Theme Reveal - A to Z Challenge 2021

 Hola dear reader!

It's been a long time since I posted something - feels like ages. It is because of this reason, I thought that it would be good idea to participate again the "April A to Z Challenge". I have done it before and I completed it only once. I know this does not looks very promising. But still - I am back with this. Here are the themes/posts I have choosen before (I have 2 blogs and a website)):

Amita's Pen

2015 -  WOMEN IN A TO Z PROFESSIONS

2016 - WOMEN and ISSUES AROUND THEM

2019 - BOOKS FROM MY CHILDREN'S BOOKSHELF

Quotes

2015 - PREGNANCY

2019 - Books and Reading

Coming back to the theme for this year. For 2021, I would be sharing "Our Favorite Children Books"

I tried a similar theme in 2015, but did not complete. This time, I would try to do it a little differently. I would seek my kiddos help - they are their books. So, I would post about 26 books that the kiddos love. Sounds pretty simple? Well, I am going to find out very soon. I cannot promise that it's going to be in alphabetical order.

I would have to really look in all the cupboards and collect their books so that they can have a look and decide which one's they like the most.

Honestly, every book they read - it becomes their new favorite. So, I am pretty sure they would find it really difficult to choose just 26 books.

Fingers crossed. Wish me luck.

Yes, I am trying to participate on my other blog too - Hop on to read about their themes:

Quotes - Motherhood

Learned and Shared - well, it's a little professional blog, so I am not posting a theme reveal post there, but I would try and put up as many posts over there too. Follow the link if you are interested in technical stuff...

With all this on plate, April 2021 is going to be one busy busy month. Wish me luck readers!

Are you participating in April A to Z Challenge? Have you chosen a theme? Remember, theme is absolutely not required! Do let me know in comments section. I would love to read about as many as I could.

Golden Goose & Other Stories

The school my elder son goes to allows birthday gifts to be distributed in schools but only story books or small useful educational materials. This hardcover is among the gifts he received from his friends on their birthday.

“Fairy Tales for Early Readers – ‘Golden Goose & Other Stories’” is a collection of three fairytales. I would not lie and say that the kiddos love it. Actually, they have only read the first story yet (the book stays with us for almost an year I think!), but yes he did like it. The stories in the same order are:

The Golden Goose

Peter and the Wolf

The Red Shoes

As mentioned on the back page, the book has one big picture on each page along with short sentences written in required big enough font. There are also few phonic/sight words on the picture to help kids learn and understand – pictures speak better than words. Also, each story is followed by a small activity wherein the child needs to match the words with their pictures – surprisingly, children learn them very fast.

Similar sets of books are always available with almost all publishers dealing in children books. The best idea I think is to go over a counter, have a look around, turn a few pages and get one or two.

Fireman Sam: The Famous Fireman

There would be hardly any child – boy or girl who is not fascinated by firemen and fire-engines. All children have a fireman and a fire engine in their toy collection at least once in their childhood. Thus, I knew this is going to be a gem in my kiddo’s collection the moment I saw it.

Here is the blurb I made:

Fireman Sam: The Famous Fireman is the story of a fireman Sam who aspires to be a popular celebrity. But there is one hurdle in his way. What’s the hurdle and what would he do?

What I like the most about this book is the ability to read in two ways as mentioned on the cover as “read aloud, read along, read alone”. Yes, one page has a little detailed story while the adjacent page has its summary in maximum two to three lines. This amazing feature is missing from the kindle edition – from what I saw in the preview.

This book was among the 4-5 books kiddo remembered by heart. He would tell the story with lights turned off when I did not read  owing to the fact we got late for sleep and had to get up on time next morning. 

Now, the fun part: Lifelines have learned that the back cover of the books have list of other books in same series. Every time they like a book, they look at the back cover, find out which one’s they have and have thus made a huge wish list from the rest.

