Pratham Books

Genpact NASSCOM Social Innovation Honours 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Maya) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:00:00 +0000

NASSCOM Foundation, the leading Indian development organization that works towards galvanizing the corporate social responsibility (CSR) space in the IT industry in India; and the social development arm of NASSCOM, announces Genpact NASSCOM Social Innovation Honours - 2011 (GNSIH 2011), its annual Honours with Genpact as its Title Sponsor.

The annual Honours aim to showcase projects that demonstrate best practices through exemplary use of ICT in areas of social transformation. It aims to identify projects where innovation could be in the form of a process or an application or product. In looking at the process, NF aims to understand systems based on transfer and sharing of knowledge across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. For NF, a social innovation can be a product, process, or technology as also a principle, an idea, an intervention, or some combination of these using ICT. The winners will receive their Honours at NASSCOM’s biggest event – NASSCOM India Leadership Forum to be held in Mumbai in early 2011. The deadline for submitting entries is October 1, 2010.

CALL FOR ENTRIES:
Genpact NASSCOM Social Innovation Honours 2011, a NASSCOM Foundation initiative, is now open for entries for NGOs, NPOs, Corporate, Students, Government/PSUs, Individuals /Groups, across the following seven categories:

· ICT led Innovation by Non – Profit Organisation
· ICT led Innovation as a Business Model
· ICT led Innovation through Corporate Social Responsibility
· ICT led Innovation by Government Department/Body
· Multi Stakeholder Partnership
· ICT led Innovation by Individual/Group
· ICT led Innovative Student Concept

HOW TO APPLY:
The application form can be either downloaded or filled online on our website www.nasscomfoundation.org.

Read the entire article here.

Whispers from the Wild - A Book About Animals in India

noreply@blogger.com (Maya) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 05:35:00 +0000

Via Inkblots (via @adropofwisdom)

Inkbots' forthcoming October 2010 release Whispers from the wild is a collection of short stories for young readers about animals in India. Each story, illustrated in watercolour by Dutch artist Isa Esasi and written by Geetanjali Krishna, is in the voice of a different animal, and tells the reader a little about the beauty and the drama of its life. Key facts mentioned about the animal’s habitat, diet, habits and adaptations are based upon current scientific knowledge.The rest is all imagination…

The stories address the basic fact that with the current rate of extinction on our planet, soon a day may come when the Tiger may leave his jungle forever, and the Blue Whale, the sea. What would this mean to you and I? How will it affect us if the last Lion Tailed Macaque or Malabar Spotted Civet were to die? Or if Rhinos ceased to walk through Assam’s grasslands, and the alpine meadows of Ladakh became bereft of Wild Yaks?

Whispers from the wild tries to show that we can’t measure this question in scientific terms alone. It does not matter if the reader has never seen a Dugong or heard the cry of a Forest Owlet. It does not matter if the Himalayan Wolf or the Dhole has no direct bearing at all on the reader’s life. But if these animals were to vanish from the face of this planet, we’d all be poorer for not having had a chance to know them…

Image Source

TN Khoshoo Ecology and Environment Award for Schools

noreply@blogger.com (Maya) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:01:00 +0000

Via an email sent by Chintan Girish Modi:

Atree along with The Teachers Foundation, Wipro, FRLHT and Pravah has instituted an award in the memory of late Dr. T N Khoshoo who was India’s first Environment Secretary and was one of the key architects of India’s Environmental policy. This award is targeted to recognize schools that enable innovative, creative activity that promotes environmental consciousness and thoughtful action.

The details are available on the following web page :
http://www.atree.org/tnk_schoolawards

The award will select the best school entries in English, Hindi and Kannada, in Delhi and Bangalore. In future it will expand to other cities.

I request you to forward these details to the schools in Bangalore and Delhi which according to you would be willing to participate in this award. We are also working towards promoting the active participation of Government schools and Kannada/Hindi medium schools in this competition.
The contact details of the schools or school teachers could also be sent to the following email address :
skanda.s@atree.org

UPDATE : Skanda from ATREE left a comment to inform us that the deadline has now been extended to 15th September, 2010.

