Dear Moms and Dads,
Would you believe that your little one is already old enough to take small decisions by herself or himself? There will be a hundred tiny things that happen to them during the day, where they have to act in a certain way, take small calls and make their own judgement. This is the right time to prepare and give them lessons of right and wrong.
But this needs to be done subtly. Today’s child isn’t up to lectures and threats. This is the purpose of My Book of Values– to enable your child to differentiate right from wrong and good from bad, building a strong value system, learning to accept consequences—all through relatable stories and fun activities.
Nicky and noni are typical twenty-first-century kids. Smart, communicative and alert, they know how to get their way. But as they go about their lives, they encounter situations and challenges during which their value system is tested.
Here are a few lessons your children will learn from My Book of Value series as they follow the adventures and experiences of characters Nicky and Noni:
Category: Children’s Features
Children’s Features articles
Discover India: Four Things your little ones should know about Haryana
Daadu Dolma, the sweet old man that Mishki and Pushka meet on their visit to Earth from their home planet Zoomba is keen to show them the wonderful places in India.
Mishki and Pushka are very curious because they don’t know much about the state they are about to visit. “Well, you could say that Haryana is where a lot of India’s history was born. Some of the greatest events in Indian history occurred here,” explains Daadu.
Here are four things they learn about Haryana.
Quotes from Anne Frank that You Must Know
In Amsterdam, in the summer of 1942, the Nazis forced teenager Anne Frank and her family into hiding. For over two years, they, another family and a German dentist lived in a ‘secret annexe’, fearing discovery. All that time, Anne kept a diary. Here she writes about her curiosity of her emerging sexuality, the conflicts with her mother, her passion for Peter, a boy whose family hid with hers, and her acute portraits of her fellow prisoners.
Since its publication in 1947, Anne Frank’s diary has been read by tens of millions of people. In it, we find some inspiring quotes.
June Puffin Reads: New Titles for your Little Ones
This month, your only challenge will be deciding which book to pick up for your little ones, first! Make them meet the heroes who changed the world. Send them to help Laddoo save the day with his new psychic ability and enjoy a lyrical and stunningly illustrated offering from India’s favourite teller of tales, as he tells a sunny story about forging bonds and the simple joys of life.
Here is more on these lovely titles.
Gautama Buddha – Sonia Mehta (Quadrum)
Fourth in a series of illustrated books created for young readers to get to know our world heroes better, this engaging biography, peppered with little-known facts, takes the reader through the remarkable life of Gautama Buddha, who taught the world to look for peace and wisdom and to find happiness within themselves.
The Curious Case of the Sweet and Spicy Sweetshop – Nandini Nayar
Making and selling sweets day after day is the life of Vishnudas Mithaiwala, the owner of The Sweet and Spicy Sweetshop. However, when Laddoo appears at his doorstep one night, claiming to be his estranged sister Revati’s son, Vishnu’s life is thrown into confusion.
Ranji the Music Maker – Ruskin Bond
In the middle of his languid holiday, idle young Ranji stumbles upon assorted musical instruments in the storeroom-first a shrill flute, then a blaring little trumpet and, finally, a too-big drum that may have once sounded a battle march. He stages impromptu concerts down the road, not sparing his neighbours, nor the cats around his porch, nor the peace-loving inhabitants of the zoo!
My Book of Values – Sonia Mehta
Nicky and Noni are twins who – through their own experiences – are here to teach us some values. In this series by Sonia Mehta, each book has lots of fun activities and lessons to learn. Flip open the book and jump right into Nicky and Noni’s world.
Discover India: Four Things your Little Ones Should Know About Bihar
Mishki and Pushka can’t believe what they see. They’re here from their home planet Zoomba and though they have seen a lot of Earth, they’ve never seen a place like India. Daadu Dolma takes them around and tells them all about these beautiful places.
Now, they are excited to know where Daadu Dolma will take them next. They question him eagerly and he laughs at their enthusiasm as he explains that they are going to Bihar, a state that has an old, old history.
Here are four things they learn about Bihar on their visit.
Tradition by Brendan Kiely – An Excerpt
The students at Fullbrook Academy are the elite of the elite, famous for their glamour and excess. Their traditions are sacred. But they can hide dark and dangerous secrets.
From New York Times bestselling author Brendan Kiely, comes Tradition, a stunning novel that explores various dangerous traditions that exist in this prestigious boarding school.
Take a sneak peek into what goes on at The Fullbrook Academy by reading an extract from the novel now!
———–
For the record . . .
