Words to bring alive worlds

In recent years, there have been quite a few bite-sized informational books that are both engaging and relatable.

India To The Rescue

I’ve said this before, but I’m envious of (and happy for!) today’s children. They have such a wide range of books available to them. Take nonfiction or informative books, for instance. When I was growing up, we had to depend on expensive encyclopaedias or dry General Knowledge (GK) books. Granted, some bookshops sold informative books with colourful photos dealing with subjects like flora and fauna, the universe, biographies and so on. But largely, the information in it was still encyclopaedia-like, not the kind that would appeal to all kinds of children, especially those afraid of fat books with dense writing.

In recent years, I’ve been discovering small, bite-sized informational books with illustrations and pictures, engagingly told, and relatable. And yet, most of these spoke of non-Indian people and situations, and I found myself wishing Indian publishers too would bring out books like these.

As if in answer, there has been, first a trickle, and now a stream of books like these! Some are nonfiction, some are dramatised, others are informational fiction (fiction with fact woven in) and various shades in between!

Here’s a sampling of new releases from just the past month or so.

The Dreamers series written and illustrated by Lavanya Karthik consists of The Girl Who Loved to Sing: Teejan Bai, and The Boy Who Played With Light: Satyajit Ray. The gorgeous artwork is inspired by the cultural settings of the subjects, and the stories are short introductions to the lives and work of these personalities.

Prince with a Paintbrush: The Story of Raja Ravi Varma by Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan and illustrated by Rayika Sen, includes pictures of Ravi Varma’s paintings. In this book, a little girl discovers the artist behind the paintings that are an integral part of many households (and pooja rooms!)

In Sita’s Chitwan: Not Just a Walk in Nepal’s First National Park by Vaishali Shroff and illustrations by Kalp Sanghvi, the author uses the fictional story of Sita, a young nature guide, as a springboard to describe the history and wonders of Chitwan National Park.

Topi Rockets from Thumba by Menaka Raman and illustrated by Annada Menon, tells the story of India’s first ever rocket launch, and of scientist Vikram Sarabhai, through the eyes of a fictional little girl. A great way to introduce STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering and Math) elements and India’s history to young ones!

I’ll squeeze in my book India to the Rescue: Mission Impossible in the Maldives into this list. In this book, I have adapted and dramatised the incident "Operation Cactus", from the book "Mission Overseas: Daring Operations by the Indian Military" written by journalist Sushant Singh. It tells the true and exciting story of the attempted coup in Maldives in 1988, which the Indian military forces averted in a daring and flamboyant midnight operation. It is illustrated by Shagnik Chakraborty.

I can’t wait to read (and write!) more such books that bring alive people and worlds, and make them accessible to children.

The author has written 10 books for children and can be reached at www.shruthi-rao.com

GobbledyBook is a fortnightly column that gives a peek into the wondrous world of children’s books. Hop on! Or as Alice did, plunge into the rabbit hole.