A sea prayer - for children at sea

Khaled Hosseini's book for children, Sea Prayer, was an appropriate book to read as this year slowly draws to an end. This slim children's book is a requiem to loss - the loss of home, homeland, security, identity, relationships, a way of life - the annihilating, bewildering, confounding loss faced by refugees everywhere. It is also a prayer - not for oneself but for one's child, for "the most precious cargo there ever was". Hosseini sums up the refugee's fate "unwanted, unwelcome" wherever they go, their hearts unhinged, their future as unstable and threatening as the stormy sea.   

Dan Williams, the illustrator, has transformed the emotions evoked by Hosseini's words into images that are a visual delight. There are the warm yellow tones of sunlit afternoons drenched in nostalgia, the blue-black hues that capture the uncertainty and fear in the hearts of the refugees as they wait for a perilous sea-journey to take them to safety, the bright bursts of red poppies like the laughter of children playing in the garden. 

This children's book brings the focus on an aspect of childhood that is rarely in the limelight - children at peril and in exile. 

Getting your child to read

Do children read these days? Never having done a survey, I can't say for sure, but going by the sales of books, and the increasing occurrence of children's literature festivals, either the kids are reading a lot, or someone out there is hoping and praying and working really hard to make sure they do!

How does one ensure that children read regularly and enjoy the act of reading? After teaching kids of all ages to love literature, here are a few tips that I know work for sure -

1. Remember they are watching you! Your child may not listen to all that you say, but she is certainly watching you as you go about your day. If you spend a lot of time on the phone, she will wish to do the same, if you like to walk around the park, she will want to go cycling there, and if you spend some time reading every day, she will pick up a book too! Do spend some time reading every day, and talk to your child about the book she is reading.

What if you aren't a reader? Well, become one. Kids love to imitate their parents and so try to read something every day. It can be the newspaper, magazines, recipe books, the atlas, or your prayer book. The point is, that you should be spending some time with your child with a book in your hand.

2. Keep some books lying around the house - That might not be welcome advice if you are the kind of parent who's obsessive about everything being in its rightful place, but, hey, you can ensure you have a little bookshelf in every room or a little basket in which nestle the books you and your child are reading currently.

3. Get to know the books that are available in the market - especially books by Indian writers. Don't get caught in the trap of buying only retold folktales, moral stories, educational books or Enid Blyton - because that's what YOU grew up with! There's nothing wrong with them, but the children's book market today has an exciting range of genres and offerings, and I am sure you'd like your child to benefit from it. Become a part of FB groups that discuss children's books and keep yourself updated with the latest and most recommended publications. 

4. Choose diverse books - read across genres and authors. don't try to stick to one sort of book. Your child may have tastes that are different from yours. Remember that a children's book serves as a window and a mirror - it offers the child a mirror to her world, and gives her an opportunity to look out into other worlds.

There's lots and lots of other ways to raise a reader - you will find out for yourself, and I will share more tips in another post. Until then, open a book ... those squiggles on the page are the password into a wacky and wild world!

Reading children's books from Japan

THE BARBER’S DILEMMA AND OTHER STORIES FROM MANMARU STREET

By Koki Oguma and Gita Wolf, illustrations by the author, Tara Books, 2017, pp. 44, Rs. 450.

Young children play in the most unstructured manner. A child holding a ladle may decide it is a mike and begin to sing a song. Moments later, the ladle becomes an umbrella, or a bus, or a spoon to stir her mother's coffee. A game of pretend swordsmanship transforms into one playing with fallen flowers and seeds, or a classroom game. There is a marvellous sense of fluidity in the way children negotiate their way through a world that seems infinitely wondrous and ever-changing.



Koki Oguma's stories and illustrations attempt this unstructured, even stream-of-consciousness method of negotiating with the world. He is an art teacher in Tokyo and created this book when he was artist-in-residence at Tara Books, Chennai, a couple of years ago. Oguma writes about the people who live and work and play on Manmaru Street. 

There's Ms. Oda who made a giant candy which reminds her of a slide, and so she and her friend slide down the candy, licking it as they go along.

And there's Mr. Tuchida who wants to build a house on his head. As the house takes shape, his neck begins to hurt with the weight of the bricks. A kind builder gently puts a compress on it. 






Mr. Isoda, a fisherman, listens to the river and begins to speak its language. HeMr. is so good at it, that a shoal of fish mistake his mouth for the river and enter it. Oguma writes, "Mr. Isoda didn't mind at all."

Oguma's tales are more like slice-of-life renditions. The word 'stories' in the title may mislead you into expecting traditionally structured tales. But as you read further, you realise that these are tales of the everyday - of the ridiculous, the philosophical, the quirkiness, and the profundity in the quotidian.

The spare quality of the text is complemented by the rich creativity of the drawings. Oguma's paintings are full of whimsy and flights of fancy rendered in a pastel palette which gives it a dream-like feel. 

Bela Has Buck Teeth

By Mamta Nainy, Illustrated by Ankur Mitra, CBT, 2018, pp. 16, Rs. 40

This prize-winning story is a heart-warming tale of a little girl who dreads the annual Class Photo session at school as she is self-conscious about her buckteeth.  It touches lightly upon issues of body image and peer pressure. Bela finally faces the camera with a broad smile, as a compliment from a thoughtful teacher fills her with delight.  She still has her buckteeth, but that’s alright, for she now knows she has ‘the cutest smile’ ever. 

The illustrations and choice of colours are very professionally done, and the book is a delight to go through.

There are some issues however that I wish to highlight. Since these picture books are generally directed at beginner readers, it might be a good idea if the author does not use words like ‘stifle’ or ‘vigorous’. The editor also needs to check for grammar as the author tends to incorporate both past and present tense in a sentence, which is just plain wrong. 

This review originally appeared in The Book Review, November 2018.