JAMES BAXTER
Most people don’t get second chances. I wasn’t sure I deserved one. I wasn’t sure I even wanted one. But I got one: Fullbrook Academy. This is what I did with it.
JULES DEVEREUX
I once heard another girl put it like this: This is a boys’ school and they accept girls here too. At Fullbrook, they told us to be ready to take on the world, but then they told us to do it quietly. What if I wanted to be loud? What if I needed to be?
The night everything changed . . .
JULES DEVEREUX
I’m fighting for breath and all I can do is look up and see the white flame of moonlight outlining each branch, every leaf. I’m in the dirt, again, shoulder against the tree, the shock of air so cold it seizes my bones. I can still feel his grip on my arm, as if he’s still here, shackling me to the trunk with his hands and his weight, but he’s not. He’s gone. I’m so cold. I’m shaking, but it feels like it’s this tree and the sky above that are shaking, that are blurry, unreal, no longer what they were. It’s as if I’m naked, but I’m not. It’s as if the ground is swinging up to slap me, but it’s not. I collapse by the edge of the bluff. There are still voices in the woods behind me. Voices down along the far end of the bluff. Voices in the night air like invisible birds screeching in the wind.
There’s a voice inside me, too. It’s mine, I think, but it doesn’t sound like me. It’s me and it’s not me. It grows louder and louder, barking, bellowing up from somewhere and squeezing my head with noise. It’s me and it isn’t, or it’s me splitting in two, and this other voice, this new voice, keeps shouting. Run, it says. Run, run, run.
I’m so close to the cliff edge, I could crawl forward and drop, crouch on one knee by the side of the pool like I did when I first learned to dive, but I’m hundreds of feet in the air, and the voice tells me to back up. I obey. It tells me to stand, and I use the tree to help me to my feet. Run, it says again, and I do, into the woods, down the far path, away from the party, away from the other voices, away from everyone. I know where I’m going, but I still feel lost. Alone. I just want to get home, though the word means nothing now. Just because I live there doesn’t mean it’s somewhere safe.
JAMES BAXTER
I can’t believe this, but I’m so out of breath I have to crouch down and lean against the back wall of the girls’ dorm, just to put some air in my lungs. Damn, it hurts. But you can’t lug a passed-out person through the woods, across campus, get her up through the bathroom window, and not want to collapse. Even if you’re me. And even if I did get some help.
I know she thinks I’m an asshole, and I didn’t do it to change her mind. I just did it because it was the right thing to do and I knew it was the right thing to do, and it was the first time in a year I’d felt so certain I knew right from wrong—that I had to do the right thing and forget all the rest.
If you care about a person, my ex-girlfriend used to tell me, don’t just tell her. Show her. Show up, listen, and act so she knows you heard her. Seems so simple the way she put it, but it’s never that simple. An avalanche of other pressures buries that wisdom most days, all days, except this night, when, for some reason, I heard that advice strong and true, like a wind through the eaves of the old wooden rooftop above me.
Way up in the sky the man in the moon has something like sad eyes, as if his pale face gazes down with pity, as if he wishes something better for us, or maybe wishes we ourselves were the ones who were better. I’m sure I’m sober, not drunk, just going a little crazy to think like that, but I think it anyway, because I feel that way. Sad. Like this whole stupid paradise, this very good school, is nothing but a fancy promise, a broken one, a big lie. And worse, that I’m actually a part of it.
———–
Lessons for your children this World Environment Day from the world of books
It’s never too early to start teaching your children about protecting the environment! All habits start young and it’s a good idea to teach children healthy habits from an early age. And what better way than through books?
This world environment day, we have put together a list of books to help your child become more aware of the environment, the various threats to it and different ways to protect it.
Take a look!
Ambushed
Gadget geek Tara (aka the Wii Wonder at school) braces herself for the dullest summer ever when her banker-turned-photographer father whisks her off to a sleepy tiger reserve in the Himalayan foothills, where Nothing Ever Happens. She couldn’t have been more wrong. A stroll through the woods sends Tara on an adventure of a lifetime, as she stumbles upon an international gang of poachers. In her debut novel, Nayanika Mahtani tackles the glaring issue of tiger poaching, while spinning a compelling story about man versus nature.
Wild in the Backyard
Wilderness and wildlife aren’t just confined to the forests; there is a whole lot of wild in our own backyards! Some of these critters are awake with you in the day. Others wake up when you go to bed…
Discover the hunters and the hunted, the diggers and the tunnellers, the raptors and the roaches, roaming around under our very noses.
