Karadi Tales is proud to enter the world of cinema with Goopi Gawaiya Bagha Bajaiyaa (view the trailer here). The film, produced by Children’s Film Society of India and Karadi Tales, is a remake of the classic Satyajit Ray film ‘Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne’. It released in major cities in India on March 1st and is currently running in a theatre near you (tickets available on BookMyShow). The film has already got rave reviews, with one review from The Hindu highlighting the fact that the film’s anti-war pro-peace message is more relevant than ever in this current political climate. The review went on to say, “…Goopi Gawaiya Bagha Bajaiya stands out for its stunning art work, enchanting story and message of peace…The film is enchanting not just for the children but can hold an adult in thrall. The witty, at times rhyming, lines, the lovely songs…are earworms—that add to film’s appeal.”
Full review here.
LONDON BOOK FAIR EXCELLENCE AWARD NOMINATION!
Karadi Tales has been shortlisted for the Audiobook Publisher of the Year Award on the basis of our high-quality content and our partnership with the Karadi Path Education Company. Karadi Path was founded in 2010 as Karadi Tales’ partner company with the aim of bridging the cavernous English literacy gap in India by using stories and immersive learning. The award-winning Karadi Path pedagogy saw exponential success and is now part of the curriculum in over 3000 schools.
An interview with two of our co-founders, C.P. Viswanath and Shobha Viswanath, on receiving this prestigious nomination was featured in The New Indian Express. You can read the article here.
SO MANY GREAT REVIEWS!
“…an endearing story of how missed opportunities due to selfless acts of kindness often leads to major opportunities.”
– Backpack Full of Books on Farmer Falgu Goes to the Kumbh Mela.
Read the full review here.
“Readers will be inspired by Farmer Falgu to be kind even when kindness requires a sacrifice.”
– Jambo Books on Farmer Falgu Goes to the Kumbh Mela
Read the full review here.
“Kastl’s artwork offers a playfully skewed sense of scale, as though from the perspectives of the animals…readers will enjoy knowing better than Cat that kittens don’t come from eggs.”
– Publisher’s Weekly on Cat’s Egg.
Read the full review here.
“The short and snappy lines that take the story forward are lyrical and musical in a sense which makes the reading experience very enjoyable…The strength of the book lies in a captivating storyline, wonderful illustrations that bring the story alive on the pages, and capturing of the varied emotions that mark Meena’s journey and her self-growth.”
– Booked For Life on Get Off That Camel.
Read the full review here.
CAT’S EGG BOOK LAUNCH
We launched Cat’s Egg by Aparna Karthikeyan, illustrated by Christine Kastl, at the Cat Cafe Studio in Mumbai. Aparna did a reading of the story and interacted with the audience on her writing process.
You can view the Cat’s Egg book trailer here.
GET OFF THAT CAMEL
BOOK LAUNCH AND WORKSHOP
Illustrator of Get Off That Camel (written by A.H. Benjamin), Krishna Bala Shenoi, conducted a fun workshop on easy ways in which to draw a camel at Higginbothams bookshop, Bangalore.
You can view the Get Off That Camel trailer here.
WHAT WE’RE READING
This month’s editor’s picks are Wolves by Emily Gravett and The Lazy Friend by Ronan Badel.
Wolves was Emily Gravett’s first book and it won her the Kate Greenaway Award.
Rabbit borrows a book about wolves from the library. He can’t put it down! But soon a sinister figure with sharp claws and a bushy tail starts to creep right off the pages. You won’t believe your eyes – but if you’re a rabbit, you probably should. Brilliantly witty, ingeniously constructed, and with amazing artwork throughout.
The Lazy Friend by Ronan Badel is a beautiful wordless picture book that conveys its story through only its illustrations. It is about a sloth who, quite simply, does absolutely nothing. Luckily, he has some good friends who care about him very much and when he gets into a spot of trouble, he leads them on an enormous adventure, while being asleep the whole time.
BEHIND PAPA’S MARATHON
Papa’s Marathon won the Jarul Book Award 2019. Here we talk to Nalini Sorensen, the author, and Prashant Soni, the illustrator, to find out a little more about the people behind this wonderful book.
Nalini, how does it feel winning the Jarul Book Award two years in a row?
N: To win the Jarul Book Award once, was a dream come true. Twice? Surreal. I can’t even express properly the pride, happiness or gratitude I feel about winning this award two years in a row. I sometimes need to pinch myself, as I feel like it is all happening to someone else, and I am just witnessing it from the outside.
Prashant, what was your response to Papa’s Marathon winning the Jarul Book Award 2019?
P: I was so happy to find out our book won this award. It was an unbelievable feeling for me because this is my first award. Credit goes to the entire team.
Was Papa in Papa’s Marathon inspired by anyone you know in your life?
N: I wrote Papa’s Marathon while I lived in Melbourne, Australia. Australians are very sporty people, and I found myself constantly surrounded by friends who had signed themselves and their children up for marathons on the weekend. I guess I got sucked into the culture a little bit, as I bought myself a Fitbit. I remember describing my Fitbit to my mum, and her asking me, in a confused tone, ‘But if you are walking, why do you need to know how many steps you are walking?’
To answer your question, I think Papa is a lot like I am. But let’s not get into that. My Fitbit just reminded me to get moving, so I must take a few steps now!
The ending of Papa’s Marathon has no text – it is revealed through the illustration alone, how did you manage to convey the meaning wordlessly, through only your art?
P: The text was really not necessary in the last page because you can understand what is going on through the illustrations alone. The expressions on the characters’ faces convey that by themselves.
The ending of Papa’s Marathon had a twist no one was expecting, why did you choose to go for such an unconventional ending?
N: I’d love to say I chose the ending. The truth of the matter is, I didn’t. Dadi did.
My characters, in all my books, seem to have a mind of their own. They don’t listen to me. I’m merely their typing channel, setting their story free for children to read.
And finally, Prashant, is there an artist or illustrator whose work you admire?
P: There are several illustrators’ whose work I admire and who inspire me. Some of them are Atanu Roy, Pulak Biswas and Rebecca Dautremer, Paul Tatarnikov, and Quentin Greban.
TELANGANA TRIBAL WELFARE IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE KARADI PATH EDUCATION COMPANY PRESENT TEACHER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
– 25TH FEB, 2019
Karadi Path Education Company has launched a 60-hour teacher development programme to train 2661 teachers from the Tribal Welfare Ashram and Government Primary Schools for Telangana. The programme adopted by the Telangana Tribal Welfare department is all set to promote teaching and learning innovations, and focuses on the English and critical thinking skills required to handle primary-level Maths and Science.
THE SCIENCE OF LANGUAGE LEARNING
This seminar was attended by more than 60 principals and heads from schools all over Hyderabad.
The keynote speaker for the event, Preetika Venkatakrishnan, Vice President – Product and Training at Karadi Path, spoke on how we learn language in the classroom and how language proficiency impacts all learning. She conducted a series of interactive exercises and discussions. The workshop presented some new insights into the linguistic intelligence, the process of learning and language acquisition. She concluded stating that as teaching and learning are two sides of the same coin, it is important to be a learner throughout one’s life to be able to teach others.
A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS
Nearly 140 teachers from 22 schools around Karur attended the workshop conducted by C.P. Viswanath, C.E.O. of Karadi Path. The workshop took the audience on a journey to discover the joy and magic of picture books with a focus on the fabulous artwork that can sometimes tell a story even better than text can.