India
31
Ghose, Vijaya (ed./select.)
The carpenter's apprentice
New Delhi : Katha, 1999. – 131pp
(A Rosalind Wilson book)
ISBN 81-85586-94-2
Short stories
This delectable book offers a fine collection of short stories by some of India's foremost
writers. They first appeared during the late 80s in »Target«, a well-known and
much-loved Indian children's magazine. Very short, the poignant narratives do not look for
the spectacular but focus mostly on the joys and pains of everyday life: growing up,
dignity of work, school performances, social inequity. They throw little spotlights on
different lifes and experiences of Indian children. The volume pays homage to Rosalind Wilson, long-standing editor of »Target«,
who has made an immense contribution to children's literature in India with her keen sense
for talent and her discerning editorial skills. (8+) <>
32
Sen Gupta, Poile (text)
Biswas, Pulak (illus.)
Water flowers
Gurgaon : Scholastic India , 2000. – [16pp]
ISBN 81-7655-010-8
Monsoon - Rain
In India the coming of monsoon – or the rainy season – is an event in itself.
The author uses her imagination to tell little children what monsoon puddles were regarded
as in a time not so long ago. The simple text and the dynamic watercolour illustrations
work closely together. This charming picture book encourages the reader to discover beauty
in very simple things. (4+)
33
Sen Gupta, Subhadra (text)
Guha, Tapas (illus.)
History, mystery, dal and biryani : stories of the past
New York ; New Delhi : Scholastic, 2000. – 131pp
ISBN 81-7655-024-8
India - History
This set of ten historical stories that take readers of today on a delightful journey into
India's past – walking the sheets with ordinary people of those times and getting a
close look at the life styles of children during those times. They prove that children of
the past were not really very different from the children of today when it came to
adventure, mystery, food, in fact a solid sense of good values! Charming black-and-white
illustrations capture the highlights of these timeless narratives. (12+)
Special Mention
34
Wolf, Gita / Ravishankar, Anushka (text)
Sen, Orijit (illus.)
Trash! : on ragpicker children and recycling
Chennai : Tara Publ., 1999. – 112pp
ISBN 81-86211-04-7
Ragpicker child - Child labour - Environment
Despite its title, this book is a true gem in the Indian publishing landscape: attractive
book design, intelligible lay-out with information-boxes, lucid and sound definitions,
startling colour-illustrations using intriguing photo-collage techniques, and humorous
treatment of serious issues. It tells the story of Velu, a young ragpicker and addresses
the problems of child labour and environment. »Trash!« evolved from a series of
workshops conducted with ragpicker children and was produced in collaboration with »Books
for Change«, an initiative in publishing aiming at raising controversial issues,
informing children about social realities and sharing ideas for a better world. (8+)
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