Image Source

Mobile Bookfairs Across Bengal

noreply@blogger.com (Maya) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:10:00 +0000

On mobile bookfairs across the state of Bengal...

cc licensed flickr photo shared by romana klee

Via Rediff

However, we often tend to overlook the state's thriving publishing industry which registers a turnover of not less than Rs 35-40 crore (Rs 350-400 million) every year.

A hefty part of this turnover accrues from sale at the Kolkata Book Fair held under the aegis of the Publishers and Booksellers' Guild in January and February every year. People from all over West Bengal and also from other states throng this annual bonanza of books.

Taking cue from the readers' response, Mitra & Ghosh Publishers Private Ltd, one of the oldest and most prominent publishing houses of the state, has taken the initiative of organising a mobile book fair across West Bengal, starting this month.
"When we were celebrating our 75th anniversary in March, one of our new directors suggested this idea to us and we just fell for it," Manish Chakraborty, the company's joint managing director, told rediff.com.

"We heard that our founders -- writers Gajendra Kumar Mitra and Sumatha Nath Ghosh used to hawk books across India. When this plan was broached to us, we thought we should go for it.

"For, it would serve many purposes -- it would increase our sale, popularise reading habit among the masses and at the same time it would reinvent the spirit of book canvassing as propagated by our founders."

"We are inviting various publishers, English and Bengali alike, to send their published titles to us. We plan to sell their books as well at the fair.

"We shall be carrying the books in a truck and on reaching our venue, will set up a makeshift stall. For our first fair, we are liaising with municipal bodies, libraries, clubs etc," said Chakraborty.

Sukumar Singh, chief functionary of Mass Education, is all smiles ever since he got the offer to collaborate with Mitra & Ghosh.

"A book fair of this kind will give us an opportunity to spread the message of education among the masses and will also help us do a need-based survey among the population of Bengal," he told rediff.com.

Both Chakraborty and Singh like to dream big. Therefore, the duo plans to carry this mobile book fair to other parts of India by the end of this year.

These mobile book fairs are not enough to satisfy the creative urge of the dynamic duo. They plan to build a book hospital -- first of its kind in India -- to restore and preserve books.

Apart from reinstating and mending old and rare books, the hospital, as per plan, will also conduct workshops and trainings on book binding and book preservation.

Read the entire article here.

It's Your Turn to Review!

noreply@blogger.com (Maya) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:39:00 +0000

Have you always wanted to tell us what you think of our books, but have never been able to? Here’s your chance!

Pratham Books invites you to write reviews for our books, to be published on our website and blog! The first few respondents will be mailed a copy of the book. We even have a special category for children's reviews, so now your kids can also contribute and tell us what they think! To make it more fun, you can submit your reviews in any form you choose - text, video or both! Reviewers will also be sent a complimentary book for their efforts!

So what are you waiting for? Mail us your choice from the list mentioned below, and write to us at updates@prathambooks.org, naming the book of your choice along with your contact details and we’ll mail you your book.

Click here to view the list.

Note:
1. This offer is only available to Indian residents currently.
2. Please remember to include your choice of book, your postal address, language of the book and whether the book is being reviewed by you or your child.
3. Hurry!!!! Only one book as per the list below will be sent out for reviewing.

The books that are currently up for review are:

Age Group : 3-6 years

1. Tall…Taller…Tallest - bilingual in English and Hindi
2. Found It At Last! - bilingual in English and Kannada
3. Round and Round - Hindi
4. The Royal Toothache - English

Click here to read more about these titles.

Age Group : 7-10 years
1. Jhilmil - Hindi
2. Phani's Funny Chappals - English
3. Cheenu's Gift - English
4. Samira's Awful Lunch - English
5. Yakity Yak - English
6. Sister, Sister, where does thunder come from? - English

Click here to read more about these titles.

Age Group - 11-14 years
1. How the Rainforests Came Alive - Hindi
2. Raza Meets the King - Hindi
3. Happy Maths 4 - Time and Money - English
4. From Submarines to Skyraiders - Dragonflies and Damselflies - English
5. Raja Nang Dhadanga Hai - Hindi
6. Grandfather Goes on Strike - English
7. Asian Splendor - English
8. Moorgi Ka Nirala Bachcha - Marathi

Click here to read more about these titles.

