#396 - Chitti’s Travelling Book Box

by Kavitha Punniyamurthi and illustrated by Niveditha Subramaniam

“Chitti’s Travelling Book Box” by Kavitha Punniyamurthi and illustrated by  Niveditha Subramaniam. Published by Duckbill. A heartwarming story of Chitti who has just discovered the beautiful world of books and wants to share it with everyone in her village.

Seven year old Chitti lived with her Appa (father) and Amma (mother) in the village of Chinnapalayam in Tamilnadu. Chitti and her three friends Lachu, Muthu and Chokka loved playing around the old tractor parked in a corner of Chitti’s Appa’s paddy field. They had made it their own pretend-play area. Chitti wished that her Appa would never manage to sell the tractor as she and her friends had a wonderful time playing with it serving as anything ranging from a spacecraft to a ship. There were no limits to their imagination you see! :)

When Chitti visited her Mama-Maami’s home in Chennai during the holidays, her friends missed her a lot and felt bored without her. They were eager to know what she had bought back with her when she came back lugging a heavy cardboard box which was nearly as big as her. All their guesses regarding the contents of the box were in vain as they didn’t even expect what Chitti could have got. She had bought back story books from a second-hand bookshop with the help of Fathima Akka who was setting up a library at her home next door to Chitti’s Mama’s home. Chitti had loved listening to Fathima Akka read and enjoyed reading the books herself as well. Now she wanted to share this joy with her friends and everyone in the village as well. To her disappointment, her friends showed no enthusiasm or interest in even looking at the books. They had never laid their eyes on story books before except one that their headmaster himself had written and ensured that everyone had read it. One can imagine how drab it might have been! :D For them,books came in only one form - as text books! What kind of books could exist without maths or science!? How can Chitti convince her friends about the magic of reading story books? Will they even understand and start reading and talking to her about books? Read the delightful story to know if Chitti can change their minds and spread the love of books and stories in her village.

My almost nine year old and I enjoyed reading this lovely book. Feisty Chitti and her friends have such an infectious charm that one cannot resist liking them. We loved the way in which Chitti persevered and did not give up even when obstacles cropped up in her path. The magic of books and the world that it opens up to readers has to be experienced to appreciate it. The sceptical attitude of the children initially towards story books and how they realise that it opens up so many windows into different worlds has been shown very well. The cheeky illustrations complement the story beautifully.  Apart from the power of books and libraries, the story has themes such as humour, adventure, teamwork, solving problems, determination, earnestness and passion. The story also gives an insight into life of a child in a village. The book is part of the “Hole Books” series of books which are meant for children who have begun reading chapter books independently. This was our second hole book after “Nisha Small : The Knot of Gold” and we enjoyed it thoroughly.

Recommended Age

The book is apt for children aged 7 and above.

Reasons to Read

Simply for the love of good stories about the power of books and love for reading!

Disclaimer - We received this book from the publisher, Penguin India (Duckbill), for review. Thank you to Greeshma and Mansi, from Penguin, for sending across the book!