#kbcBookBingo works like a timeline of children’s reading journey. Spriha is now 9 years and owns a bookshelf of her own where she arranges her favorite books like trophies. She is not very fond of self-admiration and at times she struggles with speaking out loud. KBC recommended books have been quite instrumental in boosting her self-confidence. She is appreciated for reading wide range of genres, but all the books she reads are inspired by posts, reviews, competitions and rewards on KBC.
Her father says, “Spriha has improved her memory and concentration over a period of time. She is more focused at every task, similar to reading books. She has even inculcated story telling skills that I would consider her baby steps towards public speaking. Writing reviews has helped her with writing speed and less spelling mistakes in school assignments. She is no more appalled by the thought of writing answers in paragraphs.”
She enjoys reading about fairylands, magical creatures and superpowers. She has been reading difficult topics sugarcoated in time travel and unlimited laughter. All sensitive and fun loving children of 7 years and above will find at least one suitable book in Spriha’s undoubtedly sensible and beautifully illustrated books. Some of the books can be read by 6 years+ as well.
Here is what she has written for #kbcBookBingo2023, along with the books she has chosen:
Summer vacations are fun because my day starts with outdoor activities and ends with reading fascinating books. Book Bingo makes it even more enjoyable because I get to read all different type of books in one month. The funniest part was reading many books of same category as I couldn’t decide which book to choose!
1. An Indian historical fiction book – My Father’s Courage: 1930, Gandhi’s Salt March by Anne Loyer
It is a picture book from One Day Elsewhere series. The story is narrated by a little boy Aslam whose Abba has been arrested for breaking British law. He feels lost and confused trying to interpret the reason behind his father’s action. The book has alluring illustrations of this colorful place where Gandhiji marched with a lot of followers to harvest salt. Soon the prisons started filling up with people breaking the salt harvesting law and finally British had to release everyone. I admire the power of non-violence and the beautiful sunset full of hope that the story ends with.
2. A book by your favourite Indian author – Simi Stands Tall by Arti Sonthalia
#triggerAlertSeparatedParentsCancer
Arti Sonthalia is my favorite since I read her award winning books ‘Best Friends Forever‘ and ‘Big Bully and Me‘. All her books are school stories where protagonist is dealing with strong feelings. In this book Simi is having tough time adjusting at new school. The book is an emotional roller coaster as you read through the ‘Goldie & Me’ sections. I wondered how certain events improvise her perception for people in her life. Simi is an inspiration to stand tall and protest when someone is unfair. I love how she speaks up for her friends and herself but still maintains talking terms with the meanie. The quizzes in the book also kept the thrill throughout the story.
3. A hOle book by Duckbill (Penguin Random House) – Bonkers! by Natasha Sharma
Natasha Sharma, the award winning author of ‘History Mystery Series’, bagged ‘SCBWI Crystal Kite Award 2014’ for this h0le book.
All the hOle books by Duckbill are easy to read chapter books with Indian settings, relatable characters, super funny circumstances and a hOle for illustrations to jump across pages.
Armaan is desperate to have a pet dog to save him from school bully TT. His skeleton looking body fills with strength of hope when his father gets him a pup. He is determined to take Bonkers for walks and start training. The little pup was not even toilet trained before getting into trouble with TT and his gang. Read this book to find out how these two, not-so-brave souls finally take on the bully.
Note – Please do not expect action in hOle books. Save all the action for your laughing-out-loud lungs while you are trying hard to stay in sentiments.
4. A book based on a true story – Imagine you were there… Walking on the Moon by Caryn Jenner
‘Imagine you were there...’ book series has magazine like pictures. I have also read ‘Imagine you were there… Winning the Vote for Women’. Read it like a news article with everything that took place for making this event a success. A wider time span is covered to capture everything relevant. All space enthusiasts and future astronauts are invited to witness everything that went in Apollo 11 mission to the moon. Learn about the making of spacesuits, rockets as well as the training of astronauts. Gather all the information on the challenges and all the glory.
5. A book where the author’s name starts with the same letter as yours – Pizazz by Sophy Henn
This is first book in the ‘Pizazz series’ by Sophy Henn, the author of another super book, ‘Almost Anything’.
Pizazz is embarrassed of her superpower so she tries to live like a normal girl but alas, it is not that easy to get rid of that monotonous SUPER life. Before reading this book, I had never thought about cons of being a super-girl. The book is packed with huge illustrations and full page comic strips. It is amusing how she thinks all her relatives got perfect names and powers, even if some of them are really hilarious. Also, her own superpower is not at all ridiculous as she thinks it is, but yes, not all girls fancy the shhh.. She won’t like it if I reveal.
