Abbakka is your typical warrior princess in training, a skilled archer, fierce, courageous, witty and embodies an easily likeable character as the protagonist. A girl thirsty for any sort of adventure as she sets out into dangerous missions to track down spies in her seas. She accompanies her mother whom she has a strong bond with in stopping the firangis (Portuguese) from capturing their precious pepper crop.
Satyajit Ray in 100 Anecdotes is a delightful collector’s item, both for children and adults. It demystifies this genius through anecdotes, some little known secrets and some well known ones, which are already in the public realm. It’s an easy, memorable read. You really don’t need to worry which page you are on, as each page is a story in itself.
I started reading the book which at first, looks like a page from everyday life that revolves around this teenage boy Taran and his family. Starting out with a peek into sibling rivalry and taking us through the colours of Ganapati visarjan, the story efficiently unfolds its adventure and fantastical elements with a quick turn of events. Soon enough, Taran finds himself charged with a mission by the Lord Ganesha himself!
Ahimsa by the author Supriya Kelkar is about India’s fight for Independence through the eyes of a ten year old girl, Anjali. The story revolves around Anjali’s life when her mum joined the ‘Quit India’ movement. The drastic changes in her life, the risks her parents took along with the people who were part of the movement, the peer pressure she experienced from her classmates because her parents were part of the movement and also because she treated the ‘untouchables’ like a normal human being.
This book revolves around two children named Sivakka and Basava, a magical chisel and hammer, who went back in time to the famous city of Vijayanagar! It is a mix of adventure, magic, history and all three put together makes it a good read.
Prisha Ambi (9 years old) has written this poem as a part of subject culmination at her school on the topic Character Sketch based on the books she has read so far. It’s a tribute to main characters of the books.