Reading, a child’s play
9 Feb 2013 6:22 AM IST
Glazed with myriad books from varied genres, the ongoing World Book Fair in the capital’s Pragati Maidan, shone with an astounding collection of books for children and youth, with an entire hall dedicated to this section. Move aside encyclopedias, puzzles, toys, fables, story books and novels, now its the era for three-dimensional books for children, which has replaced them all. In fact these books emerged as the most popular choice during the fair.
Visitors to the children pavilion were the highest and, interestingly, had a mix of all age groups. Apart from just reading a story, nowadays children need that extra edge to keep them hooked, was the feeling I garnered from most publishers concentrating on children’s literature.
Ajay Parmar, who heads Bonnier Publishing, explained this trend, ‘There is a need for publishers to pack in a lot of activity in children’s books now. Such books instantly attract their attention. We have a series of puppet books, which makes the entire process of story-telling interesting as well as refreshing. There are also varied activities which have been incorporated in children’s books, to include 3D cut-outs, illustrations, dot-to-dot diagrams, paintings and also jigsaw puzzles. The entire process of storytelling has been completely renewed and revamped now.’
An innovative book Lets Lace at Ajay’s stall focused on the process of tying laces, and at the end had a 3D shoe cut-out which pops out, where the child can actually implement what they had learnt through the course of the book. Another interesting book Theo focused on smell, where the little pup Theo goes out in search of adventures and discovers honey, rose and strawberry through the course of the journey. Each of these flavours can be touched and then smelt by the reader.
A lot of young mothers and their children were seen at the stalls that had displayed books exploring fairy tales and nursery rhymes in three-dimension. Lucky Dhawan from Future books had a fantastic collection of 3D books. ‘There is a huge demand for such books. As children view them as something different and interesting, they get immediately attracted to them,’ says Lucky. There was a dedicated stall to 3D books – what with the special glasses provided, the children had a riot reading these books.
This hall, apart from books, also showcased stationary items, toys and computer games CDs for children. Naturally, children flocked here, pittering and pattering about. You could see them pulling their parents to the 3D stalls to have a look.
Neeta Sinha, a young mother who bought a collection of these books said, ‘My son dragged me here as he was so fascinated by the whole idea of 3D books. Cinema has a huge role to play here, as children have been watching a lot of such films.’
Apart from this hall dedicated to books for children and youth, the pavilion hosting foreign publishers was a sheer delight as well. Organised by the National Book Trust of India, the fair saw books from countries such as China, the US, Poland, South Korea and Turkey as well as United Nations agencies. This year, the focus is on France and its publishing industry and contemporary literature.
Walking past the energised crowd of young school kids, families as well as couples with tiny tots, one is immediately engulfed by a feeling of sheer thirst to purchase an instant good read.
The chilly breeze supplemented by the winter sun, walking past the enthusiastic faces discovering the fair was an engaging experience for a first-timer like me at the popular book fair. For the sheer delight of engulfing yourself in an intellectually and creatively stimulating environ, don’t give this fair a miss. It is on till 10 February, so go ahead pile up some more books. And make sure you grab a 3D copy that interests you as well.
Visitors to the children pavilion were the highest and, interestingly, had a mix of all age groups. Apart from just reading a story, nowadays children need that extra edge to keep them hooked, was the feeling I garnered from most publishers concentrating on children’s literature.
Ajay Parmar, who heads Bonnier Publishing, explained this trend, ‘There is a need for publishers to pack in a lot of activity in children’s books now. Such books instantly attract their attention. We have a series of puppet books, which makes the entire process of story-telling interesting as well as refreshing. There are also varied activities which have been incorporated in children’s books, to include 3D cut-outs, illustrations, dot-to-dot diagrams, paintings and also jigsaw puzzles. The entire process of storytelling has been completely renewed and revamped now.’
An innovative book Lets Lace at Ajay’s stall focused on the process of tying laces, and at the end had a 3D shoe cut-out which pops out, where the child can actually implement what they had learnt through the course of the book. Another interesting book Theo focused on smell, where the little pup Theo goes out in search of adventures and discovers honey, rose and strawberry through the course of the journey. Each of these flavours can be touched and then smelt by the reader.
A lot of young mothers and their children were seen at the stalls that had displayed books exploring fairy tales and nursery rhymes in three-dimension. Lucky Dhawan from Future books had a fantastic collection of 3D books. ‘There is a huge demand for such books. As children view them as something different and interesting, they get immediately attracted to them,’ says Lucky. There was a dedicated stall to 3D books – what with the special glasses provided, the children had a riot reading these books.
This hall, apart from books, also showcased stationary items, toys and computer games CDs for children. Naturally, children flocked here, pittering and pattering about. You could see them pulling their parents to the 3D stalls to have a look.
Neeta Sinha, a young mother who bought a collection of these books said, ‘My son dragged me here as he was so fascinated by the whole idea of 3D books. Cinema has a huge role to play here, as children have been watching a lot of such films.’
Apart from this hall dedicated to books for children and youth, the pavilion hosting foreign publishers was a sheer delight as well. Organised by the National Book Trust of India, the fair saw books from countries such as China, the US, Poland, South Korea and Turkey as well as United Nations agencies. This year, the focus is on France and its publishing industry and contemporary literature.
Walking past the energised crowd of young school kids, families as well as couples with tiny tots, one is immediately engulfed by a feeling of sheer thirst to purchase an instant good read.
The chilly breeze supplemented by the winter sun, walking past the enthusiastic faces discovering the fair was an engaging experience for a first-timer like me at the popular book fair. For the sheer delight of engulfing yourself in an intellectually and creatively stimulating environ, don’t give this fair a miss. It is on till 10 February, so go ahead pile up some more books. And make sure you grab a 3D copy that interests you as well.
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