Family & Friendship

This Is Me, Mayil

Her diary (or is it her autobiography, she isn’t sure) becomes a rabbit hole and a roadmap to writing her way through life as she sees it. Older and bolder, the unstoppable ‘Mayilwriter’ rants in rhyme, ponders in verse, and doodles in between. 
For every moment of clarity, there are others filled with anger, confusion and self-doubt. But Mayil keeps her chin up and decides that she will never put her pen down.

Mostly Madly Mayil

At 13 going on assertive 14, Mayil is now on her second diary after Mayil Will Not Be Quiet. “Teen queen,” says Ma. “Terrible teens,” says Pa. And yes, Mayil is perceptibly older, and wiser to a lot more things that make up teens. We see her as one of the Fake-inas Friend-ing a “cute” senior on Facebook, as a superpowered Liyam Lonewolf, a Cinderella tripping over her ghagra at Pumpkin VS’s party… and of course, as a further evolved Mayilwriter who wouldn’t mind rapping too, like the cool Kumari Misstake. But some things don’t change. As spirited now as when we saw her last, Mayil continues to pour her many thoughts out in this sequel as honestly, hilariously, thinkingly and touchingly as ever — on everything from sexual harassment, to caste distinctions (even in the Harry Potters!), to Saroja Paati in sleeveless and lipstick. This is another exceptional book from two talented young writers.

“Yes, Mayil writes about serious issues in her diary but she’s also irreverent and fun… Another great thing about the book is that it perfectly reflects the times and the geography it exists in. Mayil, and by extension the book, lives in and exudes Chennai and India. It doesn’t pretend to be anything else – the jokes, the references, the problems manage to be globally relatable while at the same time being inherently local… Pick up this book to add a tremendous dose of fun and irreverence into your reading list with a smattering of insight thrown in.” – Bookworm Etcetera

Mayil Will Not Be Quiet!

Meet Mayil Ganeshan, 12 going on spirited 13, who finally has her chance to say all she wants. But the diary for her is also an important step towards becoming ‘Mayilwriter’, to make up for all the stories she hasn’t completed and the novel that didn’t know where it was going. So she begins. What she gives is a spontaneous, sensitive, honest, intimate and often hilarious peek into the life and mind of an insightful young girl. The Mayil that emerges is as lovable and recognisable as the delightful sketches she presents of her Amma, Appa, brother, grandfather and friends. Mayil has all the confusion and confidence of adolescence as she faces the everyday dilemmas of young people, as well as questions of gender stereotyping all around – from Ramayana stories to Rajnikanth movies. With enough to keep head, heart and funny bone tickled and happy, this is a must-read coming of age book by two highly talented young writers that will strike a chord with all who read it – pre-teen, teen and older.

“Mayil Will Not Be Quiet” is comfortingly real as it delicately brings out the problems and hopes of a pre-teen… At 12, going on 13, she fills her diary with doodles, hopes, rants and problems of a pre-teen, with doses of humour that leave you nostalgic. After all, we’ve all written them in our diaries too… – The Hindu

The acceptance speech by co-author Sowmya Rajendran on receipt of the 2015 Bal Sahitya Puraskar!

Who?

Tiana Singhal’s life has been floating along fine, especially with the plum internship in a well known architectural firm. And then, without warning, it catapults into chaos. She is haunted by screams in her nightmares. She is confronted by a stranger who sets off alarm bells. She finds herself fleeing from she doesn’t know what. There are questions to her hazy past for which she must find answers. But will they be at the cost of her life? Is she losing her mind? Who IS she? A knife-edge thriller that keeps you breathless and guessing till the very end.

One World

The second in a series of theme-based books, this book focuses on peace. How do children cope with the pressures of divisive and contradictory forces at play in the world today? With its affirmative writing, the series brings together writers in English and other Indian languages. Contributors: Paul Zacharia, Ambai, V. Ramnarayan, Shobhit Mahajan, Gita Mehta, Geetha Varadan, Raghavendra Rao, Ashokamitran, Poile Sengupta, Nitin Madhav, Sandhya Rao and Safdar Hashmi. This book has been recommended by CBSE for schools.

“All the pieces are well-written… At no stage do any of them talk down to their target audience of not-so-young children. The tone is conversational and thought-provoking, encouraging readers to respond to issues that beleaguer the earth, so that they can make responsible decisions and choices to create a more harmonious tomorrow. The questions included in the ‘Afterword’ further the desire to discuss and probe.” – Indian Review of Books, 1999

My Brother Tootoo

Twelve-year-old Rini and her little brother Tootoo are intrigued by the new boy, and innocent games soon turn into dangerous ones as the trio begin to venture into territories once forbidden. Occasional glimpses into Rini’s diary look back at the haunting memories of events that escalate to a point of no return. This gripping, multi-layered story poignantly evokes the secrets that we hold, and ultimately, share.