Playreport

noreply@blogger.com (Maya) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:45:00 +0000

Time to encourage your children to play more (and maybe even join them) - Watch the following video to know why.

You can read IKEA's playreport here.

Exhibition and Discussion on Picture Book Illustration

noreply@blogger.com (Maya) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 08:45:00 +0000

Via Goethe Institut

The exhibition Contemporary Picture Book Illustration in Germany offers an intriguing insight into the work of 13 well-known German illustrators viewed from their individual perspectives. Children's book illustration in Germany is known for its great diversity, one of the features that has contributed to its growing success and recognition on an international scale.

From water colour and collage to digital experiments, the selected artists cover a wide spectrum of contemporary illustrational art. Sometimes naive, sometimes sceptical, sometimes cheeky. Some artists play with imaginative words and images taken from dreams, others distort reality in a cheerful and comical way. Expressive images with strong colours stand opposite more muted and subtle illustrations.

There will be a Panel Discussion titled The Fine Art of Children's Book Illustration, in collaboration with the publishing house Tulika.

View more details here.

Exhibition
Date : 3rd-25th Sept, 2010
Timing: 9.00 a.m – 6.30 p.m.

Inauguration with Panel Discussion
The Fine Art of Children's Book Illustration
Date: 3rd September 2010
Timing: 6.30 p.m.

Of Borewells and Cinnamon Rolls

noreply@blogger.com (Maya) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 06:12:00 +0000

The weather in Bangalore and the horrible sound of the borewell being dug right outside our office is making us all feel like we should have stayed at home and been reading like this cute little girl (Yes, yes.. ok...this post is just to share this nice drawing :)).

And just as I was typing this post, Gautam brought a big box of cinnamon rolls for all of us. Yayyyyy! We LOVE our office. Hope you all are having a nice day and that no one is digging a borewell near your house.

Image Source : Lupevision

Traditional Toys for Children

noreply@blogger.com (Maya) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 05:09:00 +0000

Via Citizen Matters

If you are a parent who wants her child to do activities that require her to think and use her imagination, you've probably scoured the market for suitable craft kits. Yes, there's a lot of stuff available but after a point, most seem similar, with instructions that are often hard for kids to follow.
It was the search for safe activities and crafts for their kids to do, that drove sisters Anu Parthasarathy and Rupa Vijendran to launch craft kits for children that are not only easy to make but also introduce them to traditional techniques like Channapatna woodwork, terracotta art and so on.

Anu Parthasarathy and Rupa Vijendran, founders, Redbug Kreative Kits. Pic: Reshmi Chakraborthy.

Called Redbug Kreative Kits, the sisters' aim is to use natural, eco-friendly materials that would also introduce kids to traditional crafts and give them a fun and entertaining activity to do.

Sounds like a tall order? It actually is not. The kits are really simple and aimed at children in the six-plus age group, though even my four-year-old son had a good time assembling his little toy wagon made of shiny Channapatna wooden parts.

Working mostly with eco-friendly vegetable dye pieces made by Channapatna artisans, Anu and Rupa also have craft kits that use traditional hand-dyed and block printed fabric as well as terracotta material. Their plan is to introduce more traditional products as they go along.
Anu says the kits work well not only in keeping children occupied but also as a family activity. "Children don't appreciate culture or concepts like 'environment-friendly' and 'organic' until they try for themselves," she says, pointing out how her daughter now knows you can use turmeric to make the colour yellow.

Read the entire article here. You an also visit the website to see their work.

The 'Good Reading Guide' from Hippocampus

noreply@blogger.com (Maya) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 06:54:00 +0000

The Hippocampus blog has 'picked out a list of all the must-reads for our little HOOs according to the age groups'. Our books 'Listen to My Body' and 'Cauvery' also feature on this list. Click here to go through their suggested reading list for all the age groups.

