0 and Up

WHAT SHALL I MAKE? Story by Nandini Nayar Ilustrations by Proiti Roy Read alone: 6+ Read aloud: 3+ Simple and playful, two words that sum up yet another production from Tulika. Neeraj is a small boy, self-questioning what shall I make?, with a rotund piece of roti dough squeezed between his palms. His creative juices in full flow, he shapes the ductile dough to give birth to lively creatures. His mother joins the fun. A snake at first, then a mouse, anatomically close to perfection, with a pair of eyes, a body and a tail. Then a cat that soon morphs into a fierce lion. All seem realistic and fully animated in the creator's eyes. Neeraj is quick to deform the scary lion back into its initial state and start afresh with a small soft ball of dough. This time, he flattens it and generously rolls it into a neat circle. His mother then proceeds to toast it on the tava , completing the culinary procedure. The grand finale is when a round hot puffy chapati lands on his soft palms, read...

Regina's big mistake by Marissa Moss Every school goer, especially in the 4-8 age group, will be able to relate to the incident in this wonderful book by Marissa Moss, author and illustrator. Regina's big mistake, the title kindles interest - who is Regina , what was her mistake and why big ? The scene is an art class. Students are given stationery and asked to draw a jungle or a rain forest. Nervous, Regina draws a blank (pun unintended!). She sits there stumped, while her classmates are busy translating their ideas into art. The feeling of diffidence and the reluctance to try something, similar to what Regina goes through, is something that every child experiences at different junctures as part of school-going, be it art, writing or performing. Regina tries to draw a flower, makes a geometric mistake and destroys her paper in frustration. That's definitely not the end of the story. She is given another blank paper. Another opportunity to start afresh but not enough optim...