Going bonkers at Bookaroo, Delhi

Karadi had a lot of fun with children at Bookaroo Delhi which featured five fun packed sessions by four artists of Karadi Tales.

Shilpa Ranade brought alive Chief Chakku, of Monkeys on a Fast, and the little elephant, of Little Vinayak as children drew and coloured their characters along with her. There was much excitement among parents who drew funny funky monkeys with their children. Some imitated Shilpa’s drawing style but many children drew their own versions of the monkey chief and the little elephant. The Little Vinayak session had its fair share of multi-coloured elephants!

 Little readers were inspired to transform into little writers as Soumitra Ranade discussed the nuances of building a plot and coming up with an ending. Children came up with creative and creepy endings for Tak-Tak!, the eerie tale penned by Soumitra Ranade.  Where did the Tak-Tak sounds come from? What was it all about? He stopped the story in its tracks and asked the kids to continue. “May be the Tak-Tak was the sound of a nail being hammered into the wall by a ghost carpenter,” said one child. He also had a story that explained how the carpenter landed in the mansion. “It is the sound of the stilettos worn by a rich woman who used to live in the mansion,” said another.  Creativity needs no kindling when one deals with children. Soumitra’s session definitely proved that.

Chetan Sharma roared like the hungry lion he drew on his canvas for The Lion’s Feast! The roar that echoed as response was humungous! Nearly 100 children and parents responded with laughs and cheers for Chetan’s session. Many children huddled close to the illustrator to listen to this ravenously funny tale. At one point they chased him out of the stage, as he was the lion and the children wanted to save the day!

The best part of a children’s lit fest is seeing children appreciate art and hearing them convey their appreciation to the artist. Sanket Pethkar was on cloud nine as he heard children come up to him and say that his Night Monster looked beautiful. They drew their own monsters, coloured them and handed the drawings over to Sanket to be locked away forever. Isn’t it a beautiful way to vanquish one’s fears? 

Yet another beautiful, perfectly coordinated, and inspiring fest organised by the Bookaroo team! Kudos to Swati, Jo and Venkatesh and every other member and volunteer who made this happen.  

Paying Homage to Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

This day last year, the humblest leader of our time departed, only to live on forever in our hearts. Is it enough to bow? Is it enough to shed tears? Is it enough to mourn?We shall live his dream. And his dream was for the nation, for us, to have a dream.

Karadi Tales is honoured to have published his Wings of Fire as an abridged audiobook. 

Click here to listen to an excerpt from the audiobook.
https://soundcloud.com/karadi-bear/wings-of-fire-sample

Farmer Falgu Goes on a Trip - Kirkus Review

"The terse onomatopoeic text with its sounds picked out in bold colors will keep young listeners engaged, and the pictures have a Rouault-like flavor with dark outlines and deep colors."

 - Kirkus 

Farmer Falgu series continue to receive great reviews. We are always more than happy we found him!

Click here to read the review 

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/chitra-soundar/farmer-falgu-goes-on-a-trip/

THE BLUE JACKAL STORYTELLING CONTEST!

STORYTELLING CONTEST

Put on your thinking hats! Send in a video of a creative retelling of the story of the BLUE JACKAL to celebrate 20 years of the tale. Look for the rules on our Facebook page and our blog!

RULES:

-Participants must be below six (6) years old.

-The video must be one (1) minute long or less.

-Props can be used.

Deadline: 20^th of July.

Upload the video on YouTube and share the link with us at intern@karaditales.com.

The top 3 entries will be featured on Facebook, Twitter and our blog!          

Prizes: 

-          First prize: The Blue Jackal + audiobook signed by the author Shobha Viswanath and a Certificate

-          Second prize: Mug and a Certificate

-          Third place: Stickers and a Certificate

Newsletter for July!

Click here for details about the contest!

Karadi Tales Celebrates its 20th anniversary!

Karadi Tales held its 20th anniversary celebrations in Yercaud. Journeying in two buses, resonating with merriment and excitement, the Karadi family reached Yercaud on 24th June. At the resort, Karadi (the bear mascot) welcomed the team with his beaming smile. Soon, the team was soaking in the breathtaking views and revelling in the cool clime of Yercaud.

The Karadi team was geared up for three days of fun and frolic. Karadi, dressed adorably in a blue kurta beckoned everybody to click selfies with him. The unveiling of the ‘20 Years of Karadi’ logo marked the beginning of the festivities and everyone cheered for the success of the company, a journey that began almost two decades ago.

To bring the whole team together, a lot of activities were organised over the weekend. It began with Ekta Samyoga (a team-building workshop.) The group was divided into teams, and during the games everyone was so enthusiastic that they were cheering and hooting! At the end of the day, the Karadi pack was a group of happy, tired people with sore throats. It did not stop at that. Though fatigued, most people sang along in their croaky voices when Oxygen (a Chennai-based band) rendered classic hits such as Hotel California (The Eagles), Engeyum Eppothum (Ilayaraja) among others.

 

The next day was show time. Nine teams performed nine skits that had been adapted from the Karadi Tales stories. In the evening, Sriram Parasuram took everyone on a musical journey, and demonstrated how music too was akin to storytelling.

When publishing director,  Shobha Viswanath narrated the story of the Karadi Tales Company, everyone was overwhelmed and inspired. “We had a very passionate entrepreneur behind the wheel, steering the company in the right direction with the right momentum,” said Shobha, talking about Viswanath and the company’s many feats and the challenges since its inception. As a goodwill gesture, Karadi Tales honoured its long serving employees.