A bold step by Mahajan to talk about a subject that is usually taboo in the world of children’s fiction. it is a much needed book and should reach the hands of as many kids as possible – before they too get trapped on to this path of no return. Parents and teachers of pre-teens and teenagers should definitely encourage their kids to read this book and preferably have a frank and open discussion with them on the story. – Young India Books

Just A Train Ride Away

Santosh travels alone from Mumbai, where he lives with his mother, to Kolkata, on holiday. But he has secret plans to look for his father whom he barely remembers. The train ride brings him into contact with people quite outside his sheltered world — an eventful prelude to another, deeper, journey. With a refreshingly light and honest touch, Just a Train Ride Away explores the emotional dilemma of young boy who craves the space for both parents in his life and faces the bitter-sweet reality of estrangement and belonging. A short, quick-read, coming of age novel.

It’s the story of the dilemmas faced by single parents (how to deal with the missing half) and kids with single parents. Mini Shrinivasan deals with it in a straightforward, no-nonsense yet sensitive way. Neat and sparse, the book (which won the Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Puraskar 2010) is a simple read about how, often, life is not what we’d imagined it to be, and we must make the best of whatever it has on offer and move on. It can… be consumed in a single gulp like a ‘roshogulla’. – GoodBooks

Advaita The Writer

When Advaita leaves Delhi for boarding school in Dehradun, she is lonely and unhappy. Even if Dunham Girls’ School is supposed to be the best in Asia. Even if, as her father had promised, it has a fabulous library. But the library soon becomes her haven, losing herself in books a shield against her deepening homesickness. Then one day she hears that the writer Ruskin Bond, whose books she devours, stays less than an hour away. Could it be true that the famous author is a real, living person, breathing the same Uttarakhand air as herself? Could she, Advaita, also become a writer? Advaita emerges out of her cocoon into a world fresh with ideas and inspiring possibilities. Unfolding gently and sensitively with the pace of Advaita’s changing emotions, this is a story about the love of books, the power of the imagination, of literary heroes, and of the birth of dreams.

Advaita the Writer is many stories rolled into one… A story of separation, of belonging, of space, of identity, of dreams, of inspiration… What keeps this delightfully unpredictable world of Advaita aloft is Spillman’s narrative. It flows like a happy river, meandering through difficult emotions and exciting metaphors with equal ease, as it runs its preordained course. Throughout the book, Spillman gently pushes the boundaries of language, never once compromising on the intelligence of the reader or taking it for granted. It’s a delicate balance that is rarely achieved in books for young readers. The illustrations by Menon too are spot on, hovering, almost respectfully, behind Advaita’s story. Read this book to be touched by not just the magic of Ruskin Bond, but also that of Spillman’s through lovely, whimsical Advaita. – Young India Books

No Fear, Jiyaa

The five most venomous snake species can all be found in Australia’s Outback — and that’s where Jiyaa is headed on her first school camp since moving to Perth from Mumbai. Mom is NOT happy. Jiyaa is super-thrilled (though she’s trying to act cool). Getting along with Olivia Robbins for two days isn’t going to be easy, but she’s quite sure that her biggest challenge will be Facebook deprivation! How wrong can she be! In No Fear, Jiyaa! Ken Spillman sends a bunch of pre-teen girls into the Outback. As their excitement, troubles and insecurities play out, what we get is a fresh and funny story about friendship, courage and growing up.

No Fear Jiyaa reads with the same flare and drama characteristic in children’s chatter – hyperbolic and exclamatory. – The Book Review

The Boy With 2 Grandfathers

Not everyone has two grandfathers quite like Amol’s! From the way they look to the way they speak, the food they eat and the way they think, they couldn’t be more different. But both are “interested in everything, afraid of nothing and capable of anything”. And they dote on Amol. This comes with perks, but it also means that Amol has to indulge them their quirks — whether it’s Appa discussing toilet habits loud and clear, or Ajoba lecturing bratty children in a burger joint on good citizenship! But when the going gets tough, Amol couldn’t ask for a tougher twosome to stand by him.

Shrinivasan’s novel is sure to comfort and illuminate young readers, irrespective of whether they are in a similar predicament or not. It will serve to inspire similar courageous works in children’s fiction. One can ask no more of an author or a story. – From The Hindu Young World-Good Books Award 2018 citation

Sorry, Best Friend!

Concerned by the divisive forces of communalism, and its influence on children, the Centre for Science, Culture and Education conducted a workshop to examine ways of dealing with the situation. This collection of short stories focusing on communal harmony is an offshoot of this workshop. It is the first in a series on affirmative themes. Contributors: Zai Whitaker, Poile Sengupta, Shama Futehally, Githa Hariharan, Savithri Narayanan, Swapna Dutta, Hemangini Ranade and Sawan Dutta.

“This is a book to be welcomed for its relevance to the world of today, directness, simplicity and, most of all, its effort to hold us to what nature intended us to be – thinking, caring human beings whose ego is best kept within bounds. These stories are mirrors in which our children view us, often in shock and disbelief, but in which we do not stop to look any more. It is high time we did and recognised that regardless of name, species and gods, ‘each one of us has a place in this strange, funny world of ours.’ … Children will readily relate to the contents. Adults please take a look too.” – The Pioneer, 1997