Oxford English Dictionary 'will not be printed again'

noreply@blogger.com (Maya) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 05:24:00 +0000

cc licensed flickr photo shared by Adventures in Librarianship

Via Telegraph

Sales of the third edition of the vast tome have fallen due to the increasing popularity of online alternatives, according to its publisher.

A team of 80 lexicographers has been working on the third edition of the OED – known as OED3 – for the past 21 years.
The dictionary’s owner, Oxford University Press (OUP), said the impact of the internet means OED3 will probably appear only in electronic form.

The most recent OED has existed online for more than a decade, where it receives two million hits a month from subscribers who pay an annual fee of £240.

“The print dictionary market is just disappearing, it is falling away by tens of per cent a year,” Nigel Portwood, the chief executive of OUP, told the Sunday Times. Asked if he thought the third edition would be printed, he said: “I don’t think so.”
“The printed book is about to vanish at extraordinary speed. I have two complete OEDs, but never consult them – I use the online OED five or six times daily. The same with many of my reference books – and soon with most.
A spokesman for the OUP said a print version of OED3 could not be ruled out “if there is sufficient demand at the time” but that its completion was “likely to be more than a decade” away.

The next full edition is still estimated to be more than a decade away from completion; only 28 per cent has been finished to date.

OUP said it would continue to print the more familiar Oxford Dictionary of English, the single-volume version sold in bookshops and which contains more contemporary entries such as vuvuzela, the plastic trumpet encountered in the 2010 football World Cup.

Mr Portwood said printed dictionaries had a shelf life of about another 30 years, with the pace of change increased by the popularity of e-books and devices such as the Apple iPad and Amazon’s Kindle.

Read the entire article here.

Streelekha : Bangalore's Feminist Bookstore

noreply@blogger.com (Maya) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 04:38:00 +0000

Via Time Out Bengaluru (via Chintan)

The women’s movement has moved on to new challenges over the past couple of decades, as evidenced by the works on the shelves of Streelekha, a “book place” in Thyagaraja Layout that stocks writings on feminism, women-related subjects and alternative thinking. “The issues have multiplied – from the impact of wars and fundamentalism to changing gender roles in the increasingly gloablised world,” explained Kalpana Chakravarthy, who handles the operations of the space in one room of an elegant brick building that also houses its parent organisation The Centre for Development Studies and women’s Non-Governmental Organisation Vimochana.

Back in 1986, Streelekha was started to make available and accessible women’s knowledge and stories, partly as a response to the mainstream and “male-stream” publishing industry that only encouraged books on beauty, fashion and cooking for women. “Even some of the works that were printed back then by the big publishers were just doctoral theses written by women, which were quite shabby in content,” said Donna Fernandes, one of the founding members of Vimochana and Streelekha. “Today, the environment is different. Women’s studies are a part of the university curriculum, there’s a market for the books and what’s being printed is more serious and better thought-out.”

Read the entire article here.

Drop Shot Photo Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Maya) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:26:00 +0000

(Please click on the image for a larger view)

Via Schools Water Portal

We are organizing "Drop Shot" a photography contest for students in VIII std to XII std and in an undergraduate program (2 categories).

The themes for the contest are:

* Thirst
* What a waste!
* Water - our common wealth
* Drop the drip
* Fresh water, refreshing water

The deadline to receive the entries is 12th Sept 2010. For more information on the contest details, registration form and judgment criteria Click here

10 Reading Revolutions Before E-Books

noreply@blogger.com (Maya) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:39:00 +0000

cc licensed flickr photo shared by Thomas Hawk

Via The Atlantic

1. The phrase "reading revolution" was probably coined by German historian Rolf Engelsing. He certainly made it popular. Engelsing was trying to describe something he saw in the 18th century: a shift from "intensive" reading and re-reading of very few texts to "extensive" reading of many, often only once. Think of reading the Bible vs reading the newspaper. Engelsing called this shift a "Lesenrevolution," lesen being the German equivalent of reading. He thought he had found when modern reading emerged, as we'd recognize it today, and that it was this shift that effectively made us modern readers.

