yes, for the next generation [my son's], who is going to read e-books from a very young
age; e-books, audio books, etc will be a way of life. I am also alarmed at the
diminishing attention to a particular activity. In our pursuit to accomplish
too many things together [multi-tasking], we are perpetually distracted. Reading needs
attention. I am sure, this trend will also impact the act of reading. I
wonder if the next generation will find other avenues of reading [ebooks,
augmented reality, any new techno-invention] far more in tune with their
lifestyle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225918068504302242.post-39309216563677743212013-11-25T15:21:00.000+05:302017-06-13T17:11:05.415+05:30Book Review: Kaurava by Krishna Udayasankar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gx70pweoQPo/Uo-Rgc9FisI/AAAAAAAABrc/xmAw0PQmk2Q/s1600/9789350096345.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gx70pweoQPo/Uo-Rgc9FisI/AAAAAAAABrc/xmAw0PQmk2Q/s200/9789350096345.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Title: Kaurava</span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15pt;">Author: Krishna Udayasankar</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Publisher: Hachette India</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Pages: 384</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Price: Rs 350</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Genre: Fiction / Indian mythology / Alternative history</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Rating: 7/10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0in;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Format: Paperback</span></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%;">About the book [from the Blurb]</span></b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Nothing left to fight for is nothing left to lose...</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">Emperor
Dharma Yudhisthir of the Kauravas and Empress Panchali Draupadi rule over the
unified realm of Aryavarta, an empire built for them by Govinda Shauri with the
blessings of the Firstborn and by the might of those whom everyone believes
long gone – the Firewrights.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">Now
the Firewrights rise from the ashes of the past, divided as before in purpose
and allegiance, and no one, it seems, can stand in the way of the chaos about
to be unleashed on the land – not the Firstborn, not the kings of Aryavarta,
and not Govinda Shauri.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">As
sinister plans are put in play and treacherous alliances emerge, Aryavarta
transforms into its own worst enemy. Dharma Yudhisthir gambles away his empire,
the tormented empress is forced into a terrifying exile and the many nations of
the realm begin to take up arms in a bid to fight, conquer and destroy each
other.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">His
every dream shattered, Govinda is left a broken man. The only way he can
protect Aryavarta and the woman in whose trusted hands he had left it is by
playing a dangerous game. But can he bring himself to reveal the terrible
secrets that the Vyasa has protected all his life – secrets that may well
destroy the Firstborn, and the Firewrights with them? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">My thoughts:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">I felt
I was at a little disadvantage in reading this book before reading <a href="http://www.flipkart.com/aryavarta-chronicles-govinda-book-1/p/itmdfhfah3vgtdyh?pid=9789350094464&affid=INReema">the
Aryavarta Chronicles: Govinda [Book 1]</a> because sometimes Firewright -
Firstborn thing would be baffling. Nevertheless, the good thing is that we all
know the basic Mahabharata so over all I enjoyed this book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">The
story in this book begins at the time when Dharma Yudhisthir is the emperor of
Indraprastha while Govinda Shauri [Krishna] has been shunned from the empire.
In the turn of events, Dharma, his brothers and Panchali are invited by
Syoddhan [Duryodhan] to Hastinapur, where he [Dharma] gets into a game of dice.
This legendary game of dice is the one in which he loses everything including
himself, his brothers and Panchali. The book ends with the promise of impending
war in the third part of the series, aptly titled ‘Kurukshetra’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">Mahabharata,
as we have known it, has been a story of larger-than-life men and women, and
difficult-to-believe sequences. Now the unique aspect of this book is that it
explains everything logically, and does not demonize anybody unnecessarily. In
author’s own words, through this series, she attempts to offer “<i>a plausible narrative with reasonable
internal logical consistency. Something that could well have been history,
something that stands firm not just on faith but also on logic and science.” </i>She
has imagined several new angles to the original story without compromising on
what is widely known. Her research work has been meticulous and extensive, and
therefore what you get is a book [and probably the series] which is compelling
and very contemporary in its appeal. The author has spent sufficient time in
building up characters like Shikhandi, Ashvatthama or Sanjay.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">There
are so many characters that the relationship chart in ‘the Dynasties of
Aryavarta’ is not just a luxury but a necessity. ‘The Cast of Characters’, also
provided in the beginning, tells us about the main characters in this book. The
author has intentionally used alternate names so that the characters don’t have
to carry the unnecessary baggage of their fame / notoriety. So, Krishna is
Govinda Shauri while Duryodhan is Syoddhan Kauravya. It took me a while to
understand that Vasusena is Karna. A reader well-versed with Mahabharata will find
several characters in a different light. For example, Syoddhan is a largely
positive or at most a grey character here while Dharma is too smug. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">I
loved the cover page. It reminded me of Hachette India’s another fabulous series
<a href="http://www.flipkart.com/affiliate/construct?start=0&query=empire+of+the+moghul&vertical=books&submit=Search">Empire
of the Mughal</a>. The narrative is largely fast-paced barring a few times when
certain things have been described in too much detail. I also found use of
swear words funny like “<i>Who in the name
of an elephant’s backside are you talking about?”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">I will
certainly recommend it to readers who love exploring different facets of the
epic tale ‘Mahabharata’. But you must have an open mind towards the author’s imagination.
