1. Surprise Gift Author: Asha Nehemiah Illustrator: Sujata Bansal Aunt Farida enjoys making things and decides to make a present each for Bina's family. She makes a jar of apple jam with cloves and ginger for Bina's mother; a colourful lampshade for Bina's father; a pen stand that can hold many pens for Bina's brother and a hair decoration piece with feathers for Bina. The gifts were sent by post but in the process, the gift tags were separated from the boxes. So Bina and her family do not know which gift is for who. |
Bina picks up the lampshade. Oh, Aunt Bina has made me a beautiful skirt. She really likes her present.
Oh, this is nice, something for me to clean my computer and CDs ,says Bina's brother, as he picks up the feather hairpiece.
Bina's mother is thrilled with her present - a sprinkler - just what she needs. They write a letter to Aunt Farida to thank for the gift of gum, skirt, CD cleaner and sprinkler.
2. The Tiger and the Mosquito Author: Mrinalini Srivastava Illustrator: Subir Roy Translator (from Hindi): Alaka Shankar This simple story is wonderfully illustrated with different perspectives. A tiger is annoyed by a mosquito buzzing in his ear. He smacks it but ends up smacking himself several times. In the end the tiger gives up and walks away. The mosquito says after him, "Each is great in his own way." A good lesson indeed. |
3. The Story of the Road Author: Poile Sengupta Illustrator: Mickey Patel The repetitive text in this story is effective in helping us to hear how busy the road is. One can imagine children reading this story together and making the sounds. This book can be used for choral reading with the children divided into groups and making the different sounds or words. The brightly-coloured illustration style is unusual but suits the story. |
4. The Runaway Wheel Author: Asha Nehemiah Illustrator: Subir Roy This book is written by the same author who wrote Surprise Gifts. It's an amusing story with a satisfying ending. Stories like these are what make children beg for more. Ramu and Kamala saw a poster advertising a circus. They begged to be taken to the circus and their father happily agreed to take them in his shiny, red tractor. On the way, they had a puncture and had to stop. Ramu and Kamala were asked to hold to the wheel but they got distracted and the wheel started to roll downhill, causing some mayhem along the way. |
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