According to her official website Anne Fine is “the second Children’s Laureate and a distinguished prize-winning writer for children of all ages, with over forty books to her credit. She has also written for adults to considerable critical acclaim.”
In 1994, her book “Madam Doubtfire”, inspired the movie “Mrs. Doubtfire”, which in turn inspired the Hindi version, “Chachi 420”.
I came across her when I was searching for some new authors to read to my students in my Creative Writing class and I picked up her book, “The Diary of a Killer Cat”
The Diary of a Killer Cat takes a look at the world through the eyes of a cat. Tuffy is Ellie’s pet cat and he can’t understand why humans make such a fuss when he behaves like a cat. Ellie is horrified when he drags a dead bird into the house and Tuffy’s reaction is, “Okay. okay. So hang me. I killed the bird. For pity’s sake I am a cat.”
The story is quick and easy to read. You can’t put the book down because you want to know what happens next. A must read for parents and kids.
Bill’s new frock is about a boy who wakes up one morning as a girl. As he goes through the day dressed in a frock, he realises that life as a girl is very different. This is a beautiful book to make children of gender inequality and teach them to respect each other.
Anneli, the art hater is the story of a girl who hates any form of art but then discovers that paintings tell a story. She uses the clues in the painting to help solve a mystery. The medley of characters makes for an interesting read.
How to Write Really Badly was one of my favourite books. It deals with a dyslexic student Joe and his friend Chester. At first Chester is annoyed with how long Joe takes to understand even the simplest of things and the mess he makes of his writing. But then he discovers that Joe is a genius at building models.
Saving Miss Mirabelle is about a teacher who is different. She adds life to the class room yet she is very human and shows her helplessness in dealing with situations. She encourages out of the box thinking and gets the children to come up with ideas on their own.
If you would like to get more ideas on how and what to read to your child, click on the link below to get my newsletter. You also get my book “The Gift of Reading”, free. (It is also available on Amazon for ₹ 99/-)
Yes, sign me up for the news letter
(If you do buy any of these books using the above links get a small commission, at no extra cost to you)
0 Comments