Meanwhile, I eagerly look forward to the next book in the series <b>‘Kurukshetra</b>’.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; line-height: 15pt;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />If you are yet to read the series, I suggest you begin with the first one: </span><a href="http://www.flipkart.com/aryavarta-chronicles-govinda-book-1/p/itmdfhfah3vgtdyh?pid=9789350094464&affid=INReema"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit;">The Aryavarta Chronicles: Govinda (Book - 1</span></span>)</a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<b style="line-height: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Review Book courtesy: <a href="http://www.hachetteindia.com/TitleDetails.aspx?titleId=44493" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;">Hachette India </a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Image source:</span></b><b style="line-height: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> <a href="http://www.hachetteindia.com/TitleDetails.aspx?titleId=44493" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;">Hachette India</a></span></b><br />
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Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225918068504302242.post-75147934957013406402013-11-17T23:35:00.000+05:302017-02-08T00:40:53.514+05:30Book Review: Looking For Alaska by John Green<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Title: Looking For Alaska</span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15pt;">Author: </span><span style="background-color: transparent;">John Green</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Publisher: HarperCollins India</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Pages: 272</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Price: Rs 299</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Genre: Fiction / Young Adult / Contemporary</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Rating: 7/10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Format: Paperback</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">About the book [from the GoodReads
page]<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #181818; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Before.</span></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #181818; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #181818; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Miles "Pudge"
Halter's whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with
famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps"
(François Rabelais, poet) even more. Then he heads off to the sometimes crazy,
possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding
School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is
Alaska Young. The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up,
and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls
Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his
heart.</span><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";"><br />
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<b><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">After.</span></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> </span></span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Nothing is ever the same.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #181818; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My
thoughts:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #181818; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Once I read the brilliant ‘</span><a href="http://recommendbooks.blogspot.in/2013/09/book-review-fault-in-our-stars-by-john.html"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Fault in
Our Stars</span></a><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #181818; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">’ by John Green, I was eager to pick up another
book by the author. Someone suggested ‘Looking for Alaska’ and I jumped at the
chance. Though this book is not in the league of ‘The Fault in Our Stars’, it
is certainly a good read. I started, finished and reviewed this book in a
single day, despite my limited reading hours. That itself tells a lot about it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #181818; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Miles Halter’s life has been ordinary and
uneventful until he moves from Florida to Alabama to join Culver Creek Boarding
School. There he makes friends with the brainy and brawny Chip Martin [called ‘Colonel’
by everyone, who is his roommate], the witty Takumi, and the unpredictable Alaska
Young [‘<i>the hottest girl in all of human
history’</i>, as Miles puts it]. From that time onwards, Miles' life is a maze
of attending classes, studying, playing pranks, smoking cigarettes, drinking
booze; while also falling in love with Alaska.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #181818; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Each one of them has a talent. Miles likes to learn
the last lines of famous people. Colonel is good at memorizing things,
especially about countries, their capitals, population, etc. Takumi is a
rapper, while Alaska just likes being an enigma. She is moody, without feeling
the need to explain herself. Alaska claims to be in love with his boyfriend
Jake, but she is often flirty with Miles. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #181818; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The book is in 2 parts – Before and After [of
an event]. The story begins at ‘One Hundred and Thirty Six Days Before’ and
ends at ‘One Hundred and Thirty Six Days After’, and everything is in-between -
excitement, curiosity, love, friendship, trust, guilt, love, loss.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #181818; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Well, in short, the book was emotional, funny
and sometimes also philosophical. It will appeal to you if you like </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young-adult_fiction"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Young Adults genre</span></a><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #181818; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">
– the vulnerabilities, the innocence, the mischief and the beauty of young love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Here are a few of
my favourite lines quoted from the book:</span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #181818; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #181818; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“<i>I’d
never been religious. But he told us that religion is important whether or not
we believed in one, in the same way that historical events are important
whether or not you personally lived through them.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #181818; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> “You spend your whole life stuck in the
labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it one day, and how awesome it will
be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just
use the future to escape the present.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #181818; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> “<i>I wanted so badly to lie down next to her on
the couch, to wrap my arms around her and sleep. Not fuck, like in those movies.
Not even have sex. Just sleep together in the most innocent sense of the
phrase. But I lacked the courage and she had a boyfriend and I was gawky and
she was gorgeous and I was hopelessly boring and she was endlessly fascinating.
