We, at Pratham Books, have had an amazing journey over the past 18 months since the launch of StoryWeaver, when we created a gateway to thousands of open access stories in mother tongue languages for children. The interactive nature of the platform has allowed users not just to read the stories but also translate, version, and download and print the stories for use.

We are now poised to take the next leap, thanks to Google.org, whose grant makes it possible for us to scale up StoryWeaver to provide more stories in more languages to children all over the world. Access to learning and information is part of Google’s core values and the organization has announced a $8.4M commitment to help scale four groundbreaking education nonprofits working in India to make a quality education a reality.

StoryWeaver has enabled access to a staggering 3000 stories in 67 languages in the past 18 months. These stories ae being reimagined and translated for the enjoyment of children of all ages, and their digital format allows them to reach the remotest of areas, and the least-served children. We have been overwhelmed by the response of our wonderful community that has contributed their time and talent to create, translate and version the stories and take them to more children. Imagine our delight when we discovered that it also spoke for unrepresented languages that are the mother tongue languages of some of the most disadvantaged children. From minority languages like Tibetan and Konkani, to tribal languages like Kora and Santali and endangered languages like Kurdish, StoryWeaver is a rich source of children’s storybooks, which, as we know, are an essential pathway to literacy.

Suchana, based in Birbhum, West Bengal, has been working to improve the lives of the large Adivasi tribal community in that region by implementing education and health programmes. One of the challenges faced by them was that while children spoke Kora and Santali at home, learning materials were only available in Bangla, which is the dominant language of that region. Even though, the indigenous Adivasi languages of Kora and Santali are the first languages of the people of the region, there was a dearth of original learning material. This changed dramatically when Suchana began to use the StoryWeaver platform for translation. In a year and a half, almost 70 new stories in Kora and Santali have been translated and published on the platform. Even as you read this, 10,000 copies of books in these languages are being printed for use in their school programmes.

The grant from Google.org will provide a big boost to our work with StoryWeaver, propelling it to the next level of reach and influence. It will encourage the generation of thousands of new, engaging stories to be distributed even more widely, and read and enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of children across the globe.

With this, we will take a big step forward in fulfilling our mission of ‘a book in every child’s hand’.

 

 

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Our annual Retell, Remix and Rejoice contest is back… with a small twist! This year :

• You can choose from the whole universe of illustrations on the StoryWeaver platform and

• You have to create an engaging story for young reader (A  level 1 or 2 book. More details below)

A recent report ‘Mapping Children’s Literature in India’ by the Sir Ratan Tata Trust and Parag revealed a huge shortage of quality stories for our youngest readers (0-6 years), especially in Indian languages. We want your help in creating joyful stories for the next generation of bookworms to read, giggle and wonder at in English, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi or Tamil. We asked Pratham Books’ editors to share the themes they felt engaging stories were most needed in. This is what they would like you to weave stories about:

• My body: Parts of the body, sensations, growing up.. Take a look at Rohini Nilekani’s ‘Listen to my Body’.

• My friends: Games we play, sharing, fighting, making up, being fair. Have you read ‘मेरा घर’ by Rukmini Banerjee.

• Animals around us: My pets, domestic and wild animals, birds and insects. ‘Ammu's Puppy’ by Sowmya Rajendran was one of the big hits of 2016 on StoryWeaver

• Travel: Using modes of transport in stories, visiting new places and culture, etc. Check out 'My Car' by Phidi Pulu.

• People around us: My teachers, shopkeepers, drivers, fruit-sellers, ice-cream wala, the gardener, mechanic, etc. Here's 'Phani's Slippers' by Sridala Swamy. 

• The world around me: Weather, nature, seasons, trees and flowers, every day science Have you read 'The Red Raincoat' by Kiran Kasturia.

About our Reading Levels

At Pratham Books we link levels to the child’s reading development, since we know 10-year-olds who are most comfortable with a Level 1 story, as well as 6-year-olds who can read Level 3 stories effortlessly. This happens across languages, too, as kids have different fluencies in different languages.

This year we’re asking you to be as creative as you can and convey as much as you can - using as few words as possible. Use our reading level guidelines as you create them.

Level 1 Books

• Easy words, word repetition

• Short sentences, less than 5 on a page

• Text and pictures should support each other

• Big fonts

• Rhyme and rhythm

• Word range: 0 to 250

Level 2 Books

• Simple concepts (especially in non-fiction)

• Stories with linear, engaging plots

• Word range: 250 to 600

Guidelines for Submission

Timelines:

Contest ends on April 30, 2017.

