Jesper Jinx by Marko Kitti

Jesper Jinx (series)
by Marko Kitti

Quite by the sweetest coincidence, I e-met the author, Marko Kitti, and got to read his delightful set of books. Well, not all of seven of them yet -- but, enough of them to know that this is a light and fun chapter book series for kids to get hooked on.

"Jesper Jinx is eleven, and probably the unluckiest person in all of Puffington Hill. Everything he touches seems to end up in sweet disaster. Hence his nickname 'Jinx'"

In the first few pages of the first book, in the Intro Sequence, the author sets the tone and the mood that made me realize that kids would love this style of writing: the author has promised Jesper that he won't share Jesper's embarrassing moments in print; Yet, the author breaks "at least a zillion promises and moral obligations" and asks us readers to not breathe a word to Jesper about this breach. Conspiratorial, or what?!

Things always seem to happen to Jesper. His heart is in the right place. His intentions are usually nice (not always!). But he manages to come out fine in the end.

Finnish author Marko Kitti took up writing in English as a challenge and has come up with an entertaining set of books that are a pleasure to read.

I e-interviewed the author to know more about his writing journey and the various aspects of bringing Jesper to the readers.


1. Tell us about your writing journey - when did you start, what was your motivation for writing?

I've been writing fictional stories for as long as I can remember. As a child, I enjoyed writing all kinds of short stories, most of them which were actually my own versions of the stories I'd read. So my love of writing comes from my love of reading. But it wasn't until I was in my late twenties that I sent my scribblings to a publisher, and I've been a professional writer ever since.

2. Do you focus on writing only for children? What are some of your other works?

I have published several novels and short stories for adult and YA readers in the Finnish language, but for the past four years I've been focussing on writing only for children, mainly in the English language. I find writing for children wonderfully enjoyable, although it's one of the most difficult types of storytelling. I've always loved challenges and, funny enough, it didn't take long before I found my comfort zone in writing children's literature.

3. What was the inspiration for Jesper Jinx? Were you drawing from your own life perchance?

Jesper Jinx was born purely by accident. What started as a simple "experiment" soon turned into something completely different. Finnish is my mother tongue, and about five years ago someone challenged me to write something in English. More precisely, what that person actually said was: "I don't believe your English is good enough for writing a book.” That was a huge trigger for me. Being told "you can't” was all the motivation I needed, and a few months later Jesper Jinx was born. I wanted to create a character who was someone the young readers could identify with. I also wanted to involve the reader in the Jesper Jinx books by directly addressing them, making them feel like they are part of something important. I wanted to take a humorous approach to the stories, and that proved to be a good decision. After all, these days more than ever, children need laughter as well as a sense of security and acceptance in their lives.

4. Tell us about your favorite children's author(s) and book(s)?

As a child, my favourite children's author was Enid Blyton. I can honestly say I've read most of her books at least twice; The Famous Five, The Secret Seven, The Adventure series, you name it. I also gobbled through Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan series, which I found absolutely fantastic. Nowadays, I enjoy reading all kinds of children's books. Some of my favourite authors include Roald Dahl, David Walliams, Jeff Kinney and Anthony Horowitz, and I'm also a great fan of the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.

5. How was the self-publishing experience? Do you handle the business-end and technical-end of self-publishing as well?

Yes, I'm involved in every step of the self-publishing process from writing and graphic design to the actual publishing and marketing, and I can honestly say I have enjoyed every minute of it all. But I haven't been doing the project alone. I'm lucky to have a fantastic team of editors, proofreaders and marketing professionals around me, so I can easily say that the Jesper Jinx series couldn't have become as successful as it has without a brilliant team effort from everyone involved.

6. What do you do when you are not writing? What are your other interests/passions?

I love travelling and exploring new places and cultures. I was born in Finland but I'm living in England now – and who knows, someday I might be living somewhere else. I also love baking and cooking and you will always see me in the kitchen.

Jesper Jinx website

[image source: http://www.jesperjinx.co.uk/books/jesper-jinx-book-1/]

Aboard a Paper Plane and Other Poems

Aboard a Paper Plane... and other poems

by Joe & Allison Kelly
illustrations by Supakit Chiangthong



When this poetry collection, Aboard a Paper Plane, by Allison & Joe Kelly came my way, I was absolutely delighted to read it! Not just to myself. I read it aloud to my kids, and, randomly quoted some of the lovely lines to the other adult in residence as well.

Shel Silverstein meets Kenn Nesbitt meets Kurt Cyrus.

