Book Review: The Secret Songster

Title: The Secret Songster

Author: Shyama Panikkar

Publisher: Self-Published

Type: Children's Fiction

Price: INR 399

Available on: The Secret Songster : Shyama Panikkar, Radhika Tipnis: Amazon.in: Books

When was the last time you read a book on birds?

Or a story about birds?

So, here's a wonderful book that I picked up for my little one lately.

The book is a short story about three birds, Sona the Shama, Chiru the Crow and Babli the Bulbul living in Bird Valley. 

These three birds are good friends with differing personalities, just like how children are. One is shy and introverted who dislikes attention, another is an extrovert and confident to tell the world and the other who needs that little extra nudge.

One day, the annual Bird Valley fair was declared, and a singing competition was going to be held. While Babli is super excited to perform, Chiru and Sona are not too confident about it.

This story is about believing in oneself and giving yourself a chance to shine. It also talks about what it means to support friends even when competing with each other. 

My favourite quote from the book:

"Sometimes, what other people say about us, starts defining us, and we forget who we really are, and what we are capable of."

The illustrations in this book are bright and colourful, making it difficult to put down once picked up. Perfect for gifting for Christmas, Birthday or simply for the love of books to early readers, ages 5-8.

Needless to say, my little one enjoyed this quick read. This easy-to-read simple story is bound to delight all age groups. The author, Shyama Panikkar, has also written two more books prior to this, all revolving around music. 

Book Review - Forms of Hindu Deities

I recently got my hands on a colourfully illustrated book for children called Forms of Hindu Deities by Amita, the author of ‘Know India Series Books for Children’. This book is not just any Indian mythology book. It presents an objective view on our Indian mythologies and the stories around Hindu deities.

This illustrated book focuses on ten revered Indian Gods and Goddesses, namely Brahma, Rama, Krishna, Shiva, Durga, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Ganapati, Dattatreya and Indra.

The content in Forms of Hindu Deities differs a bit from what we, as millennials, heard and grew up to. We have listened to our grandparents and parents talk about characters from epics like the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. The stories that we learn did focus on good versus evil, bravery, sacrifice, but at the same time it also revolved around violence, revenge, deceit, hatred, vengeance, and war. Our generation may not have questioned over the intent of the characters’ actions, but the newer generation begs to differ.

This book changes the narrative in a refreshing way. Along with vividly bright images, the realistic attuned explanations that meet the intellectual needs of today’s generations, concise one to two sentence descriptions in simple and lucid language are indeed a welcome change. It does not focus on hatred, war, violence, deception, or any such hidden agenda.

I would recommend this book for young kids, between ages of 2 to 6, who want to be introduced to the wonderful world of Indian mythology.