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This is a refreshing anthology of short fiction set in Kashmir. The stories are varied and multi-layered, and they talk about people living there, people who were compelled to leave and about visitors who come and go. The book is set on a cord where beauty and pain run in the same vein. The stories bring in the reader to the daily experiences of struggle, dissent, helplessness, love, compassion and courage of people living in Kashmir, and to the uncertainty that constantly looms.
“This book profiles the lives of 50 inspiring and legendary women – some alive, some no more. The text is easy to read and the illustrations by Niloufer Wadia are beautiful. This book presents many role models for young readers to aspire to.”
“The book takes up an idea that is important – how children cope when parents separate. This graphic novel sensitively deals with the issue and urges to build their lives moving on. The illustrations are softly bold and the child’s joys and sorrows are beautifully conveyed.”
“Gorgeous illustrations matched with rhythmic nonsense verse that ends up making sense and reaffirms a sense of being comfortable in one’s own body. It is a lot of fun and children will
surely like it.”
The Piano- Story of a Friendship
“A graphic novel is an unusual form in children’s literature and this one uses the form well to tell a poignant story about creativity and the connection between an artist and her tools. The layering of history, with the piano being passed down to owners in different countries, is a skillful narrative device. It conveys the universality of these ideas and of human beings coping with similar issues across space and time.”
“This is a brilliant historical fiction grounded in thorough research. The narrative is engaging and layered. While the focus remains on a queen ruling at a time when women were not documented in historical records, the story makes room for emotional relationships as well as complex details of lifestyle from that period.”
Unearthed- An Environmental History of Independent India
“This book presents a range of complex environmental issues in an easy to understand manner. It frames India’s environmental challenges, from the Green Revolution to climate change, by contextualizing how Partition and the drawing of political borders impacted our environment. This rare approach sets the tone right from the beginning of the book.”
“The book talks about the charm of small towns, making new friends, repairing old friendships. The child character explains the complicated words in an organic way in the narrative – a great device that will help enhance the vocabulary of children.”