That's what popped into my head as I read this set of poems. The random everyday quirks with a deeper thought-provoking perspective à la Shel Silverstein, the laugh-out-loud aspect of Kenn Nesbitt's works, as well as the amazing wordplay that Kurt Cyrus brings to his creations, these are what struck me when I read the forty eight poems in this collection.

Some are long and showcase their wordsmithing perfectly while others are crisp and short and made me double up with laughter.

The younger child's favorite was, of course, Bath for the "Ewww..." factor, and Painter, as he had tried that once and found that it was not appreciated.

The older child loved the Secret Club and Pop Quiz, while chuckling at Clover and nodding along with If Only I had a Dollar.

Vegetables - a cautionary tale is at once brilliant and funny, one of my favorites. The wordplay in Broke is superb.

 Before I start listing the joys of each poem here, let me stop and share an informal interview with this talented couple.


1. Tell us about your writing journey - when did you start, what was your motivation for writing? 

J: I started writing children's poetry when I was fifteen - right around the time I met Allison, actually.  I love the variation inherent in a poetry collection, and I love it as both a reader and a writer.  The imagination's zigzag from character to character, situation to situation; not knowing to which world the next page is going to take you, only that it will be a place you're sure to enjoy.  I guess that's why we were drawn to the paper plane.

A: Like most writers, I'm sure, I'm thrilled by the idea of creating something new that wasn't there before: a character, a plot line, a turn of phrase. I've been enthralled with the writing experience since the age of six or so; it's truly been one of the constant joys in my life.

J: And me, right?

A: Yes, Joe.  And you.

2. Do you focus on writing only for children? What are some of your other works?

A: I will write for anyone! I recently started a small business in which I write and publish personal memoirs for people -- usually older folks whose children want to gather their stories and memories in one place before it's too late. I also write material for standardized tests for students ranging in age from kindergarten to high school, and for both native English speakers and English language learners.

J: I'm not quite as versatile as my wife.  It's been largely children's material to date - poetry, rhyming books, middle grade; even tried my hand at YA.  I'm drawn to the imagination bursting from the genre seemingly everywhere you look.  My "day job" is in finance, so I find balance in using the creative side of my brain after a long day or week of analytical thinking.

Aboard a Paper Plane is our first title.  While writing, however, we stumbled upon a few ideas that were too long to be part of the collection.  The game plan now is to turn those into stand-alone rhyming stories.  We've also started planning a second poetry collection.  We don't have any timelines or anything as of yet, but we're certainly having fun putting it all together.


3. What was the inspiration for this particular book? Why a poetry book? How did you settle on the 48 poems included, it's a tall order? Which of these are your top 3 favorites? 

A: A poetry book allowed us to experiment with a lot of tones, themes, characters, and settings.  We were writing the book in our free time (evenings, weekends), so we wanted to make sure the experience was always fresh and exciting.  And as for the inspiration, Joe's the idea generator, so I'll let him take it from here.

J: Thanks, Al!  The inspiration for the book was an odd collection of dozens of little things I've noticed throughout my day-to-day.  Normal things - things you see every day ,but maybe don't put much thought into.  Like a graveyard or a boomerang or a lobster - stuff like that.  If an object or situation catches my eye, I jot it down in the Notes app on my iPhone. It's also energizing to take lofty "life lessons" -- try not to compare with others, be grateful for what you're given, and so on -- and repurpose them in a fun and accessible way through poetry.  In terms of the forty-eight, we were trying to assemble a nice variety of lengths and subjects and styles. There were a handful that didn't fit with Aboard a Paper Plane.  We hope to find a home for them in the next collection!

A: My favorites are probably The Runner, Guardian Angel, and The Tiniest Ant & the Giantest Bear. They're all very different, and I think they give a good idea of our versatility. I think they best showcase our humor, wordsmithing, and wit.

J: I wouldn't say I necessarily have a favorite poem, but I do have a few favorite lines.  Like in the "Octopus Barber", the line about the monkfish.  Or in "Fortune Teller" when the narrator daydreams about body surfing.  Or in "Aboard a Paper Plane" - the part that goes, "You'll cartwheel to the moon and then you'll swim from here to Spain / Or close your eyes and scrunch your face to sprout a lion's mane."  That makes me smile every time.