While it’s a great book, there is another story the kids love to read, listen and watch – “Mater the Fireman”. It’s one of Mater’s tall tales based on the episode where Mater the firefighter rescues Lightening from fire. I am going to share more on this in another post. Stay tuned.

                    

Early Discovery Series by Britannica

Britannica Early Discovery is a collection of six little hardcovered books I picked up from a book stall once set up in my office premises. Below are the books which are there in our box:

Early Discovery Words

Early Discovery Colours

Early Discovery Just For fun

Early Discovery Shapes

Early Discovery Sounds

Early Discovery Numbers

The kiddo was in playgroup when we got it and I think we started with Colours – which he was already comfortable with at that time. We gradually moved to Sounds – fun to play with kids and Shapes. Numbers, Just For Fun and Words then followed the suite.

The books are full of colorful pictures to make the child understand the concepts along with a small question or a to do task on almost each page.

The second last page includes a ‘Glossary’ of key words introduced in the book along with their description.

Hold on, there is more. The last page has a few fun ways to learn the concept. The fun ways give an idea to the parents on how can they incorporate the learning in day to day life without actually making the child realize.

     

I would not say that’s this is among the favorite book of kiddos, but yes, they do enjoy reading them occasionally. Thus, although it costed a bit, but was all the worth.

Get it from amazon - here

Storybook Collection (Disney Junior) by Walt Disney Company

There is a famous proverb which states – “"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy". I am sure I need not get into explaining the meaning of this one. The same goes for reading books for pleasure too. As parents, we tend to buy books which embark some learning into them all through attractive pictures, simple relatable stories etc.

This is one book I brought for my kids where in they can just have fun. Plus I have a bonus! Keep then away from the idiot box. Wait, there is more. Parents would be parents. Or I should rather say books would be books. “Storybook Collection (Disney Junior) by Walt Disney Company” is a collection of four episodes aired on Disney Junior channel which the children can remain glued all through the day. So when the kiddo saw it in a bookstore and asked if we could buy it, I could not say no.

 Coming to the book and its contents. The four stories as displayed on the cover page – Kids would be able to recognize them easily if they watch the channel, are from Mickey Mouse Club House, Jungle Junction and Special Agent Oso. The adaption of cartoon characters in pictures as well as text is bright and easy to understand.  

It’s an all-time favorite of my both 4 and the 7-year-old son. They just want to read all of them whenever the book is picked up and I have a hard time convincing them to read one per night.

Follow the link below at amazon to get the book:

The Adventures of CAVEBOY by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen

The Adventures of CAVEBOY came along with a book subscription box called enchantico I enrolled in for my sons. This was probably the first novel kind of book we read together. Here goes the blurb;

Meet Caveboy! Ooga booga!

Caveboy is just like any other boy . . . he loves playing base-skull, running really fast, and especially whacking things with his club. But when his club breaks, he will need to find a new one . . . which just might lead him to a new friend. In this first book, Caveboy will find the perfect club, meet his best friend, and learn to be brave!

Now, coming to the book, the kids enjoyed reading it and we had the house full of OOGA BOOGA sounds for a few days. Books like this are a good and fun way to introduce big books to children. We read one chapter a day. I am not trying to force him to read for long duration as I want him to develop his own interest. Also, we usually read at bedtime, so the sooner the book closes, sooner we bid goodnight!

The font is big enough to keep children attracted along with colorful pictures. I read a few reviews where people had issues with gender biasing – the club of cave-girl being decorated with flowers and all. Honestly, I did not even think about it until read those reviews. My kiddo even liked the one which was covered with flowers and was worried that the flowers would be spoiled while using it.

Here is how the kiddo felt about the book:

Links to buy the book on amazon:

                                     

Bubbles Series

Bubbles Series is a collection of tiny little picture books. Each book has a short story teaching good habits to the child. The book also has a set of questions in the end. My sons love those questions and makes it a point that I never skip them.

There are many different versions of series based on same pattern, but I personally liked this one the best. Here is a video of lifeline reading one from one of my previous posts.

