Father's Day Reads

Posted by Remya Padmadas on June 18, 2017

Amrita Tripathy, Marketing and Communcations Manager at Pratham Books does a round up of her favourite stories starring Daddy dearest.  

Call him Daddy, Appa, Baba, Acchan, Abbu, Babuji or Pitaji.  He is strong. He is loving. He is the protector and nurturer. He is no less than a superhero. My ‘baba’ is my role model. I’m sure your father must be your idol too. This Father’s Day, we bring to you some of our interesting stories on this real-life superhero – father. 

Anu and her love for moustaches- adapted from the original story by 'बाबाच्या मिश्या' (in Marathi) by Madhuri Purandare and translated by Jayashree Gopinath

Moustaches are so interesting  and it becomes double intriguing when dads have it. Some have thick ones, while some have thin ones. There are many without one and some have long ones forming a beard. Our little Anu is in love with his daddy’s moustache! Actually, Anu likes anyone who has a moustache. No sooner has Anu seen a moustache and her mind brims with wonderful ideas. To know the ideas, read this interesting story. 

Biju Spins Some Magic by Jaya Jaitly  and Bhramara Nayak  

Biju and his family are weavers in rural Odisha. They create beautiful fabrics and sell them in big cities in India and abroad. This is the tale of Biju’s adventures when he accompanies his father to Delhi to sell the saris, and in the process, impresses a city boy with his skill. With the traditional patachitra artwork, this story is truly a nostalgia of my childhood memories, of my homeland and those train journeys with baba. Not to ignore the Odisha handicrafts. A must read is what we suggest!

Cheenu's Gift by Sridala Swami and Suvidha Mistry

We all have waited eagerly in our school days for our dads to pick us from their busy schedule. Add to it, the joy of going around the city and helping dad get his works done. You never know when he gets happy with your help and gets you a surprise gift. Cheenu also gets a wonderful gift from his appa for being a good child. 

DeeSy short stories 3 : Connecting the Dots... by  Dr. Deepti S., Alicia Souza and Upamanyu Bhattacharyya

This wonderful short story showcases the importance of parents giving time to their kids in the midst of their busy schedule – office appointments, working on laptops and mobile phones and even on weekends and vacations. Sweet and impactful, this story says a lot about a father-son relationship in today’s time. So, why wait anymore! Let’s just connect the dots… 

Raza Meets the King by Subhadra Sen Gupta and Tapas Guha

Who doesn’t love reading stories of Akbar, The Great? We all did. We all still do. Here’s a story from history when great Mughal King ruled the country where Raza's father Rahmat Khan is the royal tailor to the emperor. When they go to the palace to deliver the Emperor's new summer clothes, Raza realizes that the emperor is not completely satisfied with his father's designs. Raza wants desperately to help his father. But what can a little boy do? Find out.

Come Home, Papa  by Apoorva Mathur, Hari Kumar Nair, Kabini Amin, Kaveri Gopalakrishnan, Soumya Menon, Vartika Sharma  and Vishnu M Nair

What do you do when our father goes missing? Would you look for him? To whom will you turn for help?  Read Vishakha's tale to unravel this mystery. 

A girl with a lantern by Ravi Ranjan Goswami, Sonal Goyal, Sumit Sakhuja and Sumit Sakhuja

In the pitch-dark night, little Neelima goes in search of her dad. Did she manage to find him? Was she scared? Why did her dog bark? Know more. 

Springloaded by Chenél Ferreira, Sam Wilson and Thea Nicole de Klerk

Neo’s father is an inventor. When he invents a helicopter hat and flies away, Neo decides to make an invention of her own. Like father, like son! A book with no words, just wonderful pictures that tell a beautiful story. 

The Parrot with a Broken Beak adapted from ٹوٹی چونچ والا طوطا by Shahid Anwar, Shailja Jain Chougule and  translated by Manisha Chaudhry  

Her father's pen calls out to Kasni. Should she, or should she not pick it up? After she uses it, she finds an angry father and an angry parrot. A tale with charming colours to make any child happy! And for grown-ups, this story is a childhood memory. To know why, read the entire story.

The Magic Powder - A Folktale from Myanmar by Greystroke and P.G. Dinesh

Once upon a time, in a little village on the banks of the Irrawaddy river, there lived a young woman called Thuza. She was very happily married to handsome young Theingi. But there was one problem that nagged Thuza – her husband believed he would find a way to turn dirt into hold! Did he succeed? Read this delightful tale from Myanmar to find out.

So, what are waiting for. Celebrate this Father’s Day with us in our style. 

Happy reading! 

Be the first to comment.

Calling for applications to the Freedom to Read 2021 campaign!

