Homework

by Lavanya Karthik

“Homework” by Lavanya Karthik. Published by Duckbill. A hilarious story of a little boy whose homework has turned out to be really bad despite him not making any mistakes :)

The story starts off with a little boy in school. He is trying to tell the teacher that he hasn’t been able to bring his homework to class. The teacher is definitely not happy about it. As she gives him stern looks, he is trying to explain what has happened. It isn’t that he is lying or he hasn’t done it. But the teacher isn’t convinced one bit. His reputation in school is such. And he knows it :) He is supposed to be behind many of the pranks that have happened in the school in the recent past. He hasn’t owned up to any of them. In fact he now mentions every one of them and requests the teacher to believe him despite all the reasons.

When nothing seems to be working in his favour, he tries to explain what happened to his homework. They were supposed to find an egg, keep it safe and warm, watch it and wait till it hatches. They were supposed to bring it to class and show everyone on that day. He did find an egg and took good care of it. Despite everyone at home having doubts about it hatching. But something did seem to have gone wrong finally. Which is why he hadn’t been able to show his homework. What was that? Why was he hesitant to talk about it directly? Would the teacher believe him at last? Would he be able to submit his homework at all? Read this thrilling and hilarious book to know what happened next.

My 8.5 year old has loved this book ever since we read it last year. The buildup to the plot was too good and we just couldn’t wait to turn the pages to figure out what would happen next. And the illustrations are superb adding their charm to the story. The situation is so relatable. Am sure most of us would have landed up in situations during our schooldays where we missed doing/submitting homework and having to face the teacher sheepishly :) I will not give away the mystery but it was fun trying to guess what happened to the egg and whether it hatched. The book is part of the “hook book” series by Duckbill and well suited for children who are beginning to read on their own. The fairly large sized text along with pictures are very helpful in making the gradual transition to chapter books with lesser pictures. The book brought back pleasant memories of a board book called “The Odd Egg” by Emily Gravett which was a favourite at our home when my son was a toddler.

Recommended Age

The book is apt for children aged 5/6 and above.

Reasons to Read

For a hilarious take on a very relatable situation for children :)

Where to buy from?

An independent bookstore, Funky Rainbow, from where I buy many of my books.