Excellent write up on the role of picture books in child development, by Lori Calabrese at The Children’s Book Review site.
Some points I could completely identify with:

-Picture books are multi-sensory, which aids a child’s growing mind and stimulates their imagination.
-The repetition in many picture books allows a child to participate in the story.
-Children love art.
-The illustrations of a picture book help children understand what they are reading and allow young readers to analyze the story.
-Chapter books are not necessarily more complex than picture books and in fact, their vocabulary …

If you haven’t visited

Title: Chasing The Plastic Pisach
Author/Illustrator: Sumathi Sudhakar / Arka Prabha Roy Chowdhury
Publisher: Pratham Books

Our apartment initiated a Go Green campaign few weeks back, with posters all over the apartment complex, starting from the entrance gate to the lift. The poster clearly depicting the three colored waste collection bins, samples of recyclable waste etc. Our apartment has mandated us to have separate bins at home, one for recyclable wastes and another for compost-able waste. One going into white trash bags and another into black, so they can accordingly dispose them into …

The Read India initiative by Pratham Books is an inspiring social entrepreneurship project. They are a non-profit trust claiming to produce high-quality and affordable children’s books in many Indian languages. Very much walking their talk, most of their books are in the Rs.15 – Rs.25 price range. Do not be fooled by the price, the books are on high quality paper and print, with bright and colorful illustrations(especially the 3-6 and 7-10 years age groups).
The inside of the back cover in most of their books features a kid with a …

In case you don’t already know, Saffron tree is celebrating its third birthday by hosting a week long book festival called CROCUS 2009. It’s a fun ride folks, back to back reviews of children’s books from all around the world, puzzles and author interviews. Do check it out.

Author: Eric Carle
Read Along: 4-6 years
Read Alone: 6+ years
My almost 5 year old daughter has developed a liking to Eric Carle’s books. The minute she spots his name, she wants to read it. We were in a book shop couple of months back, when the kids got to choose one book each. I did not surprise me one bit to see The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle in her hands. I was surprised to see the Indian reprint, easing on the rupee, however
This book just like any other …

Read Along: 1 -4 years
Read Alone: 3-6 years
Early Childhood Publications.
My friend introduced us to the Bruno, Pepper series of books and we are hooked on to it ever since. Pretty cheap, 30 Indian Rupees is all it costs. Very very simple, not many lines to read, beautiful illustrations. I am surprised not to see reviews on this series of books.
In this particular book, Bruno doesn’t listen to his mom when she asks him to clean up his toys as he is in a hurry to watch TV. Grandpa who …

A friend got my daughter a bunch of Tulika books. The bilingual [Hindi / English ] ones. Such a wonderful concept and easy way to introduce a new language to kids.
Picture Courtesy – http://tulikabooks.com
One of the books my daughter loves in this series and can relate to is – Main kya banaoon? What shall I make? It’s about this boy Neeraj getting hold of a ball of chappati dough, which he rolls, pats and makes various animal shapes out of it. Just as their web site says, its about …