Kirkus reviews An Elephant in My Backyard

Kirkus reviews An Elephant in My Backyard written by Shobha Viswanath and illustrated by Sadhvi Jawa.

Click Here to read the review. Our books are available online through Amazon and the Karadi Tales Website.

Karadi Tales at Publishing Next 2013

Manasi Subramaniam represents Karadi Tales, at the recent Publishing Next.

She spoke on two panel discussions at Publishing Next 2013 in Goa on 20 and 21 September. She participated in a panel entitled Indian Content and its Global Future along with Ameya Nagarajan, Arpita Das, Namita Gokhale, Praba Ram and Praveena Shivram.

 

She also conducted a workshop on strategies for trading rights: understanding the rights trade, preparing oneself, things to remember.

Karadi Birthday Party!

 

 Saturday evening saw the Mahamudra Restaurant in Mylapore host a Karadi Birthday Party. No, it was not Karadi’s birthday but Harshika, a young child who turned all of FIVE! Our storytellers from BLPS enchanted the young audience with the Fish Friends Three story and a special birthday song for Harshika! Karadi was feeling slightly under the weather and was therefore simply listening with his shawl tucked under his chin! Enjoy the pictures from the event. 

 

Karadi Tales is on Amazon!

You can buy your favourite picture books online. Karadi Tales is now on Amazon! Here is a link to the book, The Story and the Song: http://www.amazon.com/Story-Song-Manasi-Subramaniam/dp/8181902734/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1379600369&sr=1-5&keywords=story+and+the+song+india

Onam Ashamsagal from Karadi Tales!

Madam Manasi Goes on a Trip!

After five years as editor, Senior editor and Commissioning editor at Karadi Tales, Manasi Subramaniam is taking a trip to Harper Collins India, Noida.  We are sure she will be back because who in the world would want to make Delhi their home after living in a culturally vibrant city like Namma Chennai! However, we do understand the needs of the nomad and why one must explore new terrains, fresh pastures and create new experiences for oneself. She moves from the children’s world of fantasy and fiction to the adult world of the same . We wish her much success and much fame and much moneys and sincerely hope that she does not develop the Delhi lingo of books- vooks, publish- vublish, and author-shothor but retains the pure and pristine Chennai English. Okay vaa, Manasi?? 

 

Another review of Dancing Bear!

Patrick Elliott reviews Dancing Bear in the San Francisco Book Review:

All in all however, Dancing Bear has a heartwarming moral and teaches valuable lessons to youngsters while providing interesting cultural insights.

Read the whole review here!

As Lovely as a Tree

Veteran kids blogger Debbie Glade reads our lovely Thea's Tree and reviews it on her blog:

"Creative and Simple, the Way a Picture Book Should Be!"

Read the whole review here.

Dancing Bear: A Review

A lovely review of our picture book, Dancing Bear, says:

This book is an interesting look at this culture and lifestyle. Altaf loves his bear and doesn't want to hurt him. When he realizes that Somu's future may be in danger, Altaf does the brave thing and takes his bear to the authorities for rescue. His actions inspire others, and pretty soon, several bears are rescued. I love Altaf's courage and his desire to right his wrongs. I also like the way his actions have a positive effect on others.

Read the entire review here.

Three Lovely Reviews on Turning Pages

Turning Pages reviews three of our absolutely gorgeous picture books - When the Earth Lost its Shapes, Dancing Bear, and The Bookworm. Take a look here!

Editorial Vacancies at Karadi Tales and Karadi Path

We have several editorial vacancies at Karadi Tales and Karadi Path. It's a great opportunity for English majors who are curious about publishing and/or education. The positions are based in Chennai and cannot be fulfilled remotely. We're completely open to applications from all academic streams, of course, but a passion for reading, strong copy-editing skills, and general computer savvy are a must. Take a look at our books and our website before applying. Interested candidates may write to us on contact@karaditales.com. Please send us your resume and a short covering note.

And do spread the word!

An Elephant in my Backyard reviewed on Kirkus!