In Elizabeth Eisenstein's account in The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe, print changed readers' expectations of texts, especially their universality and fidelity, since everyone everywhere was (in theory) reading an exact copy of an identical text. This assumption proved particularly instrumental in the subsequent Scientific Revolution. Benedict Anderson thought print helped readers of a common language in a highly fragmented Europe think of themselves as an "imagined community," crucial to forming the modern nation-state. Marshall McLuhan and Walter Ong thought print helped further reorient language from sound to vision, paving the way for our screen-fixated present. This is a reorientation that, as Ong argued extensively, begins with writing itself.

3. There are many crucial developments in the very early history of writing, but for the sake of time/space (writing being the primary technology that allows us to think of these interchangeably), let's cut to the emergence of the alphabet.

This fusion of orality and literacy helps explain the potency of classical Hellenic culture. Songs and dances became literature; disputations became rhetoric and philosophy. The Greeks were able to incorporate the knowledge of the civilized world in their own language, and in turn transmit their own amalgamated culture wherever they went. As Ong notes, unlike writing or agriculture, the alphabet was only invented once - every single alphabet and abjad can trace itself back to the same Semitic roots. It was (and remains) a revolution that happened over and over and over again.

4. Now, the other major pre-Gutenberg "revolution" in the history of the book (and by now you may be getting the hint that not one of these revolutions were total coups that changed everything everywhere in an instant, leaving nothing of the old order behind) was in the shape, size, and design of the book itself. The shift from the rolled scroll to the folded codex as the dominant form of the book radically affected readers' conceptions not only of books, but of what kinds of reading were possible.

Read the entire article here.

Events

noreply@blogger.com (Maya) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 05:11:00 +0000

1. Poetry Across Borders - with New York

Via Jaaga's Facebook Page

The next Poetry Across Borders event is slated to take place on the 28th of August 2010 at 8:30pm (IST).

This time around we're linking up with poets from New York through BronxArtSpace.(http://www.bronxartspace.com/)

Our featured poets for this session are: Khushrav J. Writer, Sailen Routray and Mari Mascarehnas.

Cookies or cake (depending on the chef's mood) will be served.

Date : 28 Aug, 2010
Timing: 8:30 pm-10:00 pm
Venue : Jaaga, Bangalore

2. Khul Ja Sim Sim @ Hippocampus, Koramangala

Via Hippocampus

A HINDI CLUB FOR CHILDREN AGES 7 & 8 WITH NIRMALA AUNTY AND SHAIFALI AUNTY
Does your child find the ‘second language’ a bore? a chore? No More!
Welcome to the fun way of learning Hindi with Games, Rhymes and Songs, Story Reading and Activities every week!

An adaptation of HRF‘s proven program – GROW BY Reading, that is working in more than 250 centres, this Hindi Club will focus on functional Hindi. This club will take a natural immersion approach, modeled on the way we all learn our first language. Your child will hear spoken Hindi, listen to it, understand it and, try to speak the same to communicate…

Activity Sheets & Do-It-Yourself Craft instructions, will reinforce words learnt. Take-home Hindi books at the child’s individual level of reading will encourage him/her to explore and enjoy the language.

Fee for 8 sessions:

Members: Rs. 1,600
Non-members: Rs. 1,750

Venue: Hippocampus Experience Center, Koramangala

Dates: Every Friday evening, starting 3rd September ’10 [excluding Puja holidays]

Timings: 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm

Sign up now! Limited registrations on a first-come-first served basis

3. Ismat & Manto; Life, Times and Legacy

(Please click on the image for a larger view)

Image Source

inspirED Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Maya) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:12:00 +0000

Via inspirED

What is InspirED?
On August 27-29, 2010, two hundred of India’s most innovative school teachers and administrators will gather in Mumbai for a groundbreaking three-day conference, InspirED. The conference seeks to inspire change by:
• Spotlighting and documenting the country’s most innovative approaches to improving education;
• Establishing a network of extraordinary Indian education professionals;
• Bringing together stakeholders/leaders to collaborate;
• Take action for the future of Indian education.