6. A book turned into a movie/show – A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz
Do you agree that the Grimm’s fairy tales are dark and bloody? If the answer is ‘no’ then you have been reading abridged versions all your life. I believe in happy endings too and that’s why I read this book even if it has no illustrations. That’s actually a sigh of relief because no parent would want their child to see what’s written in this dark and authentically grim version of ‘Hansel & Gretel’ tale. Read this book if (and only if) you are not a scaredy-cat and you have courage, I challenge you!
If you are not feeling too brave, you can watch the show first and then dive right into this hilariously narrated fairytale.
7. A book that breaks gender stereotypes – The Princess Rules, It’s a Prince Thing by Philippa Gregory
Welcome to a fairyland where princesses need to live by the rules and princes get permission for everything. Well not any longer, and that’s what makes it different from all the classic and modern fairytales. Same old castles, ponies, magic, serpent and prince to the rescue. Only difference is that the rules are being redefined by prince courier (yeah, the delivery one) and this classic fairyland is turning into a fairland where both the prince and princess can share the kingdom. A land where it is an individual’s choice to cry when feeling emotional, rescue when feeling responsible and wear a pink dress without feeling shy at all.
There are other books in this series.
8. A self-help book – The Strange Case of Nayantara by Vaishali Shroff
I have on purpose not chosen a “typical self-help book” because there are many other books that don’t belong to the “self-help” genre, but which have helped me. I hope that’s okay…
Many of Vaishali Shroff’s books have been discussed and reviewed on KBC. ‘The Boy In The Dark Hole’ is another self-help book by the author. She writes simple stories for children because she believes they are smart enough to interpret the hidden meaning from the theme.
Nayantara was a gift from the stars to her parents living in an orthodox village in Gujarat. People expected her to grow horns or twinkle like stars but everything seemed to be a myth until the villagers finally realize her power. Nayantara did not like anyone touching her without her consent. Every time an adult tickles, pulls cheeks, hugs or pulls a child into lap without consent, they get cursed. Read this book with lot of colorful pictures to find out how the curse is lifted with the help of Silly Baba. Will the adults ever let the children become the boss of their own bodies even if it means restricted display of affection?
9. A spy thriller/juicy mystery – The Desperate Case of The Diamond Chip by Pendred Noyce
First of all the book is written by none other than Penny Noyce, the daughter of Intel’s cofounder. Now let me tell you that she is a doctor but still she knows everything about chemistry and technology. The story starts with a missing semi-conductor chip made of diamond. It was an invention that someone stole from professor Gufov. Mae and Clinton got help from future and they received a device to time travel. Both of them attended a lot of important events with famous scientists. The book actually is history based fiction capturing an entire timeline and process involved in the making of microchips. They learned about the periodic table, atoms, bohr’s model, conductivity till the chip making process. Will this knowledge from the experts help them in figuring out who the real culprit is?
10. A book with an unexpected twist – Kid Spy, Mac Cracks the Code by Mac Barnett
Mac Barnett mentioned that it is his childhood story, pretty convincible, but a little difficult to believe that he was a spy who worked with England’s Queen. As per him, the Queen called him to decode a secret code found on a man’s private clothing, seriously?? Mac B didn’t like working inside a room when the bad guys had left a trail of clues outside. He follows the trail only to realize that it was a trap set by a KGB man. That’s definitely not the twist in the story, you got to read the book for it. Video games and coding fans will find this book very exciting. I simply loved the smell of its royal looking pages with red-yellow-black&white illustrations.
There are other books in the SPY KID series.
This book can be ordered from Scholastic India via our kbc storefront as well. Scholastic India always has special offers on.
11. A book where you wanted to be the protagonist – Monster and Boy by Hannah Barnaby
Imagine being swallowed by a monster and coming out as a small creature sized boy. If I were the protagonist, the monster of course, that’s what I would do to all the children sleeping alone in their bed, wondering if I am real. It would be so much fun to fill the book with green illustrations of insides of my stomach and swimming in the toilet (wasn’t me). I loved the crazy time I spent with the boy. You know, “everything humans think is real is only because a monster dreamed it”, Wait, did I dream of having a friend?
12. A book where a character is keeping a big secret – The Trap Door Mysteries, The Scent of Danger by Abie Longstaff
This is second book of The Trap Door Mysteries series. The domestic help at Mollett Manor is an orphan girl, Tally. She finds an underground secret library and becomes its guardian. Each book in the series has one mystery that Tally solves with the help of her squirrel and the enchanted books. Another mystery that goes throughout the series is the mystery of her missing mother. Charming illustrations of animals, carriages, towers and secret doors give a mesmerizing touch to the story. A pet dog has been kidnapped and few other animals are disappearing. Would you join Tally in finding the animals using the knowledge from the books? What else could she find hidden among the library books?
13. A book you wish you wrote – Adventures of Mr. Munchkins! by Sahana Suman, Rakhi Kapoor
A young author like Sahana inspired me to wish if “one day I were to also write such amazing adventures of Mr. Munchkins”. This was my first book without pictures but I could visualize every scene. Each chapter ends with a little section on morals learned by Mr. Munchkins. He is 40 but still behaves childish and silly most of the times. He owns an ice cream shop and sells custom made flavors with secret ingredients. He has only one motto in life – “The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up”.