Copyright and other guidelines

• All stories submitted must be your original work.

• Stories must be in English, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil or Marathi.

• Participants must be over the age of 17 to participate (we’re organising an exciting contest for children later in the year)

• By submitting your work to Retell, Remix and Rejoice 2017, you are agreeing to a CC-BY license being applied to it (This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation). To know more about CC-BY, click here.

• For queries, write to us at [email protected]

• While we encourage participation from all countries, prizes shall be couriered only within India.

How to enter

You can submit your story for Retell, Remix and Rejoice 2017

1. using illustrations from our image bank

2. by uploading your own illustrations

3. or as text only

Here’s a quick video tutorial on how to create stories on StoryWeaver.

However you choose to create your entry it MUST be via the Retell, Remix and Rejoice contest page, by clicking on the button below:

Oh and before you go… here’s a quick reminder of the prize this year

The three best manuscripts will receive  detailed feedback from our Senior Editors at Pratham Books. One of the finalist entries will be chosen for re-illustration by a children’s book illustrator.

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Pratham Books intern Rahel Rao, puts together some stories guaranteed to make you guffaw and giggle!

One of the most popular sayings in the world is: laughter is the best medicine. With this in mind, we have compiled a list of hilariously told and beautifully illustrated stories that will surely make you smile and brighten up your day!

1. सोना की नाक बड़ी तेज (Sona’s Smart Nose) by Vinita Krishna and Suvidha Mistry

Sona’s strong nose can smell all the amazing flavours of the chuskis (or golas) in her uncle’s shop. But wait! Something also smells bad! Can Sona figure out what it is?

2. ಕಣ್ಣಾಮುಚ್ಚಾಲೆ   (I Spy!) by Samvida Venkatesh and Sandhya Prabhat; translated by Asha Yogendra

Play a game of I Spy! with Sania, on her birthday. Can you and Sania find all eight friends in this beautifully illustrated book, while learning subtraction at the same time?

3. Kallu’s World 3 - Mangu Mali and the Ambia Bhoot by Subhadra Sen Gupta and Tapas Guha

Join Kallu and his friends in his third adventure in the series as they try to get juicy mangoes from Mangu Mali’s haunted tree. It is a colourfully illustrated, hilarious story, sure to bring a smile onto your face.

4. వార్షిక క్షవర దినం (Annual Haircut Day) by Rohini Nilekani and Angie & Upesh; translated by Ambika Ananth

It is the day Sringeri Srinivas gets his annual haircut. But, when he asks people to cut his hair, nobody has the patience. He finally ends up finding help in the most unexpected place.

5. Mr. Anand has an Adventure by Mala Kumar, Manisha Chaudhry, and Satya Krishna Prakash

The adventurous Mr. Anand finds Greeno when going on a walk in the forest. Greeno is crying and, when Mr. Anand agrees to help, their adventure begins.

6. आकऽछी! आऽऽ क् ऽऽछी! (Hatchu! Ha-aaa-tchu!) by Sharada Kolluru and Lavanya Karthik; translated by Sandhya Taksale

Hatchuram’s sneezes are so loud, they disrupt the entire village, from the milkman, to the peacocks, to the earthworms and the mice. How does the village respond to this? Find out in this colourfully illustrated story.

7.   டொக் டொக்! (Tok Tok) by Vidhya Pradhan and Reshma Barve; translated by N. Chokkan

There is a loud noise and it’s keeping the king awake. Join the kingdom as they try to find out what is making the loud noise that keeps their king awake, making him cranky the next day.

8. Tommy and Tingu by Kanchan Bannerjee and Natasha Mehra

Tommy’s owner has a friend called Rohan. Rohan’s cat is called Tingu. In this cute, short story, find out why exactly Tommy is scared of Tingu. This is a perfect book to read-aloud to children.  

9. खोदकर भोवरा पंबरम (Pambaram, the Naughty Top) by Kavitha Punniyamurthi and Ajanta Guhathakurta; translated by Sushrut Kulkarni

When Pambaram the top is spun after years, he begins spinning everywhere, out of excitement. Chase him along with Priya and Bala, trying to catch him and stop him from making a mess everywhere.

10. ಹೀಗಾಗಿದ್ದರೆ? (What if?) by Hari Kumar Nair; translated by Aparna Prasanna

In this story, born out of Shyam’s wild imagination, he thinks about what his life would be like if all his features were different. What would life be like if his legs were as long as building; or his teeth so strong, he could bite into anything! Beautifully illustrated, it is a great book to read aloud.    

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