Who should apply to attend InspirED?
We welcome teachers and educators from all backgrounds and levels of experience who dare to be different, who challenge their own learning, who search for the most creative or just the most effective ways to have their students become life long learners. We want educators who have fresh ideas and new perspectives, question the education system, and take risks to transform their ideas into powerful action. Most importantly, we want educators who are eager to connect with others and dialogue on meaningful ways to engage students, approach problems, and enhance the learning process.
This year's conference will feature:
Over 300 conference participants including teachers from public and private schools, school administrators, scholars, and professionals in the corporate and non-profit fields.
20 diverse and renowned speakers and panelists
Small group breakout sessions and workshops with leaders in the public, private and nonprofit fields, and experts in education.
An education bazaar featuring innovative teaching methods at different schools
Opening Night
On Friday, August 27, the conference will kick off with an event showcasing innovation in education. We are bringing together India’s most innovative leaders in education to present cutting-edge developments in education. These are leaders, who, through their work have brought about innovation in education – whether from the corporate, media, government or social sectors. These leaders will share their experiences and plans to bring about change through a unique and engaging panel discussion.

Day One: Teaching as Leadership
For excellent teachers to bridge the prevalent educational inequity between students from low-income communities and their peers in wealthier communities, teachers need to lead their students to significant academic gains. Research has found that teachers who are able to successfully bridge this achievement gap employ the same skills as excellent leaders in any context. We believe that great teachers are the instructional leaders in the classroom.

While leading their students to academic gains, excellent teachers exhibit six overarching principles of leadership. First, they set ambitious and measurable goals for their students, which give them a vision for excellence that they work toward during the year. Teachers then invest students and their stakeholders in working hard to achieve the goals. From their big goals, teachers will derive structured and purposeful plans that will give them a road map to success. Excellent teachers then effectively execute these goals in their classroom, allowing students to show mastery over subject material. Finally, successful teachers, like successful leaders, are also committed toward continuously improving their effectiveness and work relentlessly toward achieving the goals they have set for their students. By displaying these leadership characteristics consistently in the classroom, teachers have shown that teaching is leadership.

Day Two: Innovation in Action

Teachers are perhaps some of the world’s greatest natural innovators. Those who are truly focused on maximizing each student’s learning and development are constantly exploring new techniques to achieve this ultimate goal.

These are perhaps some of the least recognized innovations today, but happen the most naturally and consistently in the best classrooms around the world. Some innovations are tried and true, data-tested and proven, while others are new and emerging, based on the need for relevance with today’s rapidly changing world. All the sessions and workshops on day two have been already tested and proven on small- or large- scales to have a meaningful impact on classrooms ranging in environmental and contextual differences. Our best teachers are constant innovators. On the second exciting day of the conference, watch some of them in action.

You can apply for the conference or read more information here.

Bird Book Marker

noreply@blogger.com (Maya) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 07:36:00 +0000

These bookmarks (or book markers) by Our Shop are rather cute (Spotted on Design*Sponge).

IGNITE 2010 Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Maya) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 06:59:00 +0000

Via National Innovation Foundation

National Innovation Foundation invites submissions of the creative technological ideas/innovations from the students up to class 12 th for the fourth national competition for children's ideas and innovations- the IGNITE 10.

What is the IGNITE contest?

IGNITE is a national competition to harness the creative and innovative spirit of school children. Students are invited to send their original creative technological ideas and innovations for the same.

What is invited for the IGNITE contest?

Original creative technological ideas and innovations of the students OR/AND

Any technological idea/innovation that solves any daily problem be it household, of porters, labourers, or the like

In addition, during their vacations or otherwise, the students are encouraged to look for other people who come out with innovative machines/devices or solve day to day problems using their creativity. Similarly they are also encouraged to document and learn traditional knowledge practices from their elders in their family and neighbourhood. The purpose is to expose them to the rich traditional heritage we have, facilitating its transfer from generation to generation.

The students submitting the maximum number of properly documented entries (Innovations/Traditional Knowledge) to the schools (which would forward them to NIF) or directly to NIF would be given appreciation certificates from NIF. For each innovation/traditional knowledge practice spotted and documented by the student, he/she will be credited as being the ‘Scout' for that particular innovation/traditional knowledge in records.
What is the last date for submission of entries for the competition?