4. Tell us about your favorite children's author(s)? Favorite children's book(s)?

J: When I was very young, my favorite book was Richard Scarry's "Best Ride Ever". In retrospect, it was a pretty odd story.  Essentially, the plot line revolved around this dog named Dingo.  Dingo Dog had a really, really cool red car.  What Dingo Dog did not have was much respect for traffic laws.  Dingo would drive his car down the sidewalk, through the supermarket - I think at one point he even drove through someone's living room?  At end of the day, the whole book was a pretty airtight case study on why we don't let animals operate machinery.  According to my dad, I would laugh nonstop through the whole story.  Guess I was kind of a weird kid...

A: You were a weird kid?  According to my mom, my favorite book as a little kid was "The Book of Virtues".  It was 1,000 pages and had no pictures.  I would ask my dad to read it to me every night...

J: Okay - you got me there. But since my Dingo Dog-days of childhood, I've accumulated a whole host of both authors and stories I admire.  Just to name a few: Norton Juster's "The Phantom Tollbooth" & Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" for their wordplay and structure.  Shel Silverstein for his characters and situations.  R.L. Stine's "Goosebumps" for their zany twists.  But my absolute favorite?  I love "Oh, the Places You'll Go".  My grandparents gave me a copy when I graduated high school.  It's been on my desk ever since.

A: I loved the Berenstain Bears series -- the cute stories, the colorful full-page pictures! But most of the formative works I read as a child were when I was a little older, eight or nine or so. I loved "Little Women" most of all, followed closely by "A Wrinkle in Time" and the Babysitter's Club series.


5. How does the collaboration work? Each writes, and also edits the other's?

A: Writing children's poems has always been Joe's passion.  He comes up with the idea, any clever turns of phrase or characters, and writes a first draft.  Then, we both sit down in front of it to comb through line by line and word by word.  I'll suggest changes, shore up the scheme, and do my best to make sure every word counts.  We find that this process makes the best use of both of our skills.

J: That said, there were a few poems in the collection that we wrote pretty much top-to-bottom together.  These were, most notably: The Tiniest Ant & the Giantest Bear, If I Only Had a Dollar, Patient Pat, and The Gadget.  My favorite part about writing is being able to work with Allison.  I love having this as a shared experience.


6. Why eBook? And how was the self-publishing experience? Were you interested in submitting to the traditional publishers?

A: At this point, self-publishing Aboard a Paper Plane as an eBook was our most practical and expedient option.  We've also submitted to some literary agents and traditional publishers.  We're hopeful that our run as an eBook isn't the destination, but rather a step on the journey.


7. How did you "meet and collaborate" with the illustrator? On behalf of the illustrator, will you be able to share how they created the art, and whether they are open for working with other authors interested in self-publishing?

J: We met Supakit on Fiverr (which - by the way - is a great platform for children's book authors to partner with illustrators).  Our experience with him was fantastic - he was professional, easy to work with, and very talented. For each poem, we'd put together a detailed description of what we were looking for in the picture, shoot it over to Supakit, and then let him work his magic.  Unfortunately, we don't know too much about his process.  As of today, Supakit has taken his profile down on Fiverr.  He was a student during most of our collaboration, and we got the sense that he was taking on other time-intensive responsibilities as he got closer to graduating.


8. What do you do when you are not writing? What are your other interests/passions?

J: When I'm not writing or working, I enjoy running on the treadmill while watching a movie or show (currently, season 1 of True Detective), practicing the piano, drinking Guinness, all things personal finance, and spending time with my friends, family, and beautiful wife.

A: I love trying new recipes, learning languages (I'm currently taking a Spanish class!), reading, entertaining, and slowwwly decorating our house. And of course, spending time with my family, friends, and Joe!


Our sincerest gratitude to the Saffron Tree team for featuring us and our debut poetry collection, Aboard a Paper Plane! We truly appreciate all you do to promote children's literature. We hope you enjoy Aboard a Paper Plane; please reach out at jkelly821@gmail.com if you have any questions or comments! Happy reading!


[Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book but the opinions shared here are entirely my own. Review policy for this blog is available.]

Author Interview: Bijoy and the Big River

Bijoy and the Big River

by Meera Sriram and Praba Ram

Bijoy and the Big River made me beam the first time I read through it, and not just because I knew the authors. The book stood apart from some of the other children's books from India that I've had the pleasure to read: the narration was warm and picturesque rather than academic and sterile; the format was well-balanced with just enough factoids to support the story; the subject matter and the setting was unique and novel.

I've followed Tulika publishers for quite a few years now, and within a short time, they have managed to bring out several amazing children's books, many of which are bilingual covering several of the main languages in India.

