Dreamers

MY THOUGHTS

I have long been a vocal advocate of the Dreamers series because I have witnessed the magic and the hold the books had on Gurgles (10). He read the first book when he was 6 years old, and it immediately piqued his interest enough to send him down a rabbit hole of research. Now 10 books later, he still goes back to the books, to read them again, learn a little bit more, and find something he probably missed. Thanks to these books, he knows about legends like PT Usha, Janaki Ammal, and Bachendri Pal.

The Dreamers is a 12-book strong series of microbiographies of inspiring Indians written and illustrated by Lavanya Karthik. Here are 3 main reasons we love these books:

1. Not the usual Indian legends: Books on folk singer Teejan Bai, mountaineer Bachendri Pal, and woman scientist Janaki Ammal mean young readers are introduced to people who have contributed significantly to Indian history. Their stories are inspiring, and our children must know about them.
2. Intriguing illustrations: The Illustrations in these books are not one style. Lavanya Karthik illustrates each book in the style of the region the Dreamer is from. So PC Sorcar is illustrated in the Babu Bibi style of Kalighat paintings, for instance.
3. Relatable to young readers: Each of the books has an incident about the Dreamer from their childhood, something that inspired them or set them on the path to achieve all that they did in life.

1. The Girl Who Loved To Sing: Teejan Bai
   This book is about the famous Pandvani performer and trailblazer Teejan Bai. She forged a path and a name for herself when women from her community were not allowed to sing or perform. With steely determination and single-minded dedication to her craft, she convinces her grandfather to teach her the ancient art form of Pandvani. The brilliance lies in the illustrations – fiery red, bold, and heavily inspired by Bhil artists.

2. The Boy Who Played With Light: Satyajit Ray
Manik fell in love with light when he would watch his Baba’s printing press make magic with books and drawings. But where there is light, shadows have to follow. Manik begins to notice the lurking shadows and watches helplessly as they take over his family and his home. Manik, as Satyajit Ray was fondly called, became a world-famous auteur, and this book is an attempt to find out what drove him to achieve greatness. Illustrations inspired by the art of Satyajit Ray and Sukumar Ray.

3. The Boys Who Created Malgudi: RK Narayan and RK Laxman
RK Narayan’s stories kept getting rejected by publishers, leading him to believe his stories were not big enough or good enough. Until one day, he decided to write about the people and places from his own life. That was when Malgudi was born. RK Laxman always knew he was going to be a ‘great cartoonist. All he needed was the encouragement from his elder brother. Illustrated in the style inspired by RK Laxman’s cartoons.

4. The Girl Who Was A Forest: EK Janaki Ammal
We fell in love with one line from the book: Be a seed. E.K Janaki Ammal was one of India’s most well-known women scientists in the field of Botany. This is about her when she was a little girl and was desperately trying to break free from rules and pressures imposed on her as a girl from one of the country’s lower castes. She dreams of flying and soaring free in the sky but is told by her father that she is a seed. Until he explains how a seed can become a forest. The illustrations are inspired by early botanical art from the nineteenth century. Gurgles spent a lot of time thinking of the endless possibilities of seeds and the role a small seed can play in creating and evolving a large, dense forest. The potential of something so tiny and the role it goes on to play has been on his mind, and therein lies the beauty of the book.

5. The Boy Who Loved Birds: Salim Ali
Sometimes all you need to teach a child right from wrong is provide a little more information. Saloo is a young boy who loves his air gun. For him, birds are targets for sport and morsels to savour. One day he meets a mystery, a bird he doesn’t recognise. His young mind is now filled with questions, and he needs answers. His uncle Aamir shows him where he can find answers, but does Saloo dare to go? Lavanya Karthik’s illustrations are rich and saturated with detail. The illustrations in this book are inspired by Salim Ali’s favourite miniature art from the Mughal era.

6. The Girl Who Climbed Mountains: Bachendri Pal
Bachendri Pal was the first Indian woman to climb Mt Everest, but this story is about a young girl, Bachni, who raced up the revered mountain with her friends to prove to her brother that girls could climb mountains too. They were plagued by demons: thirst, fear, cold, and hunger, but Bachni soon realised that the demons were merely a test for her to show her resolve. The illustrations in this book are inspired by Thangka Art.

7. The Boy Who Made Magic: PC Sorcar
Where does magic begin? This is the question young Protul is asked by his future mentor, the great Ganapati Chakraborty. After multiple failed answers, Protul says, magic begins in the heart with faith. Perhaps the ethos that defined his glittering career as Jadusamrat PC Sorcar. Riveting and filled with beautiful illustrations inspired by the Babu Bibi paintings of the Kalighat school of Bengal, this is an amazing book!

8. The Girl Who Loved Words: Mahashweta Devi
Mahashweta Devi was a renowned writer who wrote about Adivasis, Dalits and those living in underserved communities. This is the story of how words engulfed her and stood by her side every time life was unfair to her. From living in a time when girls had to take care of the house instead of studying further to living through the Great Famine in Calcutta, Mahashweta Devi had her words and used them to help others. This book is illustrated in the style of artist Chittaprosad Bhattacharya.

9. The Boy Who Wanted To Fly: JRD Tata
Where exactly does young Jeh belong? He feels like an outsider in India and in France and longs to soar through the skies like the famous French pilot, Pegoud. When he gets an opportunity to sit in a plane, he realises he belongs between the clouds and will realise his dream of soaring through the skies – not for anything else, but to unite all his different worlds. This is a beautiful story of a man who was an integral part of modern India. Illustrations in this book are inspired by the art of Pestonji Bomanji’s portraits of the Parsi community.

10. The Girl Who Loved To Run: PT Usha
At 12 years of age, PT Usha had no idea she could run fast. All she loved doing was playing with her friends. But a coach saw the potential in her and urged her to try running a race. He told her not to think of it as a race or a competition but to do what she liked to do when she played. Usha realised she liked to think she was flying. Usha would go on to win many medals for India in athletics and be known as the Golden Girl! Illustrations in this book are inspired by Kerala mural art and are stunning in orange and green.

Through the Dreamer series, children may not necessarily start listening to the music of Teejan Bai or start watching movies made by Satyajit Ray or even look up papers written by Janaki Ammal, but they will remember the spark that ignited the minds of these Dreamers. They will remember that these Dreamers saw something extraordinary amongst the everyday ordinary and decided to pursue it to achieve greatness. And isn’t that what all of us are trying to teach our kids?

This is a book series your child will not tire of reading. Get it for them today!