Parent Circle / March 201252

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The Very Hungry Caterpillar BY ERIC CARLE `105, Penguin Books

This beautifully illustrated book tells the story of a little caterpillar that hatched on a Sunday. He has a voracious appetite. On Monday he eats through one whole apple, on Tuesday he eats through two whole pears and so on, till he is not a little caterpillar anymore!

Toddlers love the repetitive poetic flow of words used by the author page after page. Soon, they will be counting along with you and repeating the days of the week as the little caterpillar eats his way through the pages and transforms into a beautiful butterfly.

Pintoo and the Giant BY SULABHA R DEVPUKAR `135, Tulika Books

This book is about the adventures of an eight- year-old boy called Pintoo. One day, Pintoo decides to take a short cut home, instead of his usual path. This leads to an adventure he could never have imagined. The path is dark and eerie and Pintoo loses his way. While searching for the correct route, Pintoo meets a giant who wants to eat him. Pintoo tries to trick the giant by telling him that his friend’s dog Bobby is more delicious than him. The giant believes Pintoo and they try to find the right path together.

The story has been written completely from a child’s point of view and what a child would do if he comes face to face with a giant. The book has wonderful illustrations in watercolours by Ashwin Chikerur.

Rebels in Rajasthan BY SHAMIM PADAMSEE `125, Puffin

Siblings Vayu and Deeya receive a letter from their uncle Jadoo inviting them to visit him. But Uncle Jadoo is kidnapped by an evil Djinn and the children have to locate the seven keys that will free him. The children enlist the help of a magic talking window-frame as they set out to find the first of the seven keys. Their adventure takes them to the deserts of Rajasthan where they help save a prince and princess in trouble.

This book is the first in a series of such books. The story is short and simple, and told in an engaging manner. The characters come alive through the narration. Children will enjoy reading this book as the theme is centred on something which they love: adventure. The illustrations complement the flow of the story.

Good

Reads

for all

AGes

www.parentcircle.in 53

It’s not the end of the world BY JUDY BLUME `241, MacMillan

A divorce can have a shattering impact on children and this book deals with how teens and pre-teens can come to terms with this decision taken by their parents.

The story is narrated in first person by a 12- year- old Karen Newman, who has an older brother Jeff (a teen) and a younger sister Amy. Together, they witness the breakup of the marriage of their parents. Everyone is affected. Jeff runs away (he comes back later), Amy suddenly wants to share her bed with her older sister. Karen wants to bring about a reconciliation between her parents, so that everything will be alright again. Will her plan work? Can she bring her family back together again or does she have to learn to live with her parents’ decision?

The Whistling Monster BY JAMILA GAVIN `199, Walker Books This book is a compilation of ten simple stories from around the world, from India to Finland, from Canada to Botswana and Brazil. The stories are largely from folklore or from mythology. For instance, the story from India pertains to the birth of Lord Krishna. The story from Mongolia speaks of the fierce warring tribals, and how Gulnara, an ordinary maid becomes a warrior herself, only to bring about peace between them. Narrated simply, all the stories retain the flavour and colour of the place of origin.

The illustrations are abstract and creatively done by Suzanne Barrett.

Bollywood Knights BY NICO RAPOSO `199, Penguin Books India

Every Indian is fascinated by the world of Bollywood and is ever so curious about the ‘inside’ happenings. In the form of a fiction, this book takes you into this glamorous world of glitter and paparazzi. Seventeen-year- old Raj Kapoor is the only son of Bollywood superstar Amit Kapoor, who is directing a film with the starlet Preeti Shabbir. After Preeti is almost killed on the sets of the film, Raj and his two friends Madhuri and Nagi set out to solve the mystery.

The book hints about the gossips on the set, the catfights between actresses, the production process of a film - just about everything. Though the book is written for children, adults will also enjoy reading it.