The Wild Pack
Hamlet, a spirited young wolf, escapes the zoo to search for the Wild Pack—a band of animals living in abandoned rail tunnels and caves under the city. They have only one goal: to be free once again. But instead of the bold animals that he was expecting to encounter, Hamlet finds a scraggy, ragtag bunch. Will he be able to motivate the animals to help him rescue his friend, the gorilla, from the zoo?
Paradise Flycatcher
The Rose Garden’s beloved squirrel, Shikar-Snowdrop to young Mitalee-has vanished without a trace. No one can find him! Last seen in the company of a paradise flycatcher-a stunning bird with a long white tail-he has left no other trail. So, to save their friend, the loyal bird gang must fly to distant forests to track down the glamorous creature, who might just be able to help.
Lori’s Magical Mystery
When Lori, a curious and wide-eyed slender loris, spies a bewildering cat-like figure in the fading light of the evening, she instantly becomes obsessed with finding out what it is. So she teams up with her friend Don Wrongo, the crafty racket-tailed drongo, to look for the elusive animal. Packed with eccentric creatures and heart-stopping turns, Lori’s great big romp is a little look at friendship and self-discovery—and the rush of adventure.
Discover India: Four Things your Little Ones Should Know about Uttarakhand
Mishki and Pushka have to come to visit Earth from their home planet Zoomba. They meet a sweet old man whom they call Daadu Dolma who shows them all the wonderful places in India.
They’re super excited because they are on their way to visit a state with magnificent mountains – Uttarakhand. They can’t wait to ski, build snowmen and have an amazing time.
While there, they learn these four things about Uttarakhand.
5 Thomas Hardy Books to Read Today
Thomas Hardy, born on 2 June 1840 is best known for his novels and poetry most of which are set in the semi made-up county of Wessex. His long career saw him go through many upheavals including World War I.“In Tenebris II”, he described himself as a poet “who holds that if way to the Better there be, it exacts a full look at the Worst.”
His novels and poetry are well known world over. As a writer he was sensitive to the future while alive to the past. His mother has often been described as the real guiding star of his early life. His father, a stonemason and fiddler, influenced him with his musicality.
Here are 5 of his books that you must read.
Woman Much Missed
After the death of his wife Emma, a grief-stricken Hardy wrote some of the best verse of his career. Moving and evocative, it ranks among the greatest elegiac poetry in the language.
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
When Tess Durbeyfield is driven by family poverty to claim kinship with the wealthy D’Urbervilles and seek a portion of their family fortune, meeting her ‘cousin’ Alec proves to be her downfall. With its sensitive depiction of the wronged Tess and powerful criticism of social convention, Tess of the D’Urbervilles, subtitled “A Pure Woman,” is one of the most moving and poetic of Hardy’s novels.
Under the Greenwood Tree
“Under the Greenwood Tree” is the story of the romantic entanglement between church musician, Dick Dewey, and the attractive new school mistress, Fancy Day. A pleasant romantic tale set in the Victorian era, “Under the Greenwood Tree” is one of Thomas Hardy’s most gentle and pastoral novels.
The Mayor of Casterbridge
In a fit of drunken anger, Michael Henchard sells his wife and baby daughter for five guineas at a country fair. Over the course of the following years, he manages to establish himself as a respected and prosperous pillar of the community of Casterbridge, but behind his success there always lurk the shameful secret of his past and a personality prone to self-destructive pride and temper. Subtitled “A Story of a Man of Character,” Hardy’s powerful and sympathetic study of the heroic but deeply flawed Henchard is also an intensely dramatic work, tragically played out against the vivid backdrop of a close-knit Dorsetshire town.
Two on a Tower
In this tale of star-crossed love, Hardy sets the emotional lives of his two lovers against the background of the stellar universe. This is Hardy’s most complete treatment of the theme of love across the class and age divide and the fullest expression of his fascination with science and astronomy.
The Puffin Summer Reading Challenge is a real treat for your child!
Happy summer vacation! Days filled with travelling, yummy treats and a lot of free time are officially here. To continue your child’s learning and build their interests further, we came up with a fun reading challenge your child will absolutely love.This can be a springboard for helping your kids choose books on topics that arouse their curiosity from fun and easy puzzles , exploring the wild life to solving mysteries.
So challenge your child to read all of these top-recommended books that guarantee a great learning and fun experience!
The Ammuchi Puchi by Sharanya Manivannan
Aditya and Anjali love listening to their grandmother’s stories, particularly the scary one about the ghost in the tree. But the night their grandmother passes away, all her stories seem to lose their meaning. Then something happens that is more mysterious and magical than any story. Could their grandmother still be with them after all? Stunningly illustrated and told in gorgeous, poetic prose, this is a poignant and moving story about bereavement and healing.
