If you have a child between 6 and 10 years of age, you must invest in Duckbill’s Hole Books. These are incredibly important early chapter books that engage early readers with interesting stories and go on to create invested, interested readers. Here are a few reasons why I always, always recommend Hole Books
* The Hole books are designed to be stories that are contemporary, rooted in India, with protagonists who are the same age as the readers. This makes the book relevant and interesting for young readers because they can relate to the characters and stories, ensuring that they will finish the book.
* Using short chapters to move the story forward, the books train the young reader to understand how books work as they connect events from one chapter to another. The books in this blog use humour, thrilling adventure, and mystery to hook the young readers, making sure they complete the book.
* The hole at the top right corner of the book adds character and whimsy, allowing children to have as much fun with it as authors and illustrators do as they incorporate the hole into the story.
A WhOle Lot of Petu Pumpkin
Written by Arundhati Venkatesh, illustrated by Shilpa Ranade
Pushkin Ramadoss, or Petu Pumpkin as his friends call him, loves eating and will eat absolutely anything, yes, even dog food! With his friends Jatin, Sachin, Nitin, and Kiran, Petu spends his school days polishing off everyone’s tiffin dabba and moves through his school days eating as much as he can. Author Arundhati Venkatesh excels in creating hilarious characters, including Petu Pumpkin and his motley crew of friends. This three-bookset starring Petu Pumpkin is perfect for children 7+. Read this at any point in the day when your child needs a break and some laughs! Short chapters help encourage reluctant readers, and the stories are gripping and realistic to keep them hooked!
Petu Pumpkin: Tiffin Thief
Pushkin and his friends are back after two months of summer break, and Petu Pumpkin cannot stop eating. He finishes the many tiffin dabbas he brings from home and has now begun looking around at everyone else’s tiffin! It doesn’t matter how yummy or yucky someone’s tiffin is, Petu is bound to finish it. His friends are so tired of being hungry, so they form a club to strategise a way to save their tiffin dabbas from Petu. They try everything from magic potions to supergluing his mouth shut, but nothing works! They need a solution fast!
Petu Pumpkin: Tooth Troubles
Are Petu Pumpkin’s teeth so strong because he eats so much? That’s what his friends seem to think! Petu wants to join the Gap Club, but his loose tooth refuses to fall! He asks his friends to help him, promising them he will ask the tooth fairy for a brand new football in return for his tooth. The boys need a football to practise for a game against the fourth-graders, and they need it fast! Will Petu’s tooth fall in time, or will he devise a way for the second graders to win the game and save their dignity?
Petu Pumpkin: Cheater Peter
Snakes and ladders proves to be a costly game for Petu Pumpkin. He wins against his friends with a single ‘perfect’ roll of the dice, but they’re convinced it is his first step into a life of crime! Now they need him to confess to his crime, and they are running out of ways to make him do it. They have tried hypnosis, a DIY polygraph test, and village wisdom, but nothing seems to work! Will a last-ditch attempt to replay the game prove that Petu is guilty or innocent? It’s worth a shot!
A WhOle lot of Chumki
Written by Lesley D Biswas, illustrated by Aunpama Ajinkya Apte
The eponymous Chumki series is about a brave and gentle girl who manages to win over her harshest critics all while doing everything she sets her heart and mind on. Chumki series of stories is full of adventure, local flavour, and humour. We see the sibling bond between Chumki and Aki, and we also understand traditions and superstitions from rural Jharkhand through her family. This three-book set is perfect for children 7+, especially those who love reading adventures involving a spunky heroine!
Unlucky Chumki
Dadi thinks Chumki is unlucky because a pair of oxen died from a lightning strike the day Chumki was born. Now, the whole village thinks Chumki is unlucky and has magic powers. But Chumki doesn’t want to waste time with all that; she only wants to go to school and make some friends! Her brother, Aki, on the other hand, loves missing school and playing with his friends. Together, they hatch a plan to use the superstition around Chumki to trick a villager into parting with some yummy mangoes. Will the plan work, and will it convince the village to look at Chumki differently?
Chumki and the Elephants
A herd of elephants is passing through Chumki’s village, and the event is causing a major upheaval among the villagers. At the same time, Chumki’s Dadi is acting strangely, including feeding Chumki sooji halwa! When Dadi hears of the herd of elephants, she wants to go and see them. She remembers snatches of happenings from her youth when a similar herd had passed through. Now, Chumki, her brother Aki, and their friend Anju devise a plan to take Dadi to see the elephants, hoping her memory returns. Will a sighting of the mighty elephants help Dadi, or has Chumki gone too far with her daring plan?
Chumki and the Pangolin
Remember the COVID-19 lockdown and all the theories around how it spread? In Chumki’s village, a few people believe the virus was spread through pangolins. As family and friends begin returning from the city, families at home are stocking up on food. Amidst all this, Chumki has befriended a pangolin. When she tells Aki about it, he is keen to learn more about it too. But to keep Pingo the Pangolin safe, they need to keep local poacher Lalu Kaka off his scent. Will Chumki and Aki keep Pingo safe, or will the poachers get to him?
A WhOle Lot of Detective Stories
Various authors and illustrators
Reading a good mystery, even for an adult, is something of a thrill. It challenges the mind as you read, solving clues and filing away information. It is also a great way to relax and unwind and let the story wash over you. This collection of three fantastic mysteries, laced with humour, is a perfect way to introduce your emerging reader to the genre. Trust me, this is where they will begin to fall in love with mysteries and continue to pick a good one for the rest of their reading lives!
The Shy Supergirl
Written by Shabnam Minwalla and illustrated by Tanvi Bhat
This is one of my favourite mysteries because the detective Nina has a fantastic superpower. She can look at people and understand by the colour they emanate whether they are good or bad. This superpower often gets her in trouble because she can’t be nice around evil people. So she keeps her powers a secret and has only confided in her best friend, Buggy. In The Shy Supergirl, Nina and Buggy are excited for their Christmas holidays. Buggy has cousins from America visiting, and Nina has a baking class and roller skating to look forward to. But when a Christmas party treasure hunt results in a priceless object going missing, Nina decides to find out who stole it, and Buggy’s cousins are high on her suspect list!
Nisha Small: Knot of Gold
Written by CG Salamander and illustrated by Rajiv Eipe
Nisha Kutty or Nisha Small may be just a child, but she is Madurai’s finest detective! There isn’t a case she can’t solve, having recently solved the missing report cards and the stolen bicycle. Now she is tasked with finding out who stole a gold thaali (chain). The missing thaali has led to her best friend Jamie Karthik’s sister’s wedding being called off! Now she, along with five moustachioed detectives, must solve the case soon! Will she be able to crack the case, and will Jamie’s sister Priya get married?
Mira the Detective
Written by Pavithra Sankaran and illustrated by Vandana Singh
When a precious heirloom watch goes missing from Mira’s mother’s antique shop, Mira worries about her family. The CCTV hasn’t recorded much because the thief covered it with a cloth, but it did record a strange sound. Mira knows that sound but can’t recall it immediately until she has a breakthrough! The second story in this book seems like a chapter from modern living. Children across the city, including Mira, fall in love with a pink powder that makes milk taste delicious. But an evil plot emerges that shows the makers are ready to harm children to make a profit! Now, Mira must get to the bottom of it, even if that means drinking plain, white, yucky milk!