Exciting news! Our gorgeous picture book An Elephant in my Backyard is reviewed in the extremely prestigious Kirkus Reviews. The book review is currently available only to subscribers, but will become visible on the website to non-subscribers from 22 September 2013. But in the meanwhile, we're reproducing the text of the review here for you!

An Elephant in my Backyard

Did an elephant really follow Maya home from the temple in her Indian village?

When she first meets the baby elephant, the animal sneezes, and the little girl says: “Bless you, Acchu.” The homonym appears several times in the text, adding a little “Who’s on First”–type spin to the general confusion of the grown-ups in the house: “Maya, I thought you were an elephant!” exclaims Appa. “No, that’s Acchu!” she replies. “Bless you,” says he. There is no glossary, but Paati and Thatha (grandma and grandpa) and Amma and Appa (mom and dad) are very easy to decipher. 

None of the adults ever realize that the elephant is in the yard; they just glimpse little parts of it. Maybe it’s a hose? Maybe it’s the end of Maya’s braid? But they still seem to be in the dark until they notice the big mess of banana skins and coconut shells little Acchu has left on the ground. After all, Amma had told Maya exactly what elephants liked to eat. The light, humorous story is illustrated with attractive, amusing watercolors that portray a mischievous girl at play with her animal friend. There’s nothing overt here about rural Indian life—just a simple way to open readers’ imaginations to another part of the world.

Many kids will wonder why they too can’t bring an elephant home to play. (Picture book. 3-6)

Happy Ganesh Chathurthi from Karadi Tales

Read With Me: Bear Grills – The Karadi Tales journey

Our publishing director Shobha Viswanath is interviewed on the Alternative. 

"Picture books have found continuous relevance through Karadi. As you pick up some of Karadi’s works and flip through the pages, you discover a thousand stories in the pictures. They immediately inspire with their vibrancy and depth."

"With its work of over 16 years in the space, and the immense reach it has achieved across the world – several of its titles have been translated into multiple languages, ‘Karadi Tales’ looks poised to push the boundaries for children’s literature which is meaningful and fun. Karadi’s tales, set in the villages, cities, towns and forests of India – are defining home-grown Indian literature beyond the hoary mythological tales of the past."

Read the entire piece here.

In Defence of the Editor

Our Commissioning Editor Manasi Subramaniam writes in The Hindu Sunday Magazine about navigating changes in the publishing world and the onus that lies on editorial curatorship:

These are the days when an author may post a novel online and watch it generate revenue without involving the messy intermediations of big profit-making conglomerates, but that only makes it harder to find the needle in the haystack. If we acknowledge the existence of a vibrant, diverse, and culturally important space like the internet which embraces democratic expression and promulgation, then we must also be cognizant of its weaknesses.

Read the entire piece here!

Marketing to a young Audience

Marketing to a young Audience, a panel discussion at Publishing Next, a conference in Goa in 2012, starring our very own Shobha Viswanath!

Publishing Next 2013

Publishing Next is the only conference of its kind in India. It brings together publishing professionals of all hues and interests within an environment that fosters creative dialogue and an intellectually stimulating exchange of ideas.

This platform exclusively concentrates on new technologies and business practices and provides an opportunity for small and large publishers alike to acquaint themselves with advances in publishing and printing technologies. The format of panel discussions, workshops and insight-sharing sessions conducted during Publishing Next allows new ideas to break through and innovative companies to showcase their products and services.

Our Commissioning Editor Manasi Subramaniam speaks on two panel discussions at Publishing Next 2013 in Goa on 20 and 21 September. She participates in a panel entitled Indian Content and its Global Future.

She also conducts a workshop on strategies for trading rights: understanding the rights trade, preparing oneself, things to remember.

The complete agenda for Publishing Next 2013 can be found here.

Jumpstart 2013: Post-Event Press Release from the German Book Office

JUMPSTART is a two-day annual conclave organized by the German Book Office New Delhi, which brings into focus the trends and highlights from the world of children’s content. Designed as a turbo-charged idea-fuelled event with an innovative, highly interactive and intellectually inspiring programme, it is aimed at professionals involved in the children’s content industry.

