Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Celebrating Ramadan with BZM

I wanted to tell Z about Ramadan, and I found this beautiful idea on http://modestmunchies.com/49-ways-to-get-kids-involved-in-…

So I developed a calendar for Z, Ramadan starts on 19th of July Insha'Allah. Due to my work schedule and Z's school, I won't be able to follow a daily schedule ( I would've loved to do that) guess this is good to start with.

Ramadan Mubarak everyone!

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Bookalicious Tuesdays: Rainbow Fish

Name: Rainbow Fish
Author: Marcus Pfister



Z, like most kids her age, can be a bit selfish at times. She went into this "my space, my books, my toys, my parents" zone sometime back. I immediately thought of the Rainbow Fish. A beautiful book by Marcus Pfister, a beautiful story about a sparkly, multicolored fish, which is a little selfish. He loves his sparkly scales and doesn't want to share them with anyone. Till a wise octopus shows him the right path.

Will the Rainbow Fish mend his ways and make some friends?

In Z's words: I like it because the blue fish has so many special shiny scales, they are glittering. I also like it because I like sharing, just like rainbow fish… (this second sentence is not entirely true). The book was listed in the must read list Z shared recently.

BZM Thumbs up:
  • The story(simple, beautiful)
  • Illustrations
  • Any child will connect with the Rainbow Fish
  • Adults will love the story too

BZM Thumbs down:
  • None
BZM gives Rainbow Fish a perfect 10

See this amazing read aloud here:

 

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Bookalicious Tuesdays - Ismat's Eid

Book: Ismat's Eid:
Author: Fawzia Gilani-Williams
Illustrator: Proiti Roy

 

Z has liked very few books published in India, but she loves Ismat's Eid. The story is an adaptation of a Turkish tale (I guess I read it in school). I love the hilarious tale of a shoemaker who gets pants for eid, they are 'four fingers too long'. Everyone seems too busy to help him, everyone has something to do for the big day tomorrow. The tailor, Ismat's wife, Yasmeen; his mum, Habiba and his daughter, Mahjabeen have their respective chores to attend to.

This tale is super funny and Z loves it.


In Z's words: I love Ismat's eid because it makes me laugh... A lot.

BZM Thumbs Up:
  • Love the story, simple and funny
  • Love the narration
  • I also like the fact, that Fawzia Gilani has explained a few Urdu words which kids and many parents might not understand.
  • It is repetitive which works very well with kids, they start connecting with events.
  • It teaches kids about making small adjustments and being happy in a very subtle (non-preachy) way.
BZM Thumbs Down:
  • I like the book a lot, so I don't have any issues whatsoever.

BZM gives Ismat's Eid 9/10 stars. 

Wild Karnataka – Experience

We were ecstatic when we got to know we were going to see  Wild Karnataka.  It was a long trip to Vega City mall, Bannerghetta Road, Benga...