Praba Ram, founder of Saffron Tree, came into my life back in 2006 through our mutual love of children's books. Over the years, her passion found many outlets, the best of which is becoming a children's book author herself with three books under her belt and many more to come. Her head is usually teeming with ideas, and she actively conducts storytimes and camps for children in Chennai India.

When I met her for the first time at OMSI a few years ago, I was completely struck by her disarming smile and easy-going nature, no pretenses. The same charm peeks through her words in the interview I am glad to share here.



1.  When did your journey with children’s books begin?

I had always been fond of books. With my children, I found my way back to the wonderful world of children’s literature.  My husband and I delighted in offering them a steady dose of picture books right from babyhood. The Winnie, the Pooh collection of bedtime stories was one of the first lot I picked up for my newborn daughter (didn't matter even if it was a Disney collection procured from a Costco!).   As enamored as my infant was with Pooh, I realized I was also happiest around children’s books.

Then when my husband’s work took us to Denver, a lot of changes happened simultaneously in my life. I had enrolled in graduate school.  That summer, I stayed home for my daughter as opposed to intern at a policy think-tank. And all I did was spend time reading to my 15 month old. The best moments we spent together were always at a small, independent bookstore called Tattered Cover (aha,  what a world of difference I saw with choices in children’s literature! )

Indulging in my baby's budding love for books, we both would hang out there scouring bookshelves. I was amazed by the variety of board books and got totally carried away by the ones written by Sandra Boynton, Leslie Patricelli and Nina Laden. Their books were unique and had a certain simplicity that was thought-provoking. Even after 10 years, my little one's giggles over "Oops!" in "Blue Hat, Green Hat" still ring loud in my head.

I couldn’t get enough of my toddler's happy squeals and wide-eyed wonder looking at those books. And I was very excited that a whole new, colorful world of children’s books was out there for the two of us to discover! Reading picture books with my children was zen-like. They spoke to me, in a deeper way. Unknowingly, my journey with children’s literature had begun right then, I guess.  So, it's more than a decade now since this joyous adventure with children's books began.

 2.  When did you first start writing for children and how did that come about?

Then, there was that stage when the entire family fell insanely in love with Dr. Seuss and Eric Carle. Their books got my first child hooked on to reading. She, at 3, was able to put together sounds and read words, which was so fascinating to me to observe as a parent.

The wonderfully diverse array of picture books we read all through her preschool days also often set me thinking about creating new stories for her. After a period of anxiety on what I should do, I knew I wanted to write. Children’s literature was what came naturally.

One night, as I sat breast-feeding my second born baby in the late hours of a nippy fall night, a walking traffic signal literally wandered into my head, refusing to leave. It came complete with colors and sound effects. Thankfully, the story's initial structure made its way into paper without slipping into oblivion. By then, I had already paired up with my friend and co-author or should I say, a partner in crime, who was also riding a similar boat, and equally involved as  i was in blogging about children's books and writing.

Around the same time, I also got hooked onto the world of blogging.  Saffron Tree came into being that autumn.  There was no other thought except children’s books. So, I suppose writing became a natural extension of this madness I was going through with children's books.  It also ignited in me a deep desire to better my writing.

3.  Your first book Dinaben and the Lions of Gir sits proudly in our bookshelf. How does the writing of Bijoy and the Big River compare with that of Dinaben, in terms of weaving a narrative? 

Bijoy is a narrative, non-fiction while Dinaben, a simple bi-lingual.  In bi-linguals, the text is usually spare.  In both the books, photographs run parallel with the narrative.  I’d say, with Bijoy, the experience was closer to writing a picture book.  But we were also a bit constrained because it was not like a traditional picture book done with illustrations. We used photographs to render a realistic image. At each step in writing, we chose words to capture subtler details, beyond what images could convey.

Our last draft, was all about weeding out sentences and tightening things up as much as possible. We cut close to 800 words and Bijoy, in its final form, stood at 1022 (without the factoids). We certainly owe it to our editors at Tulika Books for working with us closely. They helped us tidy up the text removing frilly, superfluous elements.

As A.A.Milne put it, “It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like "What about lunch?”. In writing Bijoy, we had to do exactly that. Choose details carefully; use simple words to tell the story and preserve a quiet, subtle one throughout the narrative, while keeping an eye out for anything overboard or exotic. Overall, it was a fun and fulfilling experience. No doubt, there were lots to learn!

4. Walk us through those initial moments when Eri aka Ahimsa silk chose You to tell its story: Were you looking to tell the story of natural fabrics like cotton and wool and landed on silk by accident? 