My First Word Search by Eden Greenberg
Solving simple puzzles can feel like a game to a child. But while they’re enjoying themselves, they can also build their word-recognition and reading skills. As they go through the this book, young readers will happily find the very first words that they need to know—ones that relate to their everyday life and surroundings: different foods, holidays, common household items and, of course, those special things they love, like the circus.
Chocolate Cake by Michael Rosen
Fantastically funny and full of silly noises, this is Michael Rosen’s love letter to every child’s favourite treat, chocolate cake. Brought to life as a picture book for the first time with brilliant and characterful illustrations by Kevin Waldron.
Mummy Fairy and Me by Sophie Kinsella
Ella’s family have a big secret . . . her mummy is a fairy! She can do amazing spells with her computawand to make delicious cupcakes, create the perfect birthday party and cause chaos at the supermarket. But sometimes the spells go a bit wrong and that’s when Ella comes to the rescue! Magic and mayhem in this sweet and funny new series for 5-7 year olds from global bestselling author Sophie Kinsella.
The Wild Pack by Andre Marx and Boris Pfeiffer
Hamlet, a spirited young wolf, escapes the zoo to search for the Wild Pack—a band of animals living in abandoned rail tunnels and caves under the city. They have only one goal: to be free once again. But instead of the bold animals that he was expecting to encounter, Hamlet finds a scraggy, ragtag bunch. Will he be able to motivate the animals to help him rescue his friend, the gorilla, from the zoo?
The Paradise Flycatcher by Deepak Dalal
The Rose Garden’s beloved squirrel, Shikar-Snowdrop to young Mitalee-has vanished without a trace. No one can find him! Last seen in the company of a paradise flycatcher-a stunning bird with a long white tail-he has left no other trail. So, to save their friend, the loyal bird gang must fly to distant forests to track down the glamorous creature, who might just be able to help.
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
New York City girl Claudia, a mere month shy of being a twelve-year-old, has resolved to run away from home with her younger brother, Jamie. She knows that she could never pull off the classic spur-of-the-moment departure without a destination; so she plans everything to perfection, including their destination: the grand Metropolitan Museum of Art. However, no sooner have Claudia and Jamie settled into their new home, they are caught up in the mystery of an angel statue bought by the museum for the bargain price of $225. Is it in fact an as yet undiscovered work by Michelangelo, worth millions? Claudia is determined to find out.
The Adventures of the Wishing-Chair by Enid Blyton
When Mollie and Peter go to buy their mother a birthday present, they discover the most extraordinary thing: a chair that can fly and grant wishes! The Wishing-Chair takes them on some marvellous adventures – to a castle where they narrowly escape from a giant and rescue Binky the pixie, to the Land of Dreams, and to a disappearing island!
The Mystery of the Munroe Island by Satyajit Ray
Join Professor Trilokeshwar Shonku, eccentric genius and scientist, on an incredible world tour as he confronts a daring doppelganger,undertakes an experiment to create pure gold, unravels the mystery of a scientist’s loss of memory and visits an unknown island to look for an amazing fruit, amongst other escapades.
The Curious Case of the Sweet and Spicy Sweetshop by Nandini Nayar
Making and selling sweets day after day is the life of Vishnudas Mithaiwala, the owner of The Sweet and Spicy Sweetshop. However, when Laddoo appears at his doorstep one night, claiming to be his estranged sister Revati’s son, Vishnu’s life is thrown into confusion. More craziness ensues when Anu turns up, also insisting that she’s Revati’s child! And Laddoo, worried about his parents, who have suddenly disappeared, is thrown another curveball-he senses a ghostly presence in the house!
The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz
1242. On a dark night, travelers from across France cross paths at an inn and begin to tell stories of three children: William, an oblate on a mission from his monastery; Jacob, a Jewish boy who has fled his burning village; and Jeanne, a peasant girl who hides her prophetic visions. They are accompanied by Jeanne’s loyal greyhound, Gwenforte . . . recently brought back from the dead. As the narrator collects their tales, the story of these three unlikely allies begins to come together.
The Polar Bear Explorer’s Club by Alex Bell
Join Stella Starflake Pearl and her three fellow explorers as they trek across the snowy Icelands and come face-to-face with frost fairies, snow queens, outlaw hideouts, unicorns, pygmy dinosaurs and carnivorous cabbages . . . When Stella and three other junior explorers get separated from their expedition can they cross the frozen wilderness and live to tell the tale?