14. A book whose author you want to meet – Adventures of Jo Schmo, Wyatt Burp Rides Again by Greg Trine
‘Melvin Beederman Superhero series‘ and ‘Adventures of Jo Schomo series.‘ are both priceless comedy by Greg Trine.
Wyatt Burp is a pirate who uses a chemical formula to burp extremely loud to scare people away. Jo Schmo is a superhero who wants to fight supervillains but she has been working really hard and the world is running short of bad guys. She decides to time travel and fight Wyatt Burp. Get the book to go ROFL as the pirates come up with creative plans to tackle her. What happens to Wyatt Burp is something I could never imagine happening with a villain.
15. A book that has an LGBTQIA+ theme – Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow by Sandhya Prabhat
Archie is an 11 year old boy and his parents fight all the time they meet. When his dad tells him a secret then he feels sad and loses all the hopes of having a happy family again. Frankly speaking, the book was quite sad in the beginning but it started getting enthralling and thought-provoking after he finds a rainbow flyer. His friends decide to attend the pride parade with him even if they needed to trick the inspector and a whole lot of circus. People were dressed in seven colors of rainbow when they finally make it to the parade and watch the crowd being encouraged by words of Marsha P. Johnson, “You never completely have your rights, one person, until you all have your rights”. Although it was a smart move but they landed in real troubles being 12 year olds all alone in middle of strangers. Find out who helps them to reach home safe and if they ever attend the parade again.
16. A book set in another world/space/galaxy/aliens – Taranauts, The Quest for the Shyn Emeralds by Roopa Pai
This is book one in Taranauts series by Roopa Pai. Mithya is a different universe with a Tara composed of 32 stars. Shoonya’s evil twin Shap Azur has captured Tara and framed a really difficult puzzle for the Taranauts. Time calculation in this universe is also unique and you need to learn all the terms before jumping into the chapters. I relished solving the riddles with the Taranauts on their quest. Each of them is trained in their school to discover their own special abilities. Mithya’s technology is amazing too.
17. A graphic novel – Pacey Packer, Unicorn Tracker, Mermaids vs. Unicorn by J.C. Phillipps
Pacey never believed her little sister Mina’s unicorn was real and takes her to a magical Unicorn land. Pacey dreams of being a hero and eventually she follows her sister into unbelievably dangerous unicorn realm and earns herself a title ‘The Horn Slayer’ for her bravery.
This is 3rd book of ‘Pacey Packer, Unicorn Tracker’ graphic novel series with purple colored glossy comic strips. Unicorns and mermaids are all villains and the only good one is grumpy because he is trapped inside Mina’s stuffed toy. Pacey has been called to the realm again to find and destroy the most powerful unicorn horn that she had slayed. Join her in this underwater adventure, along with Mina and her unicorn to find out if she could fetch it from the Dark Cavern and destroy.
18. A book with a villain – Shiny Pippin and the Broken Forest by Harry Heape
Pippin has a gift of being shiny, the magical power that grows out of kindness and love. She could talk to Tony the mouse but kept it a secret. Her grandma told her that she had been fighting an evil scientist to protect the forest and now it is Pippin’s turn to find out where all the water disappeared? Blowfart is the villain in this story and there are a lot of magical animals. The author’s witty style of story narration makes it a very interesting read. The book is one of a kind that includes kindness, friendship, magic, science and farts, all in one!
There are other books in the Shiny Pippin series.
19. A book you gift often – Nature Guide Wildlife by Catherine Brereton, illustrated by Kate McLelland
We either gift books with strong female protagonists or illustrated books that are full of cool facts. Nonfiction is a genre that is adored by every age group. A ‘Bloomsbury’ book of the same genre is the cherry on the cake. This book has information on various mammals, amphibians, reptiles, insects, invertebrates, trees, wild flowers, algae and fungi. I was fascinated by finding a badger and mole in this book. This is my first book with wild flowers too. A checklist with page numbers is also provided at the end of the book. So cool.
20. A book you got from kbc recommendations – Manya Learns to Roar by Shruthi Rao
Manya wants the role of Sher Khan in ‘The Jungle Book’ act at school. Everyone thinks a stammering villain would not be good for the act. Her classmates tease her to discourage her from participating. I could connect really well with her because I can’t speak out loud and I realized I have the same fear that people might think I am not strong. This book was an eye opener for me as I understood that no one is immune to weaknesses. Everyone has some or the other issue to deal with and no one has time to focus on others. You defeat your demons the very moment you drop the thought of being different. Read the book to know how Manya gets ready to face the audience with last minute issues including the urge to use the restroom, air-conditioner failure and a suffocating Sher Khan costume…
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