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Letters come with the promise of intimacy and privacy. They allow us to open up in ways that we wouldn’t otherwise. “I’m a big letter-writer,” says children’s author Varsha Seshan.
Her new book, The Wall Friends Club (HarperCollins Children’s Books), uses the epistolary form to narrate the story of two girls, Sriya and Anandi, aged nine and 10, from their points of view. The two grow up in different environments, but develop instant fondness for each other through letters. They reveal their names, share their secrets, recount everyday classroom drama and stories of bullies, and suggest cool ideas for each other’s class projects.
Varsha Seshan“I have loved writing letters in my childhood,” shares Seshan. “I used to have pen pals as a child. That’s quite outdated now because of security.
” She recalls a time when it felt safe to do so. “As a child, I had subscribed to the children’s edition of the nature and wildlife conservation magazine Sanctuary Asia, called Sanctuary Cub, which had a page with names and addresses of people. When I think about it today, I’m a little bit horrified.
But if you wanted to be a pen pal, you could get in touch. You already knew that you had one common interest, i.e.
, nature.” Seshan stayed connected with one of her pen pals for years, but lost touch when emails arrived. “[An email] seemed easier in one way because it was exciting and faster, yet it wasn’t because we didn’t have good internet,” she tells us.
ILLUSTRATIONS Courtesy/DENISE ANTAO; HARPERCOLLINS IndiaHer book traverses the endearing ways in which children navigate rights and wrongs, take decisions, and desire gentle affirmations. She packs in little lessons within the conversations, without making the children sound preachy. The format of the letter enables her to withhold any judgment on the characters and focus on the idea of friendship.
“Friendship is the main theme in all my books. It really shapes who we are; it definitely shaped who I am. We’ve all been kids, so we know what big decisions look like, even though they appear small to adults.
” Betrayal, for instance, can look different to kids. “There are small things that some children do which make other children feel betrayed sometimes, and this is a big deal for a child.” She refers to a moment in the narrative when one of the letter-writers gives a friendship band, gifted to her by a friend from school, to somebody else.
“It is heartbreaking.”Having worked with children through book clubs and writing programmes, she understands these emotions well. “I think what we were as kids was different.
” Listening to them has allowed Seshan to bridge the gap between the time that she remembers as a child and the world that children live in today. It has also given her a chance to notice all that has remained the same.Visual elements, for example, illustrated by Denise Antao, form an important part of a shared language between the characters.
The children scribble codes or draw pictures in their letters. “Kids love art. When you start writing, you start doodling too.
We do it even as adults. They are part of our experiences as human beings,” concludes Seshan. The book, therefore, offers much to young readers and ultimately leaves them thinking what it means to be a good friend.
Cost: Rs 175Booked with friendsBipathu and a Very Big Dream by Anita NairAnita NairEvery night, nine-year-old Bipathu dreams that her elder brother Saad, Hrithik Roshan, and she were playing football. She can’t in reality; her Umma won’t let her. When her school reopens, she makes new friends: a blind lady from her neighbourhood, a football-crazy schoolmate Rahul, a neighbour named Maash, and a rescue pup named Duggu.
As the class bully Suleiman makes attempts to stand in the way of Rahul’s selection for the football team, Bipathu and friends get together to help Rahul out.Tara and the Friendship Theorem by Chitra SoundarChitra SoundarTara and Farida are best friends, who love playing pallanguzhi (a two-player board game). When Tara’s family moves to London, she yearns for her best friend.
On the flight, she stumbles upon a book which teaches her a math-based ‘Friendship Theorem’. Tara loves solving puzzles and decides to make use of the theorem to find a friend. Absorbed in following its strict principles, she misses seeing an important friendship developing at Camp Wilderness.
You Go First by Erin Entrada KellyErin Entrada Kelly Twelve-year-old Charlotte Lockard and 11-year-old Ben Boxer live in different parts of the country. While Ben loves Harry Potter and recycling, Charlotte loves collecting rocks and hopes to become a geologist one day. They are connected by an online scrabble game.
Over a few days, they develop an endearing bond and find out that they share much more than this. They’ve both experienced a difficult time at home and have no friends in school who understand them.The Last Bear by Hannah GoldHannah GoldYoung April’s scientist father informs her about the complete disappearance of polar bears from Bear Island, where they are bound.
One day, however, she meets one and sets her mind to take him back to his family and his home. She feeds him oat biscuits with peanut butter and nurses his hurt paw; he teaches her to press her ear to the earth and listen. This is a story of a gentle friendship between an animal and a child fighting climate change.
At: All titles are available at leading bookstores and e-stores.