                  

Here goes the amazon link to the series:

                                                           

Aesop's Fables

Aesop was a Greek story teller. It is believed that Aesop lived for many years as a slave and earned his freedom by narrating the famous fables. It is also said that he even went on to serve as advisor to a king.

A Fable is a short story which generally has animals as characters and convey a moral.

The stories about animals and foolish humans told by Aesop are how referred as Aesop’s Fables. We all have grown up listening to little stories about animals and fairies many of which belong to the collection of Aesop’s Fables.

I think this was one of the earliest books I got for my son. He could not even understand what I read, but he thoroughly enjoyed the pictures of animals displayed along. Gradually, as he started catching up, this book became one of his favorites and I have lost the count of re-reading each story.

This series is a fine collection of 13 stories titled in the picture below.

The book also clearly mentions the moral each story intends to embark upon along with the meaning of few difficult words the child might be new with.

Now that the kiddo is grown up enough to read on his own, I am planning to take it out again and make him read by himself. I am sure he is going to enjoy it all over again.

Click on the image below to browse a few of the collections at amazon:

Aesop's fables

Here is a popular fable I have recited multiple times to my kids:

The Monkey and Crocodile

Once upon a time, there lived a monkey on a Jamun tree by a river. There was a crocodile in the river who became monkey’s friend.

The monkey used to share fruits from the tree with crocodile. Both played together and enjoyed the Janumns. One day the crocodile asked the if he could take a few fruits for his wife and children. The monkey said “Of course! Why not!”. And thus, he packed a lot of juicy jamuns for him.

The crocodile’s wife loved the jamuns. She had never tasted anything so sweet before. But she was not as kind and gentle as her husband and said, ‘If the jamuns are so tasty, imagine the taste of monkey who eats them every day!’

But the kind crocodile tried to explain to his wife that he could not possibly eat the monkey. ‘He is my best friend’, he said. But his greedy wife would not listen and to get her husband to do what she wanted she pretended to be ill. ‘I am dying and only a sweet monkey’s heart can cure me’, she cried to her husband. ‘If you love me you will get your friend the monkey and let me eat his heart.’

The poor crocodile did not to eat his friend. He tried to convince his wife, but she was adamant. At last he agreed to her and the next day when he went to meet the monkey, he told him that his wife loved his jamun’s and waned to invite him over dinner as a thank you gesture.

The monkey was very pleased but was sad too. Crocodile asked him why he was looking glum. The monkey said, “Dear friend, I cannot come as I don’t know swimming”. The crocodile said, ‘I’ll carry you on my back.’ The monkey happily agreed and jumped onto the crocodile’s back.

As the two friends were going in deep river, crocodile felt guilty and wanted to confess his bad doing to his friend. He told him has he has been tricked to come over as his wife wanted to eat him.

The monkey was frightened. Suddenly he had an idea! He said, “Crocodile dear, I would love to serve your wife, but the tastiest part of my body is my heart. But I have left that on the jamun tree. Shall we go back and get too for your wife?”.

The crocodile thought that when his wife would get to know that they did not get the tastiest part, she would get angrier. So, they turned and swam quickly to the jamun tree. The monkey jumped off his back and hopped high on the tree. He shouted, ‘I thought you were my friend. But you wanted to hurt me! Stupid crocodile, don’t you know that all our body parts always remain with us only? I will never trust you again or give you fruit from my tree. Go away and don’t come back again.’

The crocodile lost a friend also and the tasty fruits also. The monkey had saved himself because he had used his mind to think quickly.

Moral Of The Story

There are multiple morals which can be derived from this story. The one high-lighted in bold is my lifeline’s favorite:

·         Staying calm, and thinking can help you get out any difficult situation.

·         A quick wit can solve all problems.

·         Presence of mind often saves us.

·         Don’t underestimate yourself. There are bigger fools in this world.

·         Quick thinking and intelligence can beat physical strength.

·         A wise enemy is better than a foolish friend.

