Every child should develop the habit of reading because it introduces them to the world of innumerable stories, characters and places. Reading teaches them the beauty of language and imagination.
Studies suggest that along with language and literacy, reading helps in developing empathy in children. They learn about a diverse range of people and their circumstances, and understand how to deal with their own emotions when they see them reflected in stories.
International Children’s Book Day is a special day celebrated on April 2nd every year since 1967. The day is sponsored by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), an international non-profit organisation, and is observed on Danish author Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday. In a bid to promote children’s access to books globally, writing competitions, events with authors and illustrators of children’s books and many other events are held on this day.
Ruskin Bond, India’s most prolific and beloved author of children’s books, is one such great writer who comes to mind on International Children’s Book Day. The award-winning author has written innumerable books for children in his almost seven decades long career. So let’s dive into some of Ruskin Bond’s greatest story books for children on this special day.
Ruskin Bond’s first literary endeavour, The Room on the Roof was written in 1956. It follows Rusty, an orphan who is overwhelmed by his many emotions. As someone who is at a very tender age and has lost his parents, Rusty feels everything at an extreme; sadness, confusion, helplessness, loneliness. Being unable to connect with his guardian makes things doubly hard for the 17-year-old. A heartwarming read, The Room on the Roof won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 1957.
A happy boy lying peacefully under a lush cherry tree, the idyllic cover of this book is hard to miss in bookshops. The Cherry Tree by Ruskin Bond is so famous that it had to be made into a standalone book. The story follows the growth of a cherry tree from seed to tree, thanks to the tender loving care of a grandson and his grandfather. The tale teaches the younger generation to love nature, to nurture plants and living beings and be compassionate in all aspects of life.
Those who love stories of bravery and resilience are sure to love this one. Ruskin Bond weaves an adventurous tale of survival in his book Angry River. The story follows Sita and her grandparents who live on a small island in the middle of a big river and a thrilling adventure begins when the river gets flooded, sweeping Sita with it. With contrasting themes of destruction and building life anew, this simply narrated tale is actually a complex read into the lives of rural people and their dependency on an unpredictable nature.
Written by Ruskin Bond in the year 1980, The Blue Umbrella is a lovely tale set in the Garhwal region of India. The story follows Binya, a little girl from the hills who trades her lucky charm for a beautiful blue umbrella. In a bid to make everyone envy her, Binya flaunts her new possession a little too much and the richest man in the neighbourhood turns greedy for it. This well-loved tale is about greed, contentment and redemption, with a moral lesson kids can truly learn from.
In what is the first part of his memoir trilogy, Looking for the Rainbow is an emotional telling of little Ruskin’s time with his father in Delhi. From having milkshakes, pouring over his father’s stamp collection, going to the cinema or playing at leisure, the memoir encapsulates Ruskin’s joyous childhood in a pre-independence India. Young readers get a lovely peek into a delightful father-son bond and older readers get the chance to relive their childhoods and revisit their own homes and cities soaked in nostalgia. A must read for Ruskin Bond fans who’d like a look inside the iconic author’s soul.
The second book where Ruskin Bond regales his readers with incidents from his own life, Till the Clouds Roll By picks up where Looking for the Rainbow ends. Here, little Ruskin is seen living with his mother and stepfather in Dehradun, after his father’s passing. He makes new friends, deals with brand new emotions and turns into a bookworm for life. A heartfelt telling of a very important phase in our beloved author’s life, Till the Clouds Roll By is a book you cannot afford to miss.
After Looking for the Rainbow and Till the Clouds Roll By, Ruskin Bond wrote Coming Round the Mountain, his third and final book in the memoir trilogy. A look at the great year of 1947, it takes little Ruskin’s story forward along with those around and important to him. A nostalgic and sepia tinted tribute to one’s childhood and everlasting hope in the era of partition and loss, this book is a must read for children the world over.
International Children’s Book Day is a special day celebrated on April 2nd every year since 1967. The day is sponsored by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), an international non-profit organisation, and is observed on Danish author Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday.
Ruskin Bond is India’s most prolific and beloved author. He has written innumerable story books for children.
Looking for the Rainbow: My Years with Daddy, Till the Clouds Roll By: Beginning Again and Coming Round the Mountain: In the Year of Independence are the three books in Ruskin Bond’s memoir.
Reading books teaches children the beauty of language and imagination. Studies suggest that along with language and literacy, reading helps in developing empathy in children.
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