More Books!

This time we've got a whole lot of new picture books - colourful, witty, sensitive, sometimes silly! We also found some very special middle grade/young adult books:

Karen Hesse's 'Out of the Dust' won the 1998 Newbery Medal, competing with Lily’s Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff, Wringer by Jerry Spinelli, and Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine.

This is a book written in verse, best for mature readers.

Publishers Weekly said in a starred review, "Readers may find their own feelings swaying in beat with the heroine’s shifting moods as she approaches her coming-of-age and a state of self-acceptance."

Kirkus said, "The poem/novel ends with only a trace of hope; there are no pat endings, but a glimpse of beauty wrought from brutal reality."

About Jerry Spinelli's 'Crash', School Library Journal says,

"A winning story about seventh-grade Crash Coogan's transformation from smug jock to empathetic, mature young man. In a clever, breezy first-person style, Spinelli tackles gender roles, family relationships, and friendship with humor and feeling.

As the novel opens, Crash feels passionately about many things: the violence of football; being in charge; the way he looks in shoulder pads; never being second in anything; and the most expensive sneakers at the mall. Although a stereotypical bully, the boy becomes more than one-dimensional in the context of his overworked, unavailable parents and the love he has for his grandfather, who comes to live with the Coogans and then suffers a stroke. It is because of his affection for Scooter that Crash comes to appreciate Penn Webb, a neighbor and classmate whom for years Crash has tormented and teased about his pacifism, vegetarianism, second-hand clothes, and social activism...

Readers will devour this humorous glimpse at what jocks are made of while learning that life does not require crashing helmet-headed through it."

Stephanie Tolan's 'Surviving the Applewhites': When Jake Stemple arrives at Wit's End, the Applewhite family's home school, little does he know that the experience will foster a deeply hidden passion in him. Each Applewhite family member--from patriarch Grandpa to E.D., Jake's counterpart, to 4-year-old Destiny--sparkles with individuality and offers Jake a new lens through which to look at the world. (from Audiofile)

Back with New Books!

After months of a sort of hibernation, we're back with a new updated catalogue! Find our catalogue(excel file) on the Story Revolution website.

The Caldecott Honor, 'Click, Clack, Moo. Cows That Type', is a delightful picture book. Striking watercolour illustrations accompany a clever story about cows who learn to type on an old typewriter. Soon Farmer Brown has to everything he can to deal with the cows demands and strikes (Dear Farmer Brown, The barn is very cold at night. We'd like some electric blankets. Sincerely, The Cows)



Brother Eagle, Sister Sky : In this picture book adapted from a speech purportedly delivered by Chief Seattle at treaty negotiations in the 1850s, "Seattle's words and Jeffers's images create a powerful message," said Publisher's Weekly.

Rhymed verse, catchy and rhythmic, makes 'One Hundred Hungry Ants' a picture book that young children at Shibumi adore. This book explores a bit of Mathematics too: the group of hundred ants form, in turn, 2 lines of 50, 4 lines of 25, 5 lines of 20 and 10 lines of 10 to get to the picnic faster!

'All the ants raced here and there,
up, down, and to and fro.
"We hope there's yummies
for our rumbling tummies,
A hey and a hi dee ho!"'


Jip (by Katherine Paterson): When an aged lunatic named Putnam arrives at a poorhouse farm in rural Vermont in 1855, he is treated as little more than a beast by everyone except the orphan Jip, who himself arrived at the charity orphanage/asylum after being found abandoned by the roadside. Jip and Putnam become friends, then allies of a sort, as Jip struggles to improve his own lot and that of his friend Lucy, the unfortunate daughter of the late town drunk. This historical tale by Katherine Paterson involves its young protagonist in the great 19th century struggle between slave owners and abolitionists while sending him into a test of his own loyalty and courage. Paterson handles weighty issues with grace and verve, and does not shrink from terrible truths in this challenging novel for young readers. (from Amazon)

The Indian in the Cupboard

by Lynne Reid Banks

A review by Cammie V, a Bangalore mom who is reading the Top 100 Children's Books with her daughter Anusha (9)