Posted by Pallavi Kamath on February 21, 2021

International Mother Language Day is celebrated annually on 21 February to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity, and multilingualism. 


The ability to read is the ability to learn, to explore, and to imagine. But without books to read, how will children become readers?

In many parts of the developing world, millions of children still lack access to books in their mother tongue, that they can easily read, understand, and learn from. UNESCO reports that children learn better in their mother tongue, for all the benefits created in supporting reading skills acquisition among children, and building a strong foundation for learning. The disruption of education systems due to COVID-19 has deepened inequities, and the need for high-quality, multilingual children’s books is more urgent than ever.
 
Every year, StoryWeaver marks International Mother Language Day in an effort to highlight that learning to read in one’s mother tongue early in school helps reduce dropout rates and makes education more engaging, meaningful and enjoyable for children.
 

.
 

In keeping with UNESCO's theme for the 2021 International Mother Language Day - “Fostering multilingualism for inclusion in education and society” - we are renewing our commitment to progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education For All, by enabling the creation of and open access to local language children's books.
 
We are delighted to announce that entries are now open for the 5th edition of our 'Freedom to Read' campaign, which focuses on the translation and sharing of open digital libraries in local languages.

This year, we look forward to collaborating with government education departments, state education ministries, government language and culture promotion boards, civil society organisations, language promotion organisations, NGOs and large advocacy groups that work with children.

StoryWeaver will train and skill each of the selected partners to translate and share an open digital library of at least 50 high-quality books, in a language of their choice.
 

How will we do this? 

  • By supporting our partners with the selection of suitable books for their children. The books encompass a range of reading levels and themes, including Early Readers, Bilinguals, STEM storybooks, as well as the Curated Reading Programme. 

  • Training them to translate quickly and efficiently. 

  • Conducting editorial masterclasses tailored to their needs, and more

Application timelines and guidelines

  • The last date for applications: March 07, 2021 

  • Pratham Books reserves the final rights to select partners.

  • Selected partners will sign a letter of understanding with Pratham Books.

  • Only selected partners will be eligible for translation support and mentoring.

  • Applications for building digital libraries in languages with few or no books will be given preference over those in mainstream languages or languages that already have a digital library of 100 storybooks on StoryWeaver.

  • Applicants with basic digital infrastructure and language resources to create a local digital library will also be given preference.

  • All content created and published by you / your organisation on StoryWeaver as part of the 'Freedom to Read 2020' campaign will by default be licensed under CC BY 4.0.

 

Fill up the application form here: APPLY NOW
 


If you have any queries about Freedom to Read 2021, you can access the FAQs here or write to us at [email protected]or send us a message on WhatsApp at +91-9886110408.

 

comments (2)

Dive into the deep blue with these stories

Posted by Remya Padmadas on June 11, 2018

The National Geographic's June issue is being widely shared on Social Media, thanks to its attention grabbing cover. 

                                                           

One of the most comprehensive studies on plastic polluttion estimates that 8 million tonnes of plastic went into the ocean in 2010. Oceans that are home to a stunning array of plant and animal life. These books remind us exactly who we share our planet with, and will hopefully help readers young and old think twice before reaching for a one time use plastic, that will mostly likely end up in someone elses home.

Dive! written and illustrated by Rajiv Eipe

Take a dive into the spectacular world of coral reefs, and catch a glimpse of some strange and beautiful sea creatures! Available in 14 languages, free to read, download and share.

Goby's Noisy Best Friend by Sheila Dhir and Anjora Noronha

We could all use a little help from our friends... even when you live in the ocean! Legless Goby and noisy Snap are best friends who live together in a burrow deep under the ocean. What happens when Goby gets tired of Snap’s loud claws?

Miss Bandicota Bengalensis Digs Up the Seashore by Aditi Ghosh and Sunaina Coelho

Miss Bandicota Bengalensis is an avid explorer. Every time she digs in a new direction she lands up in new and wondrous places! This time our unlikely explorer has surfaced near the sea. Enjoy a walk along the beach with her as she befriends a host of strange creatures.

Turtle Story by Karthik Shanker and Maya Ramaswamy

Under cover of darkness, baby olive ridley turtles hatch from sun-warmed eggs on remote beaches. One of them, the little hatchling who is the narrator of our story, is delighted to make it across the beach and into the ocean without losing her way or being captured by predators. This charming life story of an olive ridley turtle introduces readers to several interesting creatures along the way.

You can read, download and share ALL these stories thanks to open licensing. You can also translate them to a language you're fluent in and take the stories to more children in more languages. 

Tell us, what are you reading this week?

 

Be the first to comment.