The entries will be received till September 15, 2010

Click here for more information. You can also read about the innovations created by other kids here.

Book Review : Too Many Bananas

noreply@blogger.com (Maya) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 06:50:00 +0000

Via Saffron Tree

"Too many bananas" is a heart warming and a simple story, which appealed to all of us at home. We were at our library the last weekend for a story telling session followed by Origami based on the book - Grandpa Cherry blossom and other folk tales from Japan. Pratham books had organised the event and there were quite a number of their titles for display and sale that day. In my eagerness, I started picking the books that I was familiar with, as gifts. Meanwhile Sooraj had picked this book and finished reading it. He said that he liked the book so much that he wanted me to buy it. "But if you have read it already, why do you want to buy it? " asked me with a big load of books in my hand. He insisted and I gave in, without looking so much at the book ! It was a good thing because it turned out that it charmed each of us in it's own way.

The story line is simple and beautiful; the sentences short and easily understandable for little kids. What I loved was the usage of words and pictures culturally relevant to the state in which the story is set(Karnataka). Sringeri is the name of a famous temple town of Karnataka, which is home to the Sharada temple. Shivanna is a common name here in Karnataka. Dodda- ooru in Kannada literally means means "big town" ! There is complete harmony in the pictures and words. The illustrations are very striking and expressive and it is clear that a lot of effort has gone into them. The funny facial expressions evoked lot of giggles ! Both my son and husband were completely bowled over by the the colourful pictures in the book.

Read the entire review here. And make sure you scroll down to see Sathish's comment about how Sringeri has become Sooraj's muse...:).

Magazines and Periodicals for Young Readers

noreply@blogger.com (Maya) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 04:23:00 +0000

Via Scholars without Borders

Frederick Noronha votary of the CopyLeft movement has put together a list of books/magazines/periodicals that are of interest for younger readers and for those who teach them. The list below comes with no particular endorsements and is only meant to facilitate subscriptions and give some basic information.

cc licensed flickr photo shared by oknovokght

Since the list is quite obviously incomplete (and may have some errors), please feel free to add the names of any magazines or perioidicals of this type that are produced in India so that a comprehensive list can be constructed… Thanks!

Here goes:

Blinkster
http://www.blinkster-mag.com
India’s exclusive magazine for high schoolers.

Chandamama-English
A children’s magazine that has adapted itself to the changing needs of children over across decades, English Chandamama offers you a delectable mix of the classic and the contemporary in 72 pages. New sections include Sports, Technology, Contemporary, and Activities. Revamped. Redesigned. Relevant. [Age group- 9+].

Children’s World
A monthly since March 1972, publishes stories features, comics, puzzles, poems, quizzes, activities, book reviews, and articles of topical interest.

Dimdima
For Children. Size: Large Size (As in News Magazines) No of pages : 48 plus cover Age Group: 9 to 15.

Find the entire list and more information here.

Conference Report: JUMPSTART Join the Dots

noreply@blogger.com (Gautam) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:44:00 +0000

Pratham Books was happy to be a part of JUMPSTART Join the Dots 2010 held on 20th and 21st August, 2010 at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi.

JUMPSTART was a two-day event open to authors, illustrators, publishers, marketing professionals, booksellers, librarians, teachers, principals - pretty much anyone and EVERYONE working with, and interested in Children’s Books!

There were sessions covering:

• Illustrating children’s books
• Marketing children's books
• Translating children’s books
• Writing for different age groups
• Rights selling and buying
• New Technologies
• Storytelling skills
• Comics and Graphic novels
• Libraries
• Nurturing readers
• Fiction, fantasy, comics, picture books

We were part of two panels, one on multilingual publishing along with Tulika Books - Manisha from Pratham Books spoke of our challenges and Radhika from Tulika used this wonderful presentation to speak of the tightrope that is multilingual publishing:

Multilingual Publishing - Walking the Tightrope

View more presentations from Tulika Books.

