All for the love of reading: When kids get hooked to books

Accompanied by her mother, Tarini Chandra, a student of class I in a south Mumbai IB school, visits Shemaroo library on Warden Road every Saturday. The weekly ritual involves browsing through the children’s section on the first floor to pick up as many as 14 books. A precocious child, Tarini is as much at home with fairytales as with the history of Pompeii and the Trojan Horse. Her introduction to the world of classics happened through Gulliver’s Travels and Treasure Island, thanks to her mother who gently prods her to expand her horizons.

Minutes after they leave, seven-year-old Reyansh Panchmatia walks in to borrow a book about a boy whose nose grew longer every time he lied. “He’s looking for Pinocchio,” says his mother Priti, a school teacher, who introduced the joys of reading to Reyansh when he was a toddler. 

Shemaroo’s popularity is not restricted to weekends. “We see a footfall of 150 children of different age groups everyday,” says Bipin Maroo, an employee.

The Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report, India Edition survey, released this September, points to a growing tribe of children like Reyansh and Tarini who haven’t succumbed to the lures of television, video games and smartphones. The study interviewed 1,752 parents and children who represent the country’s English-speaking population with access to the internet. Seventy-seven per cent of these kids – in the age groups of 0-5 and 6-17 – believe reading books for fun is very important. Alongside this heartening report is another reality, the ASER-Pratham 2014 Annual Status of Education Report, which states: “Of all children enrolled in Std V in rural schools across India, about half cannot read at Std II level.” The two surveys reflect how economic schisms and the rural-urban divide impact access to education and reading habits. 
The primary responsibility to draw children into the world of books rests with parents and schools. The litmus test is to turn it into a continuous process and maintain interest levels. Tarini and Reyansh receive constant encouragement from parents, especially their mothers.

Give kids a headstart

For Podar pre-school students, the exercise begins with associating words with images and everyday objects. “Every item in the classroom — the switches, chairs and tables — is labelled,” says Swati Popat Vats, director of Podar Jumbo Kids. “The book club encourages those who’ve crossed the early stage to carry a book home. We urge parents to read out to the children,” says Vats. 

“It is very important to start reading out to them when they are two or even younger,” says Sangeeta Bhansali, proprietor of Kahani Tree bookstore in Mumbai. Most parents Bhansali comes across are keen on inculcating reading habits in their progeny. “These are men and women in their late 20s and early 30s. I suggest to them ways to make a story interesting. Reading is a performance art, especially if you are trying to hold a toddler’s attention,” she says and backs it up with an impromptu animated rendering of a popular book, Gajapati Kulapati, an endearing tale of a bumbling elephant.

Hook them in

Bhansali organises meet-the-author/storyteller events once a month on a Sunday at Kitab Khana in south Mumbai. Right from the early days of Kahani Tree, her emphasis has been to introduce children to tales that mirror India’s diverse culture and ethos. A decade ago, most school librarians weren’t aware of the gems produced by publishers like Tulika Books. “They only knew of foreign publications, which had little to offer in terms of local content,” she says.

Tulika’s bilingual picture books — produced in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati and Bengali, with English as the common language — are a rage in India and abroad as parents find them an instructive and entertaining way for their children to get acquainted with India. “These books are for two- to seven-year-olds who learn an unfamiliar language through a familiar one,” says Aneesha Vijaykumar, head of marketing and promotions at Tulika. “We have collaborated with Book Box to convert some of our books into the audio-visual format to make reading even more fun. Popular stories like Gajapati Kulapati, The Musical Donkey and The Lion and the Fox are available in animated versions.” 

Book festivals play a role in the scheme of things, says Lubaina Tyebji Bandukwala, founder, Peek A Book Festival. “Every child has to find the book s/he really likes to fall in love with reading. If we turn reading into an intellectual exercise, kids will be scared. It should be taught as a life skill,” says the journalist-turned book editor, who has helmed the children’s literature section at Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda festival for the last four years.

In the first Peek A Book fair, held in Hyderabad last year, kids were encouraged to turn the pages of the books they fancied. “Apart from author-interactions and storytelling sessions, I introduced activities to enable children to approach a book through visual and performing arts,” says Bandukwala. For the book Ballerina Swan, she got a ballet teacher to teach children the basics of the dance form. Mumbai will host Peek A Book in December when writers, illustrators and storytellers will together regale children.

The economics

In view of the plethora of activities, a peek into the economics driving the book world becomes imperative. Since demand and sales are inextricably linked, Amazon’s success in the children’s book section has valuable insights to offer. “The children’s physical books category has seen a 25 times growth in sales since its launch in 2013,” says Noor Patel, director, category management, Amazon India. “In 2015, children’s books emerged as the second most popular genre on amazon.in. This year, from July-September, there has been a 71 per cent growth in sales, compared to the corresponding period last year.” 

However, for households running on a tight budget, affordability is key to a child’s exposure to the treasure trove. That’s why a Tulika picture book rarely exceeds Rs160 and titles from the NGO Pratham are priced at Rs30.

One of the biggest NGOs with a pan-India presence, Pratham’s contribution towards providing preschool education to slum children is laudable. “We are a volunteer-driven institution that conducts storytelling sessions at a nationwide scale on World Literacy Day,” said Sampurna Murty, a consultant with Pratham Books. “We coordinate with teachers, community workers and resource persons through the year to create a reading environment for kids without access to books.”

To bridge the class divide, Kahani Tree has teamed up with United Way, the philanthropy partner for Mumbai Marathon. The joint venture, under the Let’s Read project, offers 125 books for Rs 10,000 for underprivileged children. “We coordinate with civic schools and mobile crèches striving to keep learning alive among children of migrant labourers,” says Avijit Chakrovorty, assistant manager, campaigns, United Way.

What is conspicuous in the multi-pronged strategy is the lack of institutional recognition and incentive for children’s authors and illustrators. The Big Little Book Award, organised by PARAG, an initiative of Tata Trusts, in association with Tata Literature Live! aims to fill the void. This year, Marathi being the focus language, the shortlist includes authors Madhuri Purandare and Rajiv Tambe along with illustrators Proiti Roy, Nina Sabnani and Atanu Roy. “Traditionally in India, children’s authors and illustrators have got little recognition. This indifference is all the more evident if one compares the situation at home with the international scene, where so much goes into promoting children’s authors and books,” says Swaha Sahoo of PARAG, which has teamed up with civic schools in 10 states to set up libraries in classrooms, and revive the children’s section in Maharashtra and Rajasthan’s public libraries.

Books will continue to attract children as long as teachers and parents are around to show the way. Let’s not forget, readers are created on the laps of parents.