So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if
people were rain, I was drizzle and she was hurricane</i>.” </span></div>
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<b style="line-height: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Image source: </span></b><b style="line-height: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.flipkart.com/looking-for-alaska/p/itmdgsauasr4erjg?pid=9780007523528&affid=INReema" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;">Flipkart</a></span></b><br />
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Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2225918068504302242.post-68682321164592076162013-11-14T00:41:00.001+05:302017-06-13T17:09:45.949+05:30Book Review: The Mountain of Light by Indu Sundaresan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RFs085LM86o/UoOqtuBKhEI/AAAAAAAABp8/tyL9YDtHr_Y/s1600/the-mountain-of-light-400x400-imadzsay2ryepw6f.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RFs085LM86o/UoOqtuBKhEI/AAAAAAAABp8/tyL9YDtHr_Y/s200/the-mountain-of-light-400x400-imadzsay2ryepw6f.jpeg" width="128" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Title: The Mountain of Light</span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 15pt;">Author: </span><span style="background-color: transparent;">Indu Sundaresan</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Publisher: HarperCollins India</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Pages: 352</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Price: Rs 299</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Genre: Historical Fiction</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 15pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Rating: 6/10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Format: Paperback</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #383838; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">About the Book
[from the blurb]</span></b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">As
empires rose and fell and mighty kings jostled for power, its glittering
radiance never dimmed. It is the “Mountain of Light” - the Kohinoor diamond - and
its facets reflect a sweeping story of love, adventure, conquest and betrayal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">Legend
has it that Lord Krishna gave the Kohinoor to a devotee as a reward for his
meditations. But the first recorded mention of the diamond is in the memoirs of
Emperor Babur, who received it from a Hindu raja he had defeated. It then slipped
out of India and was possessed briefly by the Shah of Persia – who gave it its
name – and the king of Afghanistan, Shah Shuja, who surrendered the Kohinoor to
Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Punjab Empire as a reward for helping him regain
his kingdom. Here begins <i>The Mountain of
Light</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">The
novel takes us through the sprawling gardens of nineteenth century Lahore to
the palaces of the six-year-old prince Dalip Singh who, on his father’s death,
loses his empire and the Kohinoor to the British. The diamond is secreted out
of India once more and, at the age of sixteen, the boy king follows it to
London, where he is feted and petted until he realizes that nothing can replace
the loss of his lands and his diamond – which now belong to the Queen of
England. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #383838; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;">My thoughts:</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #383838; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">The
book begins with a map of the Punjab Empire and British India c. 1823, a very handy
list of primary and secondary characters and an Author’s Note which introduces
readers to the background of the book. The narrative starts from 1817 and continues
selectively [as per relevance to the Kohinoor story] till 1893. The Kohinoor touches
several lives over the years, beginning with Shah Shuja and his wife Wafa Begam
trying their best to hold onto the coveted diamond despite promising it to
Maharaja Ranjit Singh for his help; and eventually ending with the Queen of
England. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">There
is no doubt in my mind that Indu Sundaresan is a fabulous writer of historical
fiction. All her earlier books have been beautifully-written narratives of
historical fiction, but personally, this book did not work that much for me
[there, I said it]. Wherever she gets a chance, the author makes the characters
come alive and creates a vivid imagery of the setting. The characters in
themselves were interesting but since they did not have a lasting role with
Kohinoor, they had to be left behind, moving on to next set of relevant
characters. Jumping years is also for the benefit of Kohinoor but it does
nothing for the narrative. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">So,
while you warm up to Wafa Begam and Shah Shuja, and wonder about their life,
etc., the Kohinoor has gone to Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Soon the story shifts to
a couple of years later when you discover that Maharaja is dead and his 4 grown
up sons have been killed in their quest for succession, leaving the very young
Dalip Singh as the successor. There is Henry Lawrence [a guardian of child king
Dalip Singh] who is enchanted with Roshni [who was betrothed to Dalip Singh].
Then a section is about how the Kohinoor reaches England towards the end. In
fact, the last 100 pages are fairly interesting. In between, there are
interludes of romance but nothing becomes of them as the central theme of the
story is pursued. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">I feel
the main problem is that the story is not character driven. It has Kohinoor at
the centre. It lacks a central character as an anchor on which the book could
have been rooted. It just moves from character to character. I was not able to
sink into the story, I always felt on the surface.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">Over
all, it was an interesting take on history and I enjoyed it in parts, when the
narrative dwells into the characters. If you love history, you will love it in
any case because the author crafts a beautiful tale around the historical facts.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "sans-serif";">After
I finished the book, I found that actually there are many people who have absolutely
loved the book. Catch a few more positive reviews on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17397162-the-mountain-of-light?from_search=true">GoodReads</a>.
After all, reading is a very personal experience.</span></div>
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<b style="line-height: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Review Book courtesy: <a href="http://indusundaresan.com/">Author</a> / <a href="http://www.harpercollins.co.in/BookDetail.asp?Book_Code=3966">HarperCollins India</a> </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Image source: </span></b><b style="line-height: 15pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.flipkart.com/the-mountain-of-light/p/itmdkkse58zpwxmb?pid=9789351160915&otracker=variants">Flipkart</a></span></b><br />
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Reema Sahayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11287414476458432950noreply@blogger.com6