Fairies, ogres, kings and queens and magic potions are no longer subjects of children’s literature today. Authors are considering more contemporary subjects to make children aware of the world around them. In the face of the adverse impacts of rapid urbanisation, ecological imbalance, and broken families, modern authors are exploring an array of subjects to help children get accustomed to the changing times. Perky Parrot has published four children’s books with engaging topics for today’s young readers.
Green connect in urban jungle
Is concretisation another name for development? Is urbanisation the answer to progress? How do we connect with one another in this concrete jungle? Is this earth only for humans? These are some uncomfortable questions that adults often avoid, or face much difficulty in explaining to children. Author Cigdem Kaplangi explains it in simple words with the help of the colourful illustrations by Burcu Yilmaz.
Kaplangi’s book, Seeds for Smiles, explores a world where people barely communicate with each other. Their lives are defined by competition and mere survival. However, the young gardener in the story finds a solution to this problem. She knows exactly what these people need. She sows the seeds of happiness, and in no time, the blooming colours and the flourishing greens invite chirpy birds, and playful butterflies.
This is a first for the city that the gardener has chosen on the map. People are amazed at the beauty. Initially, they are unable to fathom the warmth that wells up inside them. They stop for a while to look around and try to understand their emotions. It is joy that they feel.
Nature helps these people to communicate with each other and spread happiness. The gardener is successful in what she was doing, “planting smiles”.
In this competitive world, where existence is defined by materialistic success and where gadgets are a man’s best friend, communication has become mechanical. Through this simple story, Kaplangi tries to tell children the importance of humanity and the role of nature in our lives. Nature not only nurtures other forms of life but also nourishes our mind and soul.
Book: Seeds for Smiles; Author: Cigdem Kaplangi; Illustrator: Burcu Yilmaz; Publisher: Perky Parrot; Price: Rs 250
Finding life in loneliness
The five-year-old protagonist in Roopal Kewalya’s story is torn between two worlds — those of his parents. He hates “being torn apart”. In his search for an identity and a home, he loses himself between the two worlds. But time is the best healer. The boy finds himself in loneliness. He realises that one can be complete in singularity.
While most children would be overcome by the challenges of a broken family, Kewalya’s protagonist finds optimism. For him, the glass is half full and his life complete, even if “Papa is there and Mama is here”.
Kewalya wrote this book after she got divorced a few years back to help her son cope with the new ways of life. However, this book goes beyond her personal space to guide many children who are struggling to come to terms with separation.
Kewalya takes a critical issue afflicting today’s society and turns it into a children’s book with an ease that only a mother can do. She is a sensitive storyteller who has added another dimension to a child’s world. Instead of shielding her son from the harsh reality, she has helped him understand it.
The illustrations by Swati Chandak Sharma, an NID alumnus, complete Kewalya’s storytelling. Through the colours and images, Sharma explores the boy’s imagination and emotions. There is always optimism, even as he is lost in the vastness of the sky.
Book: 3 is not Equal to 1; Author: Roopal Kewalya; Illustrator: Swati Chandak; Publisher: Perky Parrot; Price: Rs 199
Let’s wait for the right time
When will I grow up? Didn’t we all ask this question as children? But often parents struggle to answer this simple question and explain the concept of time. Gulsen Arslan Akca tries to answer this question in her book.
When life is restricted by age and time, how can one enjoy? The boy in the story is exasperated every time he is reminded of his age and the limitations that he has. From riding a bike to playing basketball, everything must wait for him to grow up. It takes time to grow up. “Where is this time?”
Good things take time, isn’t it? And he learns it in his own way.
All children need is time to understand how time can change things around them and how one becomes capable of taking up more challenges in life.
Akca is also the illustrator, and her work complements her acumen for storytelling. She uses a complex subject like time, which has both scientific and philosophical explanations and remains misunderstood even to the grown-ups, and transforms into an important lesson for children — “time means to be patient”.
Book: When Will I Grow Up?; Author & Illustrator: Gulsen Arslan Akca; Publisher: Perky Parrot; Price: Rs 350
Tail-blazer
Remember Na’vi, a humanoid species inhabiting Pandora in the movie Avatar? Well, imagine having tails like the members of the Na’vi tribe. Now, imagine what changes we could have made to our lives if we had tails. At least, Banku knows how he would have enjoyed if he had a tail.
Rachna Chhabria’s book Banku’s Terrific Tails explores a child’s imagination and absurd wishes to acquire a tail. But Banku is not sure what he wants — a wagging dog’s tail, a swatting cow’s tail, a warm and cosy snow leopard’s tail or a regenerative lizard tail.
Sometimes, children have wishes which may seem bizarre to grown-ups. But Chhabria can read a child’s mind and can understand how the innocent mind thinks in the crafty world of wily adults. Banku represents that innocence that is often lost in the pandemonium. Sefi George, with her lively illustrations, gives a face to the imagination.
Book: Banku’s Terrific Tails; Author: Rachna Chhabria; Illustrator: Sefi George; Publisher: Perky Parrot; Price: Rs 250
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