Dini has been a Dolly Singh fan for as long as she can remember. After all, Dini was born on the very day Dolly’s first movie appeared on the big screen. “You can’t be more closely connected than that.”
Maddie, Dini’s very best friend, shares Dini’s affection for Bollywood movies and all things Dolly. Even though Maddie’s parents aren’t from India and she understands even less Hindi than Dini does, nothing gets in the way of their enjoyment of a good fillum. In fact, the girls are looking forward to one of their best summers yet – two whole weeks of Bollywood dance camp!
But then, Dini’s physician mom delivers the news that they’re moving from suburban Maryland to a tiny village in India and, suddenly, all of Dini and Maddie’s plans dissolve before them. Unless… “Maybe you’ll get to meet Dolly,” Maddie offers.
Though India’s a big country and Swapnagiri is nowhere near Bombay, the center of the filmi universe, events begin to unfold like only the best Bollywood fillum can. Along the way, there are mishaps galore, and Dini finds herself wondering if she’ll ever realize the happy ending she’s been looking for.
But the thousands of miles between them aren’t enough to keep Dini and Maddie apart, and soon the girls are working together on a new script, a grand plan that will fix everything and bring the dreamy real-life satisfying ending they’ve come to expect from their favorite Bollywood productions.
I was born and grew up in India. My father worked for the government so we moved every few years. Now, when people ask me which part of India I’m from, I never know what to say because so many places were a part of my childhood there.
I must have spent a lot of time outdoors because being outside seems to figure in some of my most vivid memories. When I was about four we lived in Delhi, in a house with a big garden. My aunts told me scary stories about a dirt mound at one end of the garden, and I became convinced that goblins lived there.
A few years later, I remember sitting up in the branches of a banyan tree outside another house in a town called Pune. I’d hide away up there and read Winnie the Pooh. For a long time, I was sure that the Hundred Acre Wood had banyan and neem and mango trees in it.
I didn’t have any brothers or sisters, so I read a lot, and I was always making up stories. I think I was always a writer, only it took me a long time to find that out.
What kind of student were you?
I was a great student in the subjects I loved, and an okay student in those I wasn’t so wild about. English was one of my favorite subjects, but also geography and history, which was how we divided up what’s called Social Studies in the US. I loved maps. I was always drawing maps of imaginary places.
And I went to pre-school, which was not a thing that was common in those days. They sent me off to pre-school when I was around two years old because I got bored at home and started drawing on the wall. If you are a kid reading this, here’s a bit of advice. Stay away from those walls, or your masterpiece will only get painted over!
What were you afraid of?
Lizards. We had geckoes in India and sometimes they’d get into the house, which was really good, because of all the mosquitoes that also got into the house in the rainy season. I was terrified that one of those geckoes would have a heart attack and fall on my head. It never happened.
Did you have any bad or funny habits as a child?
Whenever I was lost in my own thoughts (which was a lot of the time) I’d hum. It wasn’t a problem until I got to third grade and the teacher assumed I was doing it on purpose, which I wasn’t. She tried talking to me about it several times, but it didn’t do any good. Poor Mrs. Martyn—I’m sure I gave her lots of gray hairs. I ended up getting sent to the principal’s office quite a lot that year for my disruptive humming. The thing is, I loved the principal’s office. She was very kind, and the room had a nice big window. I was there often enough that sometimes they sort of forgot about me. When I was done with whatever work they gave me to do I could sit there and daydream even more.
That habit never went away. I still sometimes sit and stare out the window and hum when I’m thinking about a story. Only now, I can call it “pre-writing” and count it as work.
What books were favorites as a child?
Winnie-the-Pooh and the House at Pooh Corner by A.A.Milne
Everything that Beatrix Potter wrote
The Famous Five and the Secret Seven series by Enid Blyton
Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield
What’s the hardest part about writing a book?
Figuring out what it’s really about. Not on the surface, not the things that happen in the plot but what’s underneath all that. That takes me forever, and I throw away a lot of revision pages in the process. When I finally get to understand what it all means, it’s like finding a treasure.
