House of Stories - A Book Club for Children

Is Reading Safe for Your Children? Of course, what can a book do to a child! Reading is safer for kids compared any screen time, says my ophthalmologist every time I take my kids for their annual visit. But any sort of addiction could gradually take toll on children’s physical and mental health. Reading too falls in that category. How so?  Here’s a few simple things I learned from my kids’ ophthalmologist to take care while reading. Proper Lighting: There should be ample light in the room they read. Take proper care so the light falls on their book and not on their bowed head. Choosing a book with bigger fonts and enough spacing will be more comfortable for kids. Clean Spectacles: This is a serious concern for those who have glasses. Smudgy and greasy glasses will strain young eyes. Insist your children to clean them before they start reading. Proper Distance:   Keep books at least 15cms away from your face while reading. Do not lie down and read

Merle Hodge Merle Hodge Born in Trinidad in 1944, Merle Hodge along with her 3 sisters were taken care of by her grandmother. Raised up by the tough lady, she became bold and   independent. Merle Hodge was one among a very few who attended secondary school. She later won a scholarship to join for Undergraduate Degree and later for Masters in Philosophy. Merle Hodge is the first African Caribbean to publish a novel, Crick Crack, Monkey in 1970. It was followed by another book, For the Life of Laetitia for young adults. Her writings, reflects the colonial education, culture and lifestyle of the colonized. Her books throw light into the racism, gender discrimination and social divisions during post colonial period. In addition to the novels, Merle Hodge has also written short stories, essays and articles on her observation on the Caribbean families and society. Books Written by the Author: Crick Crack, Monkey For the Life of Laetitia The Knots in English: A Manual

For the Life of Laetitia  by Merle Hodge For the Life of Laetitia - Front Cover For the Life of Laetitia I am glad I bought this book. For the Life of Laetitia is a must-have in our children’s collection.  I u sually do not go for those books that has a smaller font size and a very little spacing between the lines like in this book or suggest it for children either, but this is an exceptional book and I recommend it for your children. Once in a while let our kids drop those fantasy books and read some realistic stuff like these. The language is simple and vocabulary is easy to understand even for the young readers. In short, I got hooked to it as soon as I started reading. For the Life of Laetitia- Back Cover In For the Life of Laetitia , Merle Hodge has beautifully captured the dreams and life of Laetitia, a young Caribbean girl, who became the first one ever in her family to attend secondary school. In spite of poverty and racism she strives to achieve wh

Sarah Lean Sarah Lean Sarah Lean’ first book, A Dog Called Homeless published in 2012 was sold over 15,000 copies. The book has won Schneider Family Book Award for Middle School Books in 2013. In 2014, Lean was the chosen author for World Book Day, 2014. Her books are "inspiring" and "touching"and good for the teenagers. When I went through her website, I found her as an adventure loving person, who loves being in nature and animals. Sarah Lean grew up in Wells, Somerset, and started writing stories since her childhood. Most of her stories got inspiration from her own life, spent on farms in the countryside. She is the second pet lover author am introducing in the House of Stories. Sarah Lean’stories are about the celebrations of friendships and the bonding with pets. Her stories might make one think about the significance of having pets at home. Books Written by the Author: A Horse for Angel The Forever Whale Harry and Hope Tiger Days and th

A Dog Called Homeless by Sarah Lean   Being a dog-lover, the cover-page caught my eye. The font size and the spacing between the sentences makes this a comfortable book for children to read.   This beautiful book introduces children to the need of care and love for other living beings. The book begins rather solemnly. “My name is Cally Louise Fisher and I have not spoken for 31 days…”. As the story progresses, we find out this story is about a little girl who lost her mother at an early age and she starts seeing her everywhere she goes. Dressed in a red raincoat, her mother appeared in the cemetery, school ground and other places. Add to this, a friendly wolfhound also made appearances often in unexpected places. She tries to tell her family members about seeing her mum with the hound, but no one seems to understand her. Meanwhile Cally participated in the sponsorship program for silence held at school and took it rather seriously. Cally moves into a new neigh

