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Ten books I recommend children to read

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Sindu Aven
Sindu AvenAug 09, 2015 | 20:24

Ten books I recommend children to read

When it comes to talking about books, I always remember Groucho Marx's famous quip: "Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." While no one can argue about the ability of dogs to keep us entertained and feel loved, books do have an edge. They can be our windows to the entire world. Of course, these days, television and internet compete very strongly with our good old leafy companions, but books are still going strong. There is nothing to match the smell of a new book (or an old book for that matter) and the sheer tangible presence of the words, images and pages. Recommending books to children is always tricky, as I learnt with my son, but let me try to list some of my favourites.

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1. Tintin: As we know, this is a comic book series. The intrepid adventures of the amateur journalist, his dog and his hilarious friends introduce us to distant cultures, faraway lands and tantalising drama that never become gory. You can jolly well imagine the villains as regular, bumbling people despite their menacing appearance. And Hergé's (whose real name was Georges Remi) illustrations with intricate details for elaborate scenes compel readers to lose themselves in the world they create.

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2. Malgudi Days: This was a tough choice because RK Narayan's Swami and Friends is an equally strong contender. Malgudi Days is a collection of short stories on what happens in the fictional world of Malgudi. Many of us were introduced to Malgudi through the TV series that ran in the early days of Doordarshan. While the TV series had stories from Narayan's other books, including Swami and Friends, Malgudi Days is a great place to start reading Narayan. The quirky people in the small town of Malgudi never fail to amuse us.

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3. Dr Seuss: My third recommendation is not a book, but an author. Theodor Seuss Geisel, popularly known as Dr Seuss, wrote numerous children's books and created memorable characters like Horton and the Grinch.

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4. A Topsy-Turvy Tale (Ha-Ja-Ba-Ra-La): This nonsense novella invites readers to the bizarre world of a mathematically inclined crow, a mourning goat with a BA degree and the dwarfish udho and budho, who are most probably inspired by Tweeddledum and Tweedledee from Lewis Carroll's equally bizarre Through the Looking-Glass. The author, Sukumar Ray, better known as the father of the director, Satyajit Ray, wrote many other books for children. However, A Topsy-Turvy Tale (Ha-Ja-Ba-Ra-La) remains a masterpiece in Indian nonsense fiction.

5. The Very Hungry Caterpillar: This series is for little toddlers, who are in the process of learning numbers, letters and concepts about the world around them. The language is simple, illustrations are delicious and the turn of events completely engrossing for preschool children.

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6. Sita's Ramayana: Literally a new kid on the block, Samhita Arni created her first comic book at the age of 12. Her retelling of Ramayana through Sita's perspective has been an international bestseller. The patachitra-style panels for illustrations are a bonus for readers. I also recommend her The Mahabharata: A Child's View for a captivating simplicity to approach the multi-layered epic.

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7. Jules Verne: I have another author on my list simply because I cannot choose between his adventure and science fiction works. His major works like Around the World in Eighty Days, Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea and Journey to the Centre of the Earth have been made into popular movies as well.

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8. My Family and Other Animals: This autobiographical book by Gerald Durrell about his childhood days in the Greek island of Corfu always made me wish that I grew up in such an idyll. The Jamshedpur-born author presents his family's eventful years in a way that can only be called quixotic.

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9. Totto Chan: Totto Chan reminisces her growing-up days in early-20th-century Japan. This unconventional character created by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi shows the learning she imbibes at the progressive school established by her mentor, Mr Kobayashi, who becomes her friend. The challenges of adolescence and the harsh realities of the Second World War come together to create a tapestry of events that teaches Totto Chan (and the readers) the values of independence, integrity and compassion.

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10. Maus: Although Art Spiegelman's magnum opus is quite dark and definitely for older children, I recommend this graphic novel simply for the rich mix of history, illustration styles and narrative strategies. The society under the Nazi regime comes alive through the characters (Art himself is a character) and events Spiegelman creates.

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If you have reached until this and are angry about some of your favourites not being included in the list, well, congratulations! you are a committed reader and you should create a list of your favourites and write to me at feedback@zeelearn.com.

Last updated: August 09, 2015 | 20:24
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