Together with Pratham
Our
journey with Pratham books
Anshumalika
Rai and Nimesh Ved
Published at Teacher Plus.
Thanks to colleagues at Teacher Plus, Pratham books and Richa.
We received a bunch of recently published books
from Pratham publications for review. These books had us revisit our journey,
of a few years, with Pratham books. So, rather than only review the fresh books,
we take a step back to talk about our experiences with books we already had in our
book room.
The experience so far
Pratham books
have been a part of our book room since we rejigged the entire
collection of books. Then we had reset not just the furniture
but also the ethos of the room. We were keen to create a space that the
children would enjoy being at and get the books they would like.
During this restructuring phase we visited
the book
fair in Delhi. Here we got Pratham books. It did not
take us long to figure that these were the kind of books we were in need of.
Books that were colourful, diverse, and attractive. Books that children would
want to touch, hold, and invest time with. Books that brought happiness.
When we first arranged them, the four
colours on these books brought cheers and smiles to the room. The book spines
are colour coded – yellow stands for level one, red for level two, green for level
three and blue for level four. We too joined in the fun and soon each wall in
the book room was adorned with different levels, read colours, of books. These
colours and the illustrations in the books made the children pick them up to
read and comprehend. Colleagues too, when they came to the book room, could not
stay away from these books.
After a few months we applied for and
secured a book grant from Pratham. As a part of this grant, we received books
and a book-hanger. Some books were present in both English and Hindi avatars.
These were a big help – especially for the language teachers.
We also began observing children with the
books we now had. Amongst the different sizes the large format books were the
most popular. When it came to levels, the reds and yellows were the favourites
– these books had also begun to appear worn and torn. The greens had a mixed
reaction – the children read some of these. The blues, children seldom picked
on their own; they preferred to stay away from these. We wondered whether it
was the language or the content that kept the children away from the blue
books.
Over a period, as we got more books and
reread them, we observed that the quality of translation had improved. A shift
towards themes relevant in today’s time was discernible. On the metro,
for example, is an excellent book to discuss gender, and not just with
children! However, when it came to maintaining the stocks, these books continued
to leave us befuddled. The same book could have two very different names - Dho Dalo in Hindi and Brushing is no fun in English!
The recently received books
Written by Meenu Thomas and Illustrated by
Kruttika Susarla
This is a story about using local and
traditional varieties of crops. The first line of the book is “Selvan and
Savi did not like it when Paati and Appa fought.” While quarrels and
disagreements are a part of our day-to-day lives – children talking of their
father and grandmother fighting is seldom a part of our stories. This, making
our stories more real, and not pretending as if children are not aware of the reality,
is a positive shift. The book depicts people from the southern part of our
country with their skin colour and dresses. This too is a welcome change. It
talks about rice varieties that many of us consume but few know about like
Kolam, Kattuyanam, and Karudan samba. It reminds us that the native rice
varieties are beneficial for us in more ways than one and also subtly talks
about helping others.
Teachers can take help of the book to
engage children in conversations about rice (and other crops), native
species, families, and more.
Written by Sudeshna Shome Ghosh and
illustrated by Sayan Mukherjee
This book teaches counting in a light and
non-preachy tone. The butterflies wave bye-bye while the snails joke. The
illustrations are bright and colourful. Rhyming text adds to the fun. Questions
are asked on one page and readers get the answers on flipping the pages! Small
species like fishes and worms find place; this is refreshing.
This is a book teachers can leave for
children to pick up and figure.
Vira and Tilli
(level: 3, pages: 18)
Written by Meenu Thomas and illustrated by
David Yambem
Most of us consume onions and yet so few
of our stories talk about them or even the sabji
mandi. This is a story about Vira (a young boy) and Tilli (an
onion). Vira takes care of Tilli from its sapling stage and takes it home
when the bulb is ready. He is sad when the onion has to be sent to the market.
Here, his father tells him, “Vira, how long can you keep it with you? Tilli
will start to go bad in a few weeks”. These simple and succinct
conversations that treat children as sensible and sensitive beings are welcome.
The illustrations are captivating. The book tells us about how vegetables are
sold in the market – not many of us would be aware!
This is a book teachers can take help of
to talk about how vegetables are grown and sold.
Written by Venkataraghavan Subha
Srinivasan and illustrated by Annada Menon
Such a pleasure to read this book on grass
that encourages us to roll and tumble! Reminds one of the fun times one has had
with friends on meadows and lawns. The book mentions names of different
grasses; names we do not come across commonly. It also has a map that depicts
the regions, in India, where each of these grasses thrives. The book is light
on text and the illustrations add to the text. The plate for food and the straw
for the juice – did the book miss out on an opportunity to communicate silently
on sustainability?
This is a book teachers can take help of
to talk about grasses. It makes us realize there is so much we can discuss
about grasses!
A suitable shell
(level 2, pages: 16)
Written by Radha Rangarajan and
illustrated by Rohan Dahotre
A crab moves around the beach looking for
a shell! It encounters trash – bottle-cap, wafer packet, egg, groundnut and
else - all over the beach. The book highlights what we have done to our beaches
and how it affects species like crabs. Rather than lay the blame on someone
else the book makes us relook at our practices – especially that of throwing
trash left, right, and centre including on beaches!
This is a book teachers can take help of
to talk about the trash we generate and how that trash affects other species.
All
about teeth, All
about claws and All about beaks
(each of the 3 books - level 2, pages: 16)
All three books by Rohan Dahotre
As the names convey – these books talk
about how species use their claws, beaks, and teeth. These books are light on
text, in other words there is no information overload. While the illustrations
are brilliant, they appear multiple times. Those on the cover find place
thrice! Can this have been avoided? These books also depict species not
occurring in India. Can they have done without this or have maps showcasing
where the species occur? The book on beaks says birds, the book on teeth says
animals, and the book on claws says animals but has both birds and mammals! Could
the terms birds, animals, mammals have been used with more precision?
This is a book teachers can take help of
to enable children to identify species or draw them.
Our beautiful world
(level 4, pages:24)
Written by Bibek Bhattacharya and
illustrated by Joanna Daavala
This book – about climate change and how
it can be mitigated - has a lot more content compared to other books of this
level. It uses ‘we’ as if children are a part of the problem! It also takes an
over simplistic view – that using energy sources alternative to fossil fuels
will help solve the climate change crisis. Do the alternative sources not come
with their baggage and caveats? The final page shows a conference as a part of
the solution! Many of these
conferences today are more a part of the problem than
the solution! What message do we want to give? Could the book, instead, have
talked about lifestyles and footprints with children?
This is a book teachers can do good
without.
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