In its fifth edition, JUMPSTART saw a splendid turnout of people from varied walks of life. While a lot of them were designers, illustrators, writers, editors, and performers themselves, there were also attendants from publishing houses like Scholastic India, Dorling Kindersley India, TERI,  from design schools like Pearl Academy of Fashion, and furthermore from companies like Maruti Suzuki India. The full house on the first day was an endearing sight while the second day had the Masterclasses booked to the brim. The session for teachers, librarians and educationists conducted in collaboration with Pratham Books – What’s Your Bhasha – saw participation from city’s premier private schools. The heartening aspect of this session was the very strong turnout of teachers/librarians from NDMC schools and also from Kendriya Vidyalayas.

With an exciting programme and a brilliant line-up of speakers/panelists, the theme this year was ‘Speaking in Tongues’, aimed at engaging with the infinitely interesting aspects of ‘languages in evolution’.

Bringing the participants closer to 'language' - one of the most essential aspects of our lives – were sessions dwelling on language as received and used by children. While the serious issues around translations and multilingualism were being discussed on Day 1, there was also a fun and interactive session where participants and panelists ‘cooked poetry live’ which highlighted aspects of ‘language as non-sense’ and meaning creation. This was followed by the book launch of Young Zubaan’s compendium - 101 Indian Children’s Books We Love – which added to the dimensions covered by JUMPSTART as an event.

The programme was replete with a carefully curated list of speakers, academics, writers, illustrators, and performers bringing alive the much debated topics in the Open Sessions- with presentations, discussions, interactions and performances.

With the likes of eminent publisher Shobha Viswanath, Prof.Alok Rai, prolific translator Arunava Sinha, writer/translator Sampurna Chattarji, Design Director [DK UK] Stuart Jackman, theatre persona Sukhesh Arora, educationists Manisha Chaudhry and Subir Shukla among others, the two days turned out to be action-packed and thought-provoking.

JUMPSTART also re-affirmed its position as a unique platform to interact closely with experts specially invited to take the event to the next level. So award-winning international experts like Holly Thompson, Julia Kaergel and Emily Gravett joined hands with writers of note like Anushka Ravishankar to deliver Masterclasses, on the second day, which left the attending Writers and Illustrators wanting for more. Taking the second day to successful close was Book Souk [a business matchmaking model] which provided the budding professionals a chance to directly meet prominent children's book publishers and present ideas which might just become the next big thing.

Anushka Ravishankar reads from The Boy Who Drew Cats.

In short JUMPSTART 2013 provided the much-needed and sought-after chance to meet and interact with acclaimed writers, illustrators, academics, editors, publishers and professional peers to know the emerging trends and to get a professional edge in the constantly innovating world of children’s content. As a participant, Shoili Kanungo [a graphic designer] expressed post event: “I have so many fantastic takeaways from Jumpstart. Among them, I have decided to keep a daily 'one animal + one expression' sketch book. Loved the idea! Also loved the nonsense rhyme activity. All of you made it look so easy that it has encouraged me to try. And it was great to be introduced to Holly Thompson.”

From Book-Souk

Another Card :-)

Happy Teacher's Day from Karadi Tales!

Insight Talk by Shobha Viswanath

Here's a link to Shobha Viswanath's Insight Talk on developing e-books for children at the Publishing Next conference in Goa in 2012!

Kutti and the Mouse Storytelling Event

On 21 August 2013, our fantastic storytellers from the Book Lovers' Program for Schools conducted a storytelling session at Global Public School in Kochi. They told the story of Kutti and the Mouse. The storyteller was dressed as Story Santa and she conducted a game with the kids as well, and they made kozhakattais (sweet jaggery dumplings) from newspaper. Here are some pictures from the event!

Karadi's Looking for Talent!

Hello! We have an exciting theatrical venture coming up from Karadi Tales soon. If you're based in Chennai and you're interested in working with us, we're looking for you! We're on the look-out for actors, dancers, singers, and all-round entertainers! Just come over and impress us at our auditions on 3 September 2013. If you're interested, call us on +919840612333 and we will get in touch with you! And do spread the word!