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Yesterday, Zo, Sam and I sorted out their bookshelf in
the lounge. The little ones have so many books of their own that P had to shift
her books into the bedroom cupboard. I have always believed that books are the
most attractive adornment in any room. So, there we were, sorting out books
according to their sizes, with Sam meandering off to a corner wanting to read a
book he had not seen in a while.
There were drawing and puzzle books, loads of unused
diaries, sheets of the children’s artwork, story books and long illustrated
volumes. Putting them in order was therapeutic. Zo warned me not to keep anything
on the two bottom shelves because of the dogs’ keen interest in books.
As people around the world celebrated Easter, it was time
for us to move out of the house as well. We had been invited by V’s parents for
an Easter lunch, and it was a wonderful occasion, with P having organised games
for the little ones, four of them, and for us adults as well. The children
hunted for Easter eggs in the garden on a lovely sunny day, and performed stand-up
comedy for an appreciative audience, winning gold chocolate coins as prizes. An afternoon spent with delicious appams,
chicken stew, salna and jackfruit curry! Amid all that excitement, what caught
my eye was the sight of the complete Enid Blyton collection well laid out in a
cupboard, bringing back wonderful memories of my own childhood.
The Complete Enid Blyton Collection - A Treasure Trove
Sadly, the children of the new generation seem to find
Blyton too tame. They are more used to Percy Jackson and Harry Potter whose exploits
are more exciting than those of Brer Rabbit, the Five Find-Outers and The Famous
Five. Maybe they do not believe in fairies, elves, goblins and animals that speak,
or Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.
In the evening, we had Easter supper with young friends.
The food was delicious, a hearty potjie with meat and veggies, and the evening
enhanced by the two offspring of our genial hosts, who organised two amazing
games. Mafia involved much secrecy and suspense while Thirty Seconds was a blend
of Dumb Charades and GK. The confidence of the young ones was amazing. At the
end of the evening, I complimented S, their mom, and she mentioned that both
love reading. They had bought a whole pile of books the week before, and had
almost finished them.
That set me thinking. It only confirmed what I had always
known. Readers today, leaders tomorrow!
Etsy
Which is exactly why it warms the cockles of my heart
when both Zo and Sam come to me, and we all read together. The books that we sampled
recently were ‘The Very Very Funny Book’ by Jaco Jacobs which is filled with
jokes and riddles, ‘Gajapati Kulapati’ by Ashok Rajagopalan which is about an
elephant who eats so much that he has a stomach ache, or as the children in the
book say, ‘a stomach cake’, and a beautiful book by Refiloe Moahloli titled ‘You
are Loved’.
This time, before I came to Johannesburg, I got four
volumes of my eBook, ‘Classic Tales from the Panchatantra’ that I had adapted
for little readers, printed for Zo and Sam. The illustrations were all done by
P and me, and there is one special one by Zo as well - a labour of love by three generations! We have not got round to
reading it together yet, but hopefully will do so before we leave. In fact, Sam
wants to take it to school, show it to his teacher and tell her that it has
been written by his Mooma. What greater appreciation could be there for a
writer than that?
The Four Volumes of Classic Tales from the Panchatantra
Adapted by Deepti MenonCollage: Courtesy - Priyanka Menon Rao
Deepti's Attempt
Photos: Courtesy- Priyanka Menon Rao
"To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled is a spark."
Victor Hugo
I am participating in the #BlogchatterA2ZChallenge2025.
Love how books are woven into your family moments across generations. And Sam wanting to share your book with his teacher? That’s pure gold! 🔥📚
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