English-Vinglish and the search for Multilingual Books
Our one year old, Alekya, is a little bookworm. She loves her books, and I love getting new ones for her; her delight on seeing them filling me with complete joy.
In my search for interesting and sturdy books for her (it is surprising how quickly a one year old can destroy anything!), I have gone through many must-read lists such as the Top 100 by Time Magazine, the Top 100 by the Telegraph, and the quintessential 100 by Amazon editors.
I have sort of put together my own list of books which I think are really fantastic for your baby's first year. (Yes I consider myself an expert now!!)
What has been really striking though, is that all of these books are in English. This is logical, given that English is the predominant language of communication across the globe. However, if you are raising a multilingual, mixed-culture baby, then exposing her to only English literature is doing a grave disservice to the rich cultural and linguistic heritage she should be experiencing.
Hence began my search for some interesting, fun to read, and definitely sturdy, Hindi books (with a little prodding from my own mom, I must confess).
The results were not surprising - it is incredibly hard to find good quality, and interesting books in Hindi that are designed specifically for babies. The rare few that are available, are almost all about Gods and Goddesses or have stories with heavy morals. Meh.
Just when I had almost given up hope, I came across T4Tales, who stole my heart with the following paragraph on their website:
"We are old school in a high tech world. T4Tales strongly believes that you need physical books for 0-4 year old, and not the distractions of an app on a high contrast tablet screen or games on the computer." (Ref: http://www.t4tales.com/about.html)
And so, I got in touch with the author, Pridhee Kapoor Gupta, on Facebook direct, and had the 3 books in my hand within 10 days!
1. Gol Mol Bol
This is a lift-the-flap book, designed like a guessing game. The board book construction is fantastic, and the illustrations, endearing.
My little one really loves the flaps in this one. They are not that easy to tear-off either. Definitely value for money.
3. Das Din
Featuring an interesting poem, this is another lift-the-flap book, which also features numbering from one to ten. I wasn't familiar with this poem before reading this book, but am enjoying it immensely now. The language is simple, and the flaps are well-made. Good quality board book construction, and lovely illustrations, make it a value-for-money buy.
My daughter has really taken to interacting with this one - and I am ecstatic!
All in all, T4Tales has been a find. They are a good place to start if you are looking for good quality, fun-to-read, board books in Hindi for your baby.
Meanwhile the search for more multilingual literature is on, and till I come across something else that interests little Miss A....Happy Reading!!!
I have sort of put together my own list of books which I think are really fantastic for your baby's first year. (Yes I consider myself an expert now!!)
What has been really striking though, is that all of these books are in English. This is logical, given that English is the predominant language of communication across the globe. However, if you are raising a multilingual, mixed-culture baby, then exposing her to only English literature is doing a grave disservice to the rich cultural and linguistic heritage she should be experiencing.
Hence began my search for some interesting, fun to read, and definitely sturdy, Hindi books (with a little prodding from my own mom, I must confess).
The results were not surprising - it is incredibly hard to find good quality, and interesting books in Hindi that are designed specifically for babies. The rare few that are available, are almost all about Gods and Goddesses or have stories with heavy morals. Meh.
Just when I had almost given up hope, I came across T4Tales, who stole my heart with the following paragraph on their website:
"We are old school in a high tech world. T4Tales strongly believes that you need physical books for 0-4 year old, and not the distractions of an app on a high contrast tablet screen or games on the computer." (Ref: http://www.t4tales.com/about.html)
And so, I got in touch with the author, Pridhee Kapoor Gupta, on Facebook direct, and had the 3 books in my hand within 10 days!
1. Gol Mol Bol
This one is a treasure-trove of all the nursery rhymes from my childhood! I was delighted to be able to share rhymes like Alu-Kachalu, Chanda-Mama, and Poshampa with my daughter, who now really loves both, the illustrations, and the poems themselves.
Though this is not a board book, the pages are quite sturdy even in its hardcover format, and the pop-up surprise at the end of the book is fantastic!
2. Bolo Kya?
My little one really loves the flaps in this one. They are not that easy to tear-off either. Definitely value for money.
3. Das Din
Featuring an interesting poem, this is another lift-the-flap book, which also features numbering from one to ten. I wasn't familiar with this poem before reading this book, but am enjoying it immensely now. The language is simple, and the flaps are well-made. Good quality board book construction, and lovely illustrations, make it a value-for-money buy.
My daughter has really taken to interacting with this one - and I am ecstatic!
All in all, T4Tales has been a find. They are a good place to start if you are looking for good quality, fun-to-read, board books in Hindi for your baby.
Meanwhile the search for more multilingual literature is on, and till I come across something else that interests little Miss A....Happy Reading!!!
U r one hell of a rockstar mommy ... Alekya is a lucky baby & I am the luckiest 😘
ReplyDeleteAwww thanks for always being my supporter and my strength.
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