Anusha and I both agree about this book - a very enjoyable read! It was published in 1980 and made into a movie in 1995 so it is one of the more contemporary books we have read the summer but it is truly a timeless story. The publisher's recommended reading level is age 9 and above. In the story a young boy, Omri, receives a plastic Native American toy figure for a birthday present. He also receives an old medicine cupboard. He soon discovers that the cupboard has the power to bring plastic toys to life. He brings Little Bear (the Native American) to life and is soon transfixed with helping the small man navigate the perils of living in a new time and place. This is a story about friendship, about responsibility and about valuing life in all its forms. It is exciting and touching to see Omri and his best friend handle this magical cupboard. Anusha and I both recommend this book highly (we now can't wait to see the movie!)

The Great Gilly Hopkins

Anusha (9) is a Bangalore student. She is attempting to read all the books on the ALA Top100 Children's Book List. She is very thankful to the kind people at Story Revolution who bring award winning books to Bangalore - even very old ones! (Her mom is thankful too!)

The Great Gilly Hopkins

by Katherine Paterson

A review by Anusha V

The Great Gilly Hopkins is about a foster child named Galadriel Hopkins who wants to find her mother. But, in the process of searching for her, she unconsiously comes to love her current foster family. I liked this book because I think the way Gilly deals with life is kind of funny. I believe people who like a story with unexpected twists and turns will enjoy this book! I think Katherine Paterson is a really talented writer, because this story is both sad and funny! She is also the author of Bridge To Terabithia and Jacob, Have I Loved - two more books my mom ordered recently. I can't wait to read them!

New Books!

We've had new books for some time now but haven't told you yet because we've been having some trouble keeping our catalogue up to date. Probably because this is the summer vacation, we've been getting more orders than our little technologically backward system can handle! A major change in our website is sorely needed, but until then, I'm afraid you'll have to deal occasionally with books you order having been sold just before you got to them :)

Here are some of the wonderful books we have right now...

Daily Dump's '5 Disgustingly Cool Books for Kids' are now part of our collection. Look at our earlier blogpost (cross-posted) about them here. These are five very thin booklets that encourage children (8 up) to enquire into some of the assumptions and choices that are part of daily life. The pages are scattered with questions with options that a child can tick off, as well as images and little snippets of information, not in strict linear sequence. The booklets are meant to be gone through with a sensitive and open adult -- parent or teacher -- because what they do best is to open up topics for discussion and questioning by adult and child together. What we liked best is that these are not questions that have a "right" answer that the adult must provide. Instead, the very act of pondering over these questions makes you look a little closer at your conditioning, assumptions, choices, and at everything that goes on around you. The set costs Rs. 100.

'Holes' is one of those books that shows up on every 'Best Books' list (like this one). It is wonderful in all ways. Perfectly structured and written, with humour, adventure without sensationalism, a lovely intelligent plot, and a strong, compassionate story to back it up. Like The Independent on Sunday said, "There is not one false sentence." You don't have to be a child to love it. Everyone seems to love it, there is a movie based on the book, and to top it off, it won the Newbery medal! We would recommend it for roughly ten and older -- it has a few slightly frightening scenes and an intricate story. Click here to know more.

'Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle' is the main character in a series of delightful, old-fashioned short stories for the younger ones . Amazon describes her perfectly:

"Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle has been wildly popular with children and adults for over 50 years. Children adore her because she understands them--and because her upside-down house is always filled with the smell of freshly baked cookies, and her backyard with buried treasure. Grownups love her because her magical common sense solutions to children's problems succeed when their own cajoling and yelling don't. For the child who refuses to bathe, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle recommends letting her be. Wait until the dirt on her body has accumulated to half an inch, then scatter radish seeds on her arms and head. When the plants start sprouting, the nonbather is guaranteed to change her mind about that bath."

'Green Eggs and Ham', by the wildly popular Dr. Suess, is one of his best books, in our opinion. Little ones (and everyone else!) love the clever delightful rhymes, they are encouraged to try new things that they may think they do not like, and as a bonus, they may even learn to read!