Tale of Beatrix Potter – Know the Author The celebrated children’author Helen Beatrix Potter was born on 28 July 1866 to Rupert and Helen Potter in Kensington, London. Both her parents were from an artistic background and they encouraged both their kids to draw. Beatrix had a habit of writing journal in codes. She is known for her simple tales for children. What made her stories unique is that the beautiful drawings of nature and animals that complimented the stories were drawn by herself. Beatrix Potter in Her Childhood Most of her animal characters were taken from her life. Beatrix Potter kept a lot of pets like rabbits, mice, frogs, snakes, lizard and even a bat. It was her rabbit, Benjamin that became an inspiration to write Peter Rabbit. The second rabbit she owned was named Peter Piper. Every year she and her family traveled  to Scotland to spend the summer, which was her favourite time of the year when she explored the countryside. No wonder her stories have the fl

The Tale of Benjamin Bunny Benjamin Bunny - Beatrix Potter The Tale of Benjamin Bunny is in fact the continuation of  The Tale of Peter Rabbit . Benjamin Bunny, Peter’s cousin brought Peter a good news. McGregor has gone out with his wife and they could get Peter’s blue coat and little shoes back. Peter looked rather funny wrapped up in a red pocket- handkerchief. So sad his plight that he could fetch sympathy from you. The Tale of Benjamin Bunny Water Colour This time it was Benjamin who was walking around with confidence, bragging about how he and his father visit the garden every Sunday and get lettuces for the dinner. But poor Peter is still recovering from the previous day’s incident. Like the cat in an adage, he was on alert, half expecting for something bad to happen. Beatrix Potter - Water Colour Round the corner, they saw the farmer's cat and hid under the basket. Things turned out to be worse. Cat on the top of the basket and Benjamin’s father

The Tale of Peter Rabbit In today’s post I would like to show you the book I found in a Second Hand local exhibition. TADAA … The Tale of Peter Rabbit . Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit - Beatrix Potter-House of Stories Yes, it was pure luck! I found it lying amidst second sale books, neat and fresh with a powder blue hardcover, bigger and different   than the rest of my book series. You do not need much of an introduction about Peter Rabbit as he is an important   and a well-known  character by Beatrix Potter.  The bunny in a blue jacket is the naughtiest among the brood and with quite an appetite for adventures. I tell you, it is not his fault that some of his adventures turn into disasters. Ahem. Beatrix Potter has to come out with some cute and interesting stories for children, right?   Peter’s Mother’s story about how his father was made into a pie by McGregor was enough for a normal rabbit to stay away from the farmer. Peter Rabbit and hi

The Tale of Tom Kitten Tom Kitten - Beatrix Potter The Tale of Tom Kitten by Beatrix Potter is about how Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit, a Mother Cat who bathed and dressed up her kittens - Moppet, Mittens and Tom in the fine outfits for an evening tea to which her friends were invited. Being in a hurry to finish her chores, she let her kittens out to play. What happened next does not need much guessing. Tom’s struggle to stay inside his clothes proved to be in vain. Jemima Puddle Duck also comes in the story. However, the kittens had to stay back in their room, while the guests came in. A few illustrations from the book: Water Colour- Beatrix Potter Beatrix Potter - Water Colour The Tale of Tom Kitten by Beatrix Potter beautifully portrays the mundane and sometimes exasperating life of mothers. The naughty brood and their adventures will definitely invoke laughter in kids. The monotonous routine like Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit go through can be easily related to the st

The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher Potter Beatrix The Tale of Jeremy Fisher The story is about Mr. Jeremy Fisher, the frog who went for fishing wearing Macintosh and a pair of shiny goloshes. What a sight!   He dreamt of having a dish of minnows for dinner.   Jeremy   not only lost the fish he caught, but also was swallowed by a large trout. Fortunately, he escaped from its mouth and somehow reached home before his friends showed up. They had brought food with them and Jeremy did not have to starve. An illustration from the book: Illustration Potter Beatrix This simple tale tells us about sharing and making good out of the given situation. Mr. Jeremy Fisher decided to call his friends for dinner, only ‘if’ he could catch more than five fishes. Later he ended up with nothing and had to be content with whatever his friends brought with them. The true spirit of sharing lies not in sharing when you are rich, but in sharing when you have a little. Kids, don't we share our l