Whimsy reading at Hippocampus

Annie Besant read out from her book, Whimsy at Hippocampus, Chennai earlier today. Here are some pictures from the event!

Yet another review of The Fox and the Crow!

We have been receiving fabulous reviews for The Fox and the Crow, written by Manasi Subramaniam and illustrated by Culpeo S. Fox. Here's the most recent one: http://www.publishersweekly.com:8080/978-81-8190-303-7

'An Aesop necessity'

"Gorgeous to eye and ear alike, the story’s possibilities are mined beautifully and the reader is left reeling in the wake. If you’d like a folktale that’s bound to wake you up, this beauty has your number...An Aesop necessity. Aesop done right," writes Elizabeth Bird about The Fox and the Crow in the School Library Journal blog. Read the entire review here:http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2014/03/26/review-of-the-day-the-fox-and-the-crow-by-manasi-subramanian/

Karadi at the Bologna Children's Book Fair

Our Publishing Director, Shobha Viswanath has been meeting authors, illustrators, publishers, agents and distributors from all over the world at the prestigious Bologna Children's Book Fair since Monday! Here are some pictures all the way from Italy!

Karadi Tales at the NBT Stand

 Shobha Viswanath with the author, Anushka Ravishankar

Shobha Viswanath with Francesco Manetti, the illustrator of the Curious Sameer series

Meet the Authors - Kavitha Mandana

You do remember Kavitha Mandana, the author of one of our latest books - A Pair of Twins, don't you? Here, she talks to Karadi about remembering what it's like to be a child; her favourite children's books and her current projects. 

Karadi: What made you take up children’s writing? What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a children’s writer?

Kavitha: I really don’t have a clear reason. I sort of drifted into it. I had always wanted to illustrate, cartoon and doodle; so when I gave up being a copywriter in advertising, kids writing seemed a fun way to combine illustrating and writing.

I was lucky that my first story - one that I wrote and illustrated (Bando: The Dog Who Led a Double Life) got serialized in the Deccan Herald’s kids’supplement - Open Sesame. That gave me the confidence to keep going.  

Karadi: Do you have to like children to be a good children’s author?

Kavitha: I’m not sure about that. Maybe good children’s writers are those who clearly remember what it was like being a child – the fun parts, as well as the scary or sad parts of childhood. Many grown ups forget that they too loved playing in the rain. Or didn’t do too well in school! AND were scared of the dark.

Karadi: What do you like to read? What are your favourite children’s books? Who are your favourite authors?

Kavitha: I read whatever I could lay my hands on. My parents’ home and both my grandparents’ houses were lined with books, so I was lucky. I read the Enid Blytons, the What Katy Did series, the Little Women and Little Men books. I read my father’s Louis L’Amour westerns and the John Grishams of my teen years – Alistair McLean, Fredrick Forsythe, along with a lot of the classics.

Wind in the Willows is one of my favourite children’s books. Even now, I could quite happily spend an afternoon with Toad from Toad Hall. He is one of my all time favourite characters from literature!

Karadi: Do you follow a writing routine? How do you go about writing a story?

Kavitha: I wish I did, but unfortunately my teenaged daughter and dog manage to turn any routine on its head! I also work full time, so writing for children is an activity I indulge in when my ‘bread and butter’ job is done for the day.

Most of my stories rattle around and take shape inside my head first, sometimes over days and sometimes over months, before I key it into my computer.

Karadi: What are you currently working on?

Kavitha: LOTS of half-baked ideas that barely qualify to be mentioned! Other than that, Rupa’s Red Turtle books is bringing out my novel for young adults No 9 on the Shade Card in a few months. The editing has just been done. I am also working on illustrating a story of mine which appeared in the Deccan Herald a few years ago.

Make way for Bhukkad Caterpillar!

The sparkling new, revised bilingual edition of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar is here! Translated by Pratibha Jain, this book is available for purchase on www.karaditales.com. So what are you waiting for? Buy yourself a Bhukkad Caterpillar today!

Karadi Path in The Economic Times!

"Learning a new language is never easy, but a startup in Chennai believes that if the right methods are employed, then it can be child’s play," writes Vidhya Sivaramakrishnan about Karadi Path in The Economic Times. Click on the images to read more!

Karadi Tales at the World Book Fair

The Wednesday Bazaar was one among the many Karadi Tales titles that were part of the World Book Fair that recently concluded in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. It was displayed under the 'Classic Literature for Young India' category and it has also found a place in the National Book Trust listings! Here are some pictures of Neha Singh (Author, The Wednesday Bazaar) at the book fair.

The Wednesday Bazaar on Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus Reviews The Wednesday Bazaar (written by Neha Singh and illustrated by Sonal Gupta) and here's what they have to say about it: "A few moments of distress capped by a happy ending and an iced lolly—all stories should end so well."

To read the entire review, visit https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/neha-singh/the-wednesday-bazaar/. To purchase the book, visit www.karaditales.com. 

A whimsical evening at Isha Life

Last evening was special to all of us at Karadi Tales. We launched Whimsy, a beautifully written and gorgeously illustrated book at Isha Life, Mylapore. We ate crunchy, tasty chips and yummy carrot cakes, sipped on juice and listened to the story of Ms. Fox, Mr. Prat and their endearing friendship. We also played an Animal Mix Up game and guess what animals we came up with? Hippopine, Zebaffe, Dragonkey, Monear, among many others! Here are some pictures from the happy evening! 

Whimsy (written by Annie Besant and illustrated by Ruchi Mhasane) is now available on www.karaditales.com.

Karadi's Big Little Fan

Thriambak, one of Karadi's biggest fans, celebrates his birthday today. He came to our office a few days ago to say hello to all of us and entertained us with his favourite Karadi rhyme. Happy Birthday, Thriambak!