I hope you enjoy The Grand Plan to Fix Everything, my story of true friends and fans, Bollywood dancing, letters flying back and forth, monkeys—and chocolate.
Kids are always asking me what’s true in the book and what isn’t. So here are the true things:
The house that Dini and her family live in, in that small hill town in India. When I was just a baby we lived in that house in a real town in the very same Blue Mountains that are in the book. The house had a name: Sunny Villa. It had funny-looking shutters shaped like eyelashes.
The best friends part. When I was a kid we moved a lot, so I was always leaving best friends behind. Some of them I managed to find again, years later. Others went their own ways. It was hard.
The monkeys. They never got into a water tank anywhere I lived, but I did have a monkey snatch a snack out of my hand once. It was fast! I didn’t stand a chance.
The fan letter part. I wrote a fan letter to someone when I was a bit older than Dini. That someone was a famous British writer named P.G. Wodehouse. He wrote back to me. I have that letter still. In some ways, this book may be my reply to that letter.
And that’s it. Everything else is made up. Dini couldn’t find the town of Swapnagiri (Dream Mountain) on a map, for very good reason. I made up the whole town.
Priya, the girl who chirps like a bird? I made her up. The goatherd? The mailman? The baker who’s afraid of the monkeys? Yup. Made them up too.
That’s what you can do when you write fiction—carry whole towns around in your mind until they come spilling out onto the page. In fact, you can carry whole worlds.
Welcome to the wild and crazy world of Dini and Maddie and their friends and families. I hope you have fun racing through that world. I hope it makes you smile.
Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers. ~ Charles W. Eliot
As far as we’re concerned, June 1st means summer is here! Some schools have already closed their doors, others are a week or more away from doing the same. It’s been a busy year for ReaderKidZ and we, too, plan to enjoy the summer as it unfolds in our own corners of the world. We’ll be taking a break from regular posts to enjoy some quiet time away from the school year routines. But you can be sure we’ll be reading lots and making plans for our second year of ReaderKidZ!
We’ve included a few links we think readers will enjoy. The first two are books recommended by one of our favorite resources for all things kid lit – the Hornbook.
Finally, for those families interested in tracking summer reading, this site, created and maintained by a mom interested in encouraging her boys to read more, may be of interest to some of our readers. Check it out and see if it’s something you might enjoy using this summer!
Humorous books for emerging readers are sometimes hard to find, but just in time for summer, ReaderKidZ has tracked down a few favorite picks – a new graphic novel series, a brand-new early chapter mystery, and a collection of poems from the father of nonsense poetry, Edward Lear.
Fans of the BabyMouse series are in for a treat when BabyMouse turns Mad Scientist and brings home a friendly amoeba from her local pond. Squish and BabyMouse quickly become good friends. BabyMouse even feeds Squish cupcakes and enters him in her school science fair!
SQUISH, SUPER AMOEBA (# 1), the first in another new series by the creators of BabyMouse, dares to delve into the microscopic world of pond and protozoa and introduces readers to Squish – a want-to-be superhero, Pod – his best friend, and Peggy – the happy-all-the-time, cute-but-super-clueless paramecium.
These characters are just getting started, but there’s no doubt their popularity will grow by leaps and bounds! Look for more “amazing, action-packed adventure” in SQUISH (Book 2) : Brave New Pond, due to be released in September.
When J.J. Tully, formerly a rescue dog with a long, impressive history, finds himself living the quiet, country life in the backyard of his trainer, Barb, he can’t quite believe this is his reward for years of devoted service. But then a crazy chicken named Millicent – Moosh, for short – introduces herself to J.J., along with her two puffy chicks, Little Boo and Peep, and a new hilarious and surprising adventure ensues.
Kids will love J.J., his dry sense of humor, and the clever twist at story’s end. They, and we, will be anxiously awaiting more J.J. Tulley mysteries.
