Jump start
Jump into reading through a Duckbill hole,” runs the legend on the back cover, while a literal hole, drilled through the top right corner of each book, makes good the invitation (those of us with the advantage of years may be reminded of the splendid adventures that befell little Alice after she had plunged into the rabbit hole).
Each of the four books in Duckbill’s “hOle Series” is a joy to behold—and not just because of the quaint design. Children’s books in India have seldom felt so “international”, charged by the synergy of delightful storytelling, charming illustrations and impeccable packaging. Priced at ₹ 125 each, these books are also eminently affordable.
Chapbooks for children who are beginning to read are common in the West, though they are not as popular in India. “When children begin to read independently, they need interesting stories but with a relatively simple vocabulary and of a short length,” says Sayoni Basu of Duckbill. The hOle books are written with these criteria in mind (all are less than 80 pages). But refreshingly, the stories they tell are not typically Indian. Rather, they tap certain primal emotions that have a hold over tender minds all over the world: fear, curiosity, a spirit of adventure, and of course, pure naughtiness.
In Parinita Shetty’s The Monster Hunters, Abhay and Nitya, a couple of eight-year-olds, embark on an expedition to do exactly what the title promises. After several misadventures, including one involving a shoe-stealing dog called Doodle, the two emerge wiser, if not a tiny bit grown up. Asha Nehemiah’s Trouble With Magic finds little Veena nearly ruining her Aunt Malu’s career by urging her to use her herbal magic to make something new and wonderful—though she does manage to save the day in the end.
Of the four books, Meera Nair’s MayaSaves the Day is the most episodic, though edgy little Maya—who has to battle an escaped tiger, find her lost parents and smuggle two stray puppies into her home—is endearing. But the whackiest tale in the series is told by Sharanya Deepak. The Vampire Boy is the story of Kristofer, the eponymous hero who is forced to attend school with human children. Along the way, he has to fight Bran the bully, become friends with eccentric Bo, overcome his distaste for blood, a drink much loved by his father, and catch a chicken thief.
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