At last the countdown began, and when the clock struck twelve, 20 lamps were lit and the entire team sung ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY’ to celebrate two fantastic decades of Karadi and his storytelling! 

The mobile horse library spreading love of reading in Indonesia

One man and his horse are on a mission to promote literacy in rural Indonesia, inspiring a new generation of bookworms by taking books door-to-door.Click here to know more. 

Selecting Books for Your Child

Which is the book for your child?

So, you’re at a book store surrounded by wonderful books. How do you choose a book for your child? A book that your child will enjoy reading and encourage him or her to look forward to more reading. It’s important to remember that reading is not a quantitative activity; rather it’s a personal experience. Children in the same class will have different interests and reading levels, so choose a book that works for your child and not one that ‘every child seems to be reading’.

The Five Finger Rule can help you select a book. It is a very simple and basic technique that also encourages your child to choose a book. Here’s how it works:

1.     Choose a book that you think your will enjoy. It’s important to select a book according to your child’s interest. If your child likes animals, then choose a story that revolves around animal.  

2.     Read the second page with your child.

3.     Hold up a finger for each word your child is not sure of, or does not know.

4.     If there are five or more words your child does not know, you should choose an easier book.

Besides the Five Finger Rule, there are several ways to choose books wisely. First check online and read reviews. Next speak to the class teacher and gather suggestions and also check with the bookstore for reviews and product information. Importantly, speak to your child and spend time at the book store. This way you will surely pick up a book that you child will enjoy reading, and come back to pick up many more. 

Farmer Falgu is going places!

Chitra Sounder be visiting a different school every day of the 'WORLD BOOK DAY' in the UK between 29th February to 4th March 2016. Farmer Falgu will surely be visiting a few schools with her. But, would you like to know the genesis of the Farmer Falgu series?   

Here is an excerpt for Chitra Soundar's blog. She unravels why she wanted to write about a farmer and her interesting journey so far with Falgu.

When I wrote the first Farmer Falgu story, I had specific goals.

1. I somehow wanted to convey that this earth is never quiet and Quiet is not necessarily a fun thing.
2. I wanted to write a story about an Indian farmer
3. I wanted music and dance in the story.

The quiet and noise thought has been rattling around my brain for years and I didn’t figure out how to tell that in a story until I found Falgu.

Falgu didn’t start out to be a Rajasthani farmer. He was a north-Indian farmer simply because I had chosen a Hindi name. I should thank Kanika Nair, the illustrator for giving him a setting, a place of his own and all the joy and colour of Rajasthan. 

Like always I put something of myself into every story. Whether it is finding a home in Where is Gola’s Home? Or my Grandma in Balu’s Basket, there is a bit of me in every story.

In Falgu, I gave him my courage to plod on in spite of circumstances. He has an unbroken spirit, he is always thankful he’s got a glass, whether it is half-full or half-empty and he’s off somewhere doing something.

The music element of the book came from my desire to be a Karadi Tales author. They were traditionally an audio publisher and I thought musical elements in the story might pique their interest. Cunning of me? Sure!

When Karadi Tales accepted the first title Farmer Falgu Goes on a Trip, it was like a dream come true in many ways. I was a KT author now, Farmer Falgu had a home – not long after he had set out in his trademark bullock-cart as a manuscript.

I grew up hating eggs. But the thought of an omelet always fascinated the chef in me. I can see why an Indian omelet can be a great treat – it’s got all the spices, chillies, tomatoes and onions. I came close to eating an omelet so many times – simply because I liked it as a recipe. Alas, I don’t like eggs. The next best thing – put it in a story.

And so, Farmer Falgu set out to the Market. With eggs. And of course all picture books believe in the power of three. So Falgu had to take with him – white eggs, brown eggs and duck eggs. I researched duck eggs a lot – I didn’t know what colour they were. I realized they come in all sorts of colours. I’m sure Kanika wasn’t too pleased with my egg choices. 

Now there are 4 Farmer Falgu stories. The third one is almost ready and the fourth one is still being created by fabulous co-conspirator Kanika Nair.

So Farmer Falgu as far as I’m concerned has already gone places, right? From one story to four, from paper to real life, he has come to life for me in so many ways.He is a real person with a twitter account and all. Follow him @FarmerFalgu. But that’s not all. Farmer Falgu captured more hearts at the various trade fairs where my publisher Shobha Viswanath showed him off to lots of people. Her love for Falgu is second only to mine, I’d think. She’d argue it is the other way around.

And now Farmer Falgu is in Japan already. He’s called Farga in the Japanese books (thank you Google Translate) and he’s still going places. Et croyez-le ou non , il est là en Europe continentale trop , en France.Maybe I should set a new story in Paris for Farmer Falgu. The power of bullock-carts and his positive spirit has brought him to so many countries.

The kids in Japan and Paris are lucky – they’d have Farmer Falgu in their own languages and can enjoy the stories just like the kids in India do.

And here is a hopeful thought – he might be coming to Germany too. Couple of weeks ago at the Frankfurt Book Fair, I dropped in on Falgu and Shobha at their stand. And lucky me, who was there? The German publisher who wants Farmer Falgu to come to Germany. Fingers crossed, the bullocks would take him across the continent to Germany.

What would he be called in German? Would Farmer Falgu have the same name? Or a different one? Who knows? Whatever he’s called he’d be still Falgu to me and he’d still be the same positive spirit he always is.

To visit Chitra's blog, click here