As Pinkwater explains in the introduction to this book, “When Edward Lear was small, books for kids usually told how if you were not a “good child” – quiet, obedient, and hard-working – you would stave to death or be eaten by wild wolves.” But Lear was different. He could see the funny side of things, the nonsensical, silly, the ridiculous. He loved to write nonsense poems, and these, along with Calef Brown’s imaginative illustrations, will delight readers of all ages.
Listen to Daniel Pinkwater read several of the poems from this book, including “The Owl and the Pussycat” HERE.
While last week’s Pack a Book for Summer! selections were on the lighter side, this week’s books tend to go deeper into the relationships and emotions of family and friends. It’s another eclectic list. Mostly novels, this time. All, but one, new books published in the last two months.
One doll. A journey that spans more than 80 years over two continents. And four girls, each with her own, unique story.
Larson introduces readers to Miss Kanagawa, one of “fifty-eight Japanese dolls sent as messengers from the children of Japan to the children of the United States.”
The story, with roots based in historical events, is a moving work of fiction that follows a “friendship doll” from her arrival on a wintry day in New York City in January 1928, to present day Seattle. Miss Kanagawa narrates small portions of her travels over the years, and while it’s true, she’s only a doll, her impact is felt by those children and adults who cross her path.
As Miss Kanagawa makes her way from one side of the country to the other, her mission as an ambassador of friendship grows, as does her own doll-sized heart. Indeed, each encounter changes, not only the child whose eyes meet Miss Kanagawa’s, but Miss Kanagawa herself, who even at story’s end declares: “I may be showing signs of age – my kimono frayed, my joints stiff, my gofun face cracking – but … I will be faithful to the task for which I was created…”
A story of love, loss, and friendship, this book, full of heart, will be enjoyed by many, including those, like myself, who never played much, nor cared about dolls.
An author’s note provides more information about the story’s inspiration, including notes about the ways in which the four girls’ stories depart from factual events.
Read more about another of Kirby Larson’s books (The Fences Between Us ) HERE.
Inspired by the true story of Melvin Wine and Jake Krack, PASSING THE MUSIC DOWN, is a lyrical telling of the relationship that developed between two celebrated musicians and “old-time fiddlers” of Appalachian music. The fact that these two fiddlers shared an age difference of seventy-five years makes this story all the more remarkable!
With beautiful language, reminiscent of the cadences and voices of region, Sullivan introduces readers to the beauty and wonder of these two lives “stitched together in a quilt of old-time tunes. Passing the music down.”
Resources, including a list of videos and websites, are found in an author’s note at the end.
Read more about another picture book by Sarah Sullivan, Once Upon a Baby Brother, HERE.
Eleven-year-old Jack has a secret. He and his mom, on one last summer get-away before the new school year begins, have stopped to spend the night in a campsite on Mount Desert Island, Maine. Jack sleeps in his pup tent, his mom, in a separate tent next to his. When Jack awakes the next morning, his mom is gone. Her tent. The car. Everything.
Jack’s certain she’ll return soon enough and he has no reason for alarm. But the hours click by, and Jacks realizes that in spite of the many miles and hours away from his home in Massachusetts, his worst fears have been realized and he’s going to have to take matters into his own hands.
To my mind, this is the most brilliantly written book for middle grade readers on the topic of mental illness that I’ve seen to date. It’s edge-of-the-seat scary, and yet Jack never seems to be impossibly far away from the care of a kindly stranger or a resolution of some kind. It’s not clear exactly how the story will resolve, but when it does, it’s both realistic and satisfying. Highly recommended.
Annie Richards didn’t always play things safe. She used to love the fluttery feeling of racing on her bike down Maple Hill, timing it just so, and squeezing the brakes just the right amount to land smack-dab in front of Lippy’s Market without a single tire squeak.
That was before. Before she realized how much danger there was in her childish games. Before the accident. Before she knew better. Before Jared, her brother, was gone for good.
But then Mrs. Finch moves into the old haunted house across the street and slowly, slowly Annie and she learn how to close their umbrellas of sadness and move out into the blue and sunny skies of summer.
