The day a cute picture book gets shelved can only lead to a dark, sleepless night.
 
Here’s a little brief to get you up to date:

• Karadi Tales recently published book – THE ART OF TYING A PUG, written by Natasha Sharma, illustrated by Priya Kuriyan.
• The story revolved around a young boy who helps his father tie the turban, but a pug — which happens to be his pet — keeps coming in the way. In the end, it is the dog that ends up with a sash of cloth around its head.
• Several members of the Sikh community have send out legal notices, calls, emails abuse and threats to the author, illustrator and publisher.
• The publisher has removed the book from their catalog.
• Members of the children’s literature space have started a movement #bringbackthepug in response

The book is light and humorous. I am sure the author/publisher had no intentions to illicit any harm to anyone. If anything, writing about the Sikh community was probably a means to introduce children to traditions they otherwise may not know about. I also believe it allows children from Sikh communities to see themselves in the books they read.

Natasha Sharma is a Sikh and grew up in Amritsar. The idea behind this story came from childhood memories of seeing her father tie his turban every morning. She teamed up with Priya Kuriyan over a period of two years, where she would send videos of her father tying a turban in order to get the details right in the illustrations.

But, is this really the point?

I believe there's a larger concern at hand. According to Wikipedia, Freedom of Speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. Everyone involved in the making of this book  has had their freedom of speech  stripped away from them. 

This episode has elicited fear within the Indian children's writing industry. I am worried about what this means for authors, illustrators, publishers and the kinds of books we will release going forward. When other countries are advocating more the need for diversity, we will be taking several steps backwards.

I wonder, isn’t a sentiment that forces the publisher to remove the book from their catalog only going to lead to more intolerance?
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I stand with #bringbackthepug and hope you do to!  

Hello,
Today, I am sharing a list of books that I think would be apt for 1.5 to 3 year olds and the key words for this age group would be: Repetition & Rhythm.
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At this age, children like repetition, especially as they are just learning how to talk. Repetitive text and words help them retain new words and concepts in their mind. Another reason I like repetition is because it allows children to partake in storytelling. My favourite activity to do with N when she was younger (and even now) is to read a new book to her a couple times and then leave out words for her to say. Rhythm is another great way for children to guess what word will come next. It also teaches them the concept of rhyme, laying a solid foundation for spelling. Of course a lot of these is intuitive and as you read more, you’ll figure out what works for you and your child, but I thought I would share my own experiences if they would be of any help!

A couple of cautionary words:
* The age bracket is flexible. I still read a lot of these books to my almost 4 year old and will probably start reading some of these books to my son BEFORE he is 1.5

*The books listed below are books that I have found great, but by no means the only list that you should follow.

*Somehow, I feel the joy of chancing upon a book while browsing through a library or bookstore is incomparable to any list you will find, so do visit book stores when you get a chance!

* Most of these books should be available on Amazon, but if you cannot find them, please get in touch with me – happy to share my own copies 

*I have avoided listing too many OBVIOUS choices and starred ones that I really love! 

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
Dr Suess

ABC *
Dr Suess

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? *
Eric Carle

One, Two Tree
Anushka Ravishankar

Owl Babies *
Martin Waddell

The Animal Boogie
Debbie Harter

Eyes, Nose, Fingers and Toes
Judy Hindley

It’s A Bear
Jez Alborough

Days With Thathu
Geeta Dharmarajan

Each peach pear plum
Allan Ahlberg

Llama Llama Red Pajama *
Anna Dewdney

Corduroy
Don Freeman

Moo, Baa, La La La
Sandra Boyton

Tip, Tip, Dig, Dig
Emma Garcia

Goodnight Goodnight Construction Sight
Sherri Duskey Rinkey

Whistle For Willie
Ezra Jack Keats

The Colour Monster
Anna Llenas

To Market, To Market
Anushka Ravishankar

No Matter What
Debi Gliori

The Kissing Hand
Audrey Penn

Whoosh Around The Mulberry Bush
Jan Ormerod

The Tiger Who Came To Tea *
Judith Kerr

Rosie’s Hat
Julia Donaldson

We’re Going On A Bear Hunt *
Michael Rosen

Press Here *
Herve Tullet

Goodnight Moon *
Margaret Wise Brown

Guess How Much I Love You
Sam Mc Bratney

Eating The Alphabet
Lois Ehlert

The Pout Pout Fish
Deborah Diesen

Handa’s Surprise
Eileen Browne

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​Black, White and Wrinkly!
Congratulations on the birth of your beautiful baby and welcome to the chaos that is parenthood! Though reading with your little one may seem like an awkward exercise in the first few months, there is no such thing as starting too early. In fact, it is an excellent way to bond with your child and create a lifelong love for reading. The gentle sound of your voice and the comfort of being in your arms during a storytelling session is a guaranteed way to soothe your baby. You need not worry about comprehension at this stage, the experience of going through a book is what counts. Of course, this shared activity will also help you pass those initial countless hours at home!