A to Z Challenge 2019 Theme Reveal - BOOKS FROM MY CHILDREN'S BOOKSHELF

I participated in April A to Z Challenge back in 2015 and to my own surprise, completed successfully for two blogs – A to Z Challenge 2015 - WOMEN in A to Z PROFESSIONS and Quotes - Pregnancy. Then, the consequent year, the over confident me participated again and failed miserably - April A to Z Challenge 2016 - "WOMEN and ISSUES AROUND THEM". I did have some of my favorite posts that year despite of failing in the challenge.

This year, I prepared my mind at the very last moment and decided to go for it again. Coming to the theme reveal, theme for this year would be my blog’s genre - BOOKS. I would pick one book from my kid’s bookshelf and post about it. Again, I cannot guarantee that it would be alphabetical, but yes, I do hope that they have 26 books to post about in that cupboard and those organizers. All of them would be picture books targeting the children under 6 to 7 years old. Also, most of them would be sharing a moral or message for the same age group – some are just for fun too! I would not promise but I would try to add a small moral story as-well. The stories might be from my memories of old is gold collection which have been passing from generations ever since I know.

Theme for this year is - “Books From My Children’s Bookshelf”. Fingers crossed!!!

Guess what, my other blog is also participating again. Do check out the theme reveal there – It’s again also related to books – Quotes. May be, both together are lucky again and hit the nail

Let the fun and learning begin.

Are you participating in A to Z Challenge 2019? Sign up's are open till 6-April.

Do you have a theme for the month? Check out other theme reveals as-well.
Visit A to Z Challenge to find more details.

Rukhsat The Departure by Sujit Banerjee

About The Author: Sujit Banerjee has travelled across India and world since his birth.  Head to his Good reads profile as Sujit talk more about himself.

About The Book:

The Blurb:

Twenty six stories flow - some into each other, some crossing one another and few charting their own path. Each breathe independently and fade away after reflecting on their own existence. Each story explore an independent emotion leaving you to make our own conclusion.

If Farzana tries to deal with her own masochism then Hemakshi deals with her empty womb. If Gustav reflects on his two night stand then Palash comes face to face with his past lover only to realize he no longer loves him. Siraj's decision to sell his his child body comes to a clash with Manu's trial by God. Last but not the least - Zayan reminiscences on his life an hour before being hanged.

Let them rain on you, soak you and take you on a roller coaster ride

The Cover:

Vintage themed tree with falling leaves has done good amount of justice to the book and it's stories.

What I Felt About The Book:

Short stories are always a gem and a delight to read on. The best part of short stories is that they take me to a different world and I come back in no time.

‘Rukhsat The Departure’, a collection of short stories titled on their main character name starting from A to Z took me to the real world. All the stories depict a life lesson which might be bitter or sweet - but at the end I realize that it does happens.

The author has narrated different human emotions in the way they must have been felt. There are some stories which end without a note ad it’s absolutely fine – because those emotions cannot be explained. Some things can/might just be felt by putting yourself in the person’s shoe.

What I Liked:

The little graphics with each title were an icing on the cake. I wanted to share some, but then I hate spoilers.

The first story ‘Abhimanyu’ truly mesmerised me.

I loved admiring one and hating other letter in ‘Bhusan’ and ‘Palash’.

Stories ‘Karan’ and ‘Yasmin Bibi’ shook me from inside and I could not do anything about it except frowning on the bitter truth of society.

What I Did Not Like:

The writing in one or two stories is so intense and author has created so much suspense that at the end, I honestly could not infer the zest of it. May be I lost track somewhere.

Story ‘Chitra’ would have been my favourite one if it had at least some lines, if not complete of poetry written by the lead.

To conclude I enjoyed reading each story and they are going to stay with me for some time.  Congratulations to Sujit Banerjee for his debut.
The Book can be brought via following Links:

Amazon Paperback               Amazon Kindle Edition            Flipkart Paperback

Note: I received a PDF copy of the book for an honest review