It may not seem like summer’s just around the bend, but, for many, the end of the school year is weeks away. While in my part of the country there hasn’t been a lot of sun cluing us in to summer’s imminent arrival, the anticipation *is* building.
Summer is, by far, my favorite time of year. I love the heat, the lazy days, the time to catch up on reading that hadn’t been possible during the school year. It goes without saying that most kids love this break from school, as much as I do.
Families are just now beginning to think about packing up and heading out to enjoy short weekend get-aways, backyard camp outs, and day trips to the beach. All manner of vacation-time excursions have already been planned and all that remains is the last day of school to make it official!
This is also the time of year when families, not packing for vacation, are gearing up for packing of a different sort. A move to a new home, in a new town or state, near or far away.
Whatever your summer plans, or whether your summer includes suitcases or boxes, be sure to fill up some of those sunny days with a collection of good books.
Third grader, Clara Lee, wants nothing more than to be this year’s Little Miss Apple Pie at the Apple Blossom Festival. If she won, Clara Lee knew just what she’d wear on the float the day of the big Festival – the Korean style skirt and jacket her Grandpa had given her. But in order to win the contest, Clara Lee would have to make a speech during a special assembly in front of the whole school. She’d be competing against fifth graders!
When her Korean grandpa tells her that “Good Luck” is in on its way, Clara Lee begins to believe that maybe *this* is the year to reach for her “Apple Pie Dream.”
A top 10 pick on the Indie Bookseller’s 2011 Spring List, RIBBIT RABBIT is a picture book about two best friends, Frog and Bunny. They swim – “Ribbit Rabbit. Dip it, Dab it.” – and play – “Ribbit Rabbit. Zip it, Zap it.” – and have good times. Sometimes, they even fight – “Ribbit Rabbit. Nip it, Nab it.” Eventually, they make up and remember why they’re best friends – “Ribbit Rabbit. Rib-bot Rab-bot.”
With fun wordplay and equally fun illustrations, this book can be paired with NOT A BOX, by Antoinette Portis. Add a collection of recyclables such as egg cartons, small boxes, ribbons, crayons, buttons, and assorted crafty items and look forward to hours of creative art and imaginative summer play.
It’s baseball season and what better books to hook young baseball fan/chapter book readers than this brand-new series that follows cousins, Mike and Kate, as they travel with Kate’s mom, a sports reporter, to Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium and Dodger Stadium.
As they read, kids will enjoy not only trying to solve mysteries, such as the whereabouts of Boston Red Sox player, Big D’s, stolen bat (Fenway Foul-up) or discovering the true story of the ghost of Yankee Stadium (The Pinstripe Ghost), but they’ll also delight to find facts and folklore about each of the teams/stadiums woven into the narrative. Dugout notes are included at the back of each book.
For kids looking for more books with a baseball theme, check out ReaderKidZ post, Play Ball!
Anna and her brother want a pet. Of course, their mom says no. But Anna is not one to be easily deterred. As she explains it, “A lot of times, when someone tells you a reason why you can’t have something, the reason isn’t really true…Other times, … the reason might be true, but it still might not be the real reason why they don’t want you to have it.”
Two Russian Dwarf hamsters, exactly what Anna’s been longing for, eventually make their way to Anna’s house, where she sets them up with an old fish tank, instead of a cage, and a wheel, and some tissue paper for a nest. When tragedy strikes, Anna and Tom launch a full-scale investigation, complete with notepad, magnifying glass, police badge, dictaphone, and a list of 8 suspects.
Part-diary, part-mystery, and very funny, this is a book for kids who enjoy humor with a slightly twisted bent. Anna’s voice is fresh and solidly middle-grade, and the characters are quirky, and “British.” As such, some of the humor and nuances of the characters and situations may not be entirely appreciated by some readers.
All-in-all, it’s a fun book and, with several more due to be published in this series, I expect it will gain a loyal following of readers, anxious to discover Anna’s next escapade.
Mission Statement
To provide teachers, librarians, and parents with the resources and inspiration to foster a love of reading in kids, K-5.