Did you know that newborns have very limited eyesight and they cannot see much further than their own face? Books that have black and white images with strong outlines are perfect for the first few months. By three months, babies can coordinate their hands and eyes so use tummy time to allow them to engage with the books. Between four and seven months, your child can sit in your lap for a reading session. The combination of cuddling up with your child and reading a book, while allow babies to associate reading with a pleasurable experience!

At this age, reading should be introduced as a bottom-up and top-down activity. By this I mean, we should aim to provide books and activities that are developmentally suited for the child (bottom-upà black and white books), but also stories that they may not understand (top-down). The latter approach will open up your newborn to the wide array of sounds and rhythms of speech, as well as the concept of stories. I would suggest reading books with ‘stories’ at bedtime.

By six months, your little one “wakes up” to the world around them and this make them an entirely different reader! They can respond, connect and interact with books so it is essential to provide them with opportunities to do so. Ideal for six to 1 year olds, expose your baby to lamaze books and peek-a-boo books. Lamaze (tactile) books are great for teaching them around the world around them. Using their senses, they can discover what ‘bumpy’ feels like, the look of shiny surfaces and the sound of something crinkling and so on.  These soft books that are bright and colourful are great to hang on car seats and strollers.  

Peek-a-boo books are also great to introduce your child to at this age. You can peek through a hole to see what's on the next page or peek under a flap to see what's hiding underneath. Babies will have great fun trying to anticipate what comes next or what's hiding. Great develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills! As your baby will be able to sit up without assistance now, it’s the perfect time to give them small books to explore on their own. Use a combination of cloth books and board books.
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Here are some great titles, but if you cannot find these particular books, just stick to the above brief and you’ll be fine :)

On The Night You Were Born
Nancy Tillman

Ten Little Fingers And Ten Little Toes
Mem Fox

Twinkle Twinkle
Bobbi Fabian

Sleep Book
Dr Suess

Black on White
Tana Hoban

How A Baby Grows
Nora Buck

Textures
Joanne Barkhan

Look At You
 

Little Gorilla
Ruth Bornstein

The Runaway Bunny
Margaret Wise Brown

Peek-A-Who
Nina Laden

Where is Baby’s Belly Button
Karen Katz

Black and White
Jane Foster

Are You My Mother
P.D. Eastman

Where is Spot
Eric Hill

Who Said Moo
Hariet Ziefert

A Tiny Little Story: Zoo
Lisa Jones

Flip Flap Pets
Axel Scheffler

Happy Reading! 

I have found receiving and giving feedback to be one of the most helpful ways in advancing my writing. I have been blessed to have some very thoughtful and kind critique partners.

The reason I like to critique is because it gives me insight into how other people would see my work and makes me more conscious of my own writing. Moreover, if I am comprehensive in my critiques than my critique partners are likely to do the same for me.

This is my critique process: 

1. I read through the manuscript once to understand the plot, the tone and the message. Every manuscript and author’s style is so different and it takes time to process and be invested in the story.

 

1. Once I understand the overall story and message, I read again to see if writer has communicated well and suggest feedback to help the plot move ahead. Is the character strong? Is the story robust and compete? Can I give any specific and detailed feedback to help tie the story together more effectively?

 

1. During the second reading, I also check for grammatical, spelling and sentence level corrections. Also, for picture books, every word matters so it is important to help the writer see what can be removed, things that aren’t really moving the story ahead. 

 

1. I read a third time to ensure that I haven’t missed anything and at this point may suggest overall feedback. If it is a humorous picture book- can it be funnier? Can I make any specific suggestions on how to make readers laugh? Is it heavy and topical? In that case, does the story feel meaningful, but yet is it subtle and child friendly? 

 

1. I always try and end on a genuine positive note. 

My role as a critique-r is to help advance the story and make it a better version of itself. Some challenges I have faced and how I have resolved them: 

• Not finding ANY ways to improve the story - This has happened to me and luckily the person has been my critique partner several times so when I said I have no comments she knew I wasn’t taking the easy way out, but that I genuinely loved the story as it was. 
  
• Being out of my comfort zone (e.g. lyrical/ rhyming stories)- I would mention at the outset that is not my forte and try and give valuable feedback on other elements 
• Being fully invested in someone’s critique and not getting the same kind of feedback - its okay- you win some, you lose some. I believe I’ve learned as much from critiquing as I have from receiving critiques!
• Not having time to critique someone’s work - trying to communicate this as early as possible and trying to return the favor at a later stage.​

Happy critiquing!