Have a look at our catalogue(excel file) on the Story Revolution website.

From our earlier posts, we do right now have copies of Corduroy, Pictures of Hollis Woods, and Beverly Cleary's books.

We are also excited to have many of the books from the SLJ top 100 books list (click for descriptions: #1 Charlotte's Web, #2 A Wrinkle in Time, #5 From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, #6 Holes, #7 The Giver, #8 The Secret Garden, #9 Anne of Green Gables, #11 The Westing Game, 13 Bridge to Terabithia, #15 Because of Winn-Dixie, #17 Maniac Magee, 19 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, #23 Little House in the Big Woods, #26 Hatchet, #28 Winnie-the Pooh, #29 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland /Alice Through the Looking Glass, #30 The Dark is Rising , #33 James and the Giant Peach, #37 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, #41 The Witch of Blackbird Pond, #42 Little House on the Prairie, #43 Ramona the Pest, #47 Bud, Not Buddy #50 Island of the Blue Dolphins, #53 Wind in the Willows, #55 The Great Gilly Hopkins, #56 Number the Stars , #57 Ramona Quimby, Age 8, #58 The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, 60 The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, #63 Gone-Away Lake#64 A Long Way from Chicago, #68 Walk Two Moons, #73 My Side of the Mountain, #74 The Borrowers, #78 Johnny Tremain, 82 The Book of Three, #85 On the Banks of Plum Creek, #89 Ramona and her Father, #92 Ella Enchanted, #93 Caddie Woodlawn, and #99 The Indian in the Cupboard)

Review: Toilet Tales

Via Saffron Tree

"I bumped into a Canadian classic titled Toilet Tales, written and illustrated by Andrea Wayne Von Konigslow. With a lively parade of animals, one on each page, paired with simple text focusing on the reason why the animal in focus wouldn’t be able to use the toilet, this book was an instant hit with the toddler in the household.

A goat would eat the toilet paper; A giraffe is too tall to fit in through the bathroom door; An elephant, too heavy he would smash the toilet into pieces….

Can you imagine the fun and amusing illustrations supporting the ideas? After a dozen or so list of animals, and the reasons why they couldn't use the toilet, the book concludes by saying, that is why toilets are meant for "big kids like you" accompanied by a drawing of a child on a potty. I thought that was indeed very clever to offer a toddler the concept in a fun way as opposed to hit-over-the-head. The book did bring many giggles and chuckles during the weeks of training. "

Read the entire review on Saffron Tree. The kids at Shibumi love this book too. We do have it in stock occasionally, but not right now.

Review: Pictures of Hollis Woods

A review by Grishma Jain who loves this book. Thanks, Grishma!

Hollis Woods, a 12-year old, has a unique way of looking at the world around her. Shuffled from one foster home to another she continues to run away from them because nobody sees things quite the way she does.

Her love for drawing leads her to live her ‘ideal life’ through her pictures, which express her deepest wishes. A ‘W’ picture she drew for a school assignment depicts her deepest ‘wish’ or ‘want’ -- a family.

Then she is placed with Josie Cahill, a loving, retired art teacher. Hollis begins to love living with Josie and all her eccentricities, and wants to stay, but she senses Josie’s memory failing her. In an attempt to take care of Josie and hold onto what they’ve built together, she must escape the Social Services.

Even as she fights for a future with Josie, her pictures tell a different story... they reveal glimpses of her stay with the Regan family, her previous foster home. A family very like the one in her ‘W’ picture, one that truly seemed to care about her, but one she ran away from!

Will Hollis’ loving and caring nature lead her into the perfect picture?

I loved the book because as Hollis's story unfolds it seems to capture more than just the innocence of a young child. It shows how perceptive kids are to their environment, the people around them and the tiny details that make a difference in their lives. And how their naivety allows them to reciprocate and relate to being loved unselfishly.

Something that can be so apparent when I interact with Putta, Paapu and others but also easy to miss...

We have two copies of this book in our collection right now. Grishma also found there is a TV movie based on this book, which we are looking forward to seeing!