The other session we spoke at was the session on Technology and Publishing and we spoke of our social publishing strategy and how our model depends on community, technology and open licenses to build greater access to children's books and to create more content for children to read too.

Publishers Love Technology

View more presentations from Pratham Books.

It was also wonderful to see a UNESCO Donate-A-Book box there too.

We had a wonderful time at JumpStart and hope it is an annual event.

CC Interviews with SoundCloud

noreply@blogger.com (Maya) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 04:36:00 +0000

SoundCloud is profiling users who are using Creative Commons licenses and Pratham Books was the first to be interviewed for this series.

Via SoundCloud

In 2008, they started releasing books under Creative Commons licenses, and earlier this year collaborated to release audiobook versions of some of their titles, also using Creative Commons. We caught up with Gautam John from Pratham Books to talk about how SoundCloud has helped them distribute their audiobooks online.
Hello Gautam! Can you describe the goals of Pratham Books, and the kind of audio you’re producing? What is the background behind that?
We didn’t set out to produce audio books – we set out with a mission to put a book in every child’s hand. That said, we have always wanted to be as inclusive as is possible but as a small non-profit, we do function under severe constraints of time, money and bandwidth.
What are some of the difficulties in producing a project that spans so many languages?

For us, we face challenges of translation and all the other associated problems of proof reading. However, the production of the audio books was done with Radio Mirchi – we have them to thank for this.
Is there any book on SoundCloud that you’re most proud of, or has an interesting story behind it’s creation?
Yes! In particular, Moon and the Cap. Barkha Deva, who follows us on Twitter and is an avid supporter of our work shared her experience on Twitter and then volunteered to and did record this one along with Radio Mirchi.

Moon and the Cap- English by prathambooks

Read the entire article here.

Toto Awards 2011 - Creative Writing in English - Call for Entries

noreply@blogger.com (Maya) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 11:43:00 +0000

Via Toto Funds the Arts

Toto Funds the Arts (TFA), in association with Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions, invites entries for its sixth annual Toto awards, from persons between the ages of 18 and 29, for writing in English in three genres: short plays, short stories and poetry. Two winners, to be decided by an eminent panel, will get a cash award of Rs 25,000 each. Entries should reach TFA by 15 October 2010. There will be no extension of the deadline.

The awards are meant only for Indian nationals resident in India. You are eligible to apply if you were born on or after 1 January 1981. No exceptions will be made. Also, since the spirit of the award is to identify promising writers, please do not apply if you are already a well-known writer.

Each entry should be not more than 7,500 words. If you are submitting poems, please send 6 to 10 poems. If you are submitting short stories, their combined word length should be at least 2,500. You can, if you wish, send only a single story of 2,500 to 7,500 words. You can send entries in all three categories — poems, short stories and plays — but you must send in separate entries for each category. For example, your poems can constitute one entry, your short stories the second entry, plays a third entry. The word limit will remain 7,500 per entry.

Find more details here.

Image Source

Ruskin Bond's Book Reading

noreply@blogger.com (Maya) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 04:36:00 +0000

(Please click on the image for a larger view)

More Libraries Going for Digitization of Knowledge, E-resources

noreply@blogger.com (Maya) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 08:05:00 +0000

cc licensed flickr photo shared by Daniel Greene

Via The Times of India

Leading educational institutes and libraries are making books immortal - virtually. Rare books and publications are now in the focus of many local and national-level projects of digitization.

On academic front, projects like INFLIBNET, acronym for Information and Library Network Centre, hold great promise, believe experts.

"Apart from providing over 70,000 books and 2,000 journals online, we have started a project called National Library and Information Services Infrastructure for scholarly content (N-LIST) from this year. It will not only encompass a wide range of subjects in published material, but will also have content like doctoral thesis and dissertation of our member colleges," said Arora. This year, the project has got national award for digital learning through ICT in higher education.

Other organizations are not behind. Gujarat Vidyapeeth has undertaken the mammoth task of digitizing 35 lakh pages in a period of three years. "So far we have already digitized 12 lakh pages containing rare books, Gandhiji's literature and academic material," said Bharati Desai, in-charge librarian of the Vidyapeeth.

Read the entire article here.