That’s a great question! After showcasing Maldharis and the Asiatic lions in Dinaben and the Lions of Gir, we were eager to explore similar themes of everyday stories, communities practicing traditional occupations and their harmonious living in nature. Everything starts with research and brainstorming.  We sent in three equally interesting ideas, and the editors picked silk as the first topic for us to explore.

We didn’t know anything about Eri silk when we started out. But when we researched the different regions in India where silk was made, we were thoroughly intrigued by the three wild varieties produced in Assam. Naturally, there was just too much of inspiration not to carve a story about the non-violent Eri, the peace silk. Learning about Eri, Muga and Sualkuchi, the silk center and different weaving traditions of the Assamese, we were all set to write and the plot unfolded itself in logical steps.

And with Brahmaputra as the backdrop , we also decided to weave in xihu, the endangered river dolphins. In patchwork, we built the plot around the cultural and environmental fabrics of Assam. It always amazes me how one thread leads to another, and eventually all the elements come together in a natural way.


5. Did you consider anybody other than Bijoy to tell this story through - say, a young girl, Bimla?

No, not for this book. But Bimla would have been equally wonderful! J But among the array of ideas presented to Tulika for the Where I live series, we had a girl character carved out for a different story. Also, earlier during the initial stages of writing Dinaben, we had a story revolving around a little girl Kamla.  But when it was decided it would be a bi-lingual book, Kamla somehow slowly slithered her way out of the story-telling. But with Bijoy, we were indeed relieved and glad that the manuscript fit in perfectly with the Where I live series – with the child character, Bijoy, being at the core of the narrative.

 6.  The process of research and fact-checking, not to mention finding the appropriate photographs, must have been tedious. Were you in touch with the silk farmers or any particular agency to provide first-hand information? 

We did rely heavily on some government websites for the silk and weaving related fact-checking part, and also websites of non-governmental conservation agencies in the North-east working on issues of bio-diversity in the region.  For food, language and cultural details, we spoke to a couple of Assamese friends from the blogging world. At a local craft exhibition, I had the most wonderful opportunity to speak to Eri silk weavers from the north-east.

7. My kids enjoyed the factoids on each page that gave a context to the story. Did you set about assembling the facts first and weave the story around it or vice-versa?

As for the factoids, we took the inputs from the editorial team at Tulika.  During the layout of the book, we simply provided factoids and details based on topical relevance for a particular page. So, as you can see, the factoids came later, after the story was completely done.

8. The book is full of wonderful images you paint with words. One of my favorites is when "a brown moth with thick velvety fur and potted wings lands on Deuta's hands... Bijoy stands there enchanted." Another is "Click clack click clack! That is what Bijoy hears walking down the streets in Sualkuchi, nestled among sparkling ponds and lush green fields." before I quote the whole book, I was curious to know if and how much the photographs you gathered during your research evoked those beautiful words in the book. Did words come first and photographs came later?

That’s a wonderful question! I’m so happy you liked the visual imagery we attempted to paint. We were bowled over by the region during our research process, which typically lasts weeks, sometimes, even months. And also while trying to create a narrative for the different threads, we would continuously research. May be that had an effect.

9. You have done story times locally for Bijoy. Could you share some anecdotes about children's reaction first-hand as they listen to Bijoy and learn about an under-represented part of India? What kind of questions did they have for you? Were there any questions that made you wish you had included an answer to it in your book?

It’s been terrific to reach out to children and see their response first hand. So far, the launch event is the only time I have shared the story of Bijoy with children. It was tremendous fun. At the end, one child posed one question that threw me a bit off-guard, ‘Are you from Assam, Aunty? To which, I of course gave the most boring reply, “Nope, I’m from here, the South of India.  A trip to Assam and the north-east, I hope, happens soon!” But, I’m pretty sure the kids could hear the longing in my tone.

Having said that, I should say, it was the most interactive session I had ever had. I was curious to find out if anyone had seen any real weaver at work. A six year old mentioned, “My father!” And I cried excitedly, “Yay, that’s our own Bijoy here with us today! J His father happens to be a weaver. Like how Bijoy’s Dad, Deuta is a silk-farmer .” I clearly couldn’t contain my excitement and spent a few minutes quizzing him on more details .

There was also another interesting moment in the end. I stated, “We have so many rivers that are female…Ganga, Cauvery, Narmada, Yamuna. And does anyone know of any with male names except the Brahmaputra?”  I hear a quick remark from a little guy perched in the front row “Krishna!”  It was incredible to see him come up with the answer so quickly.  I went speechless at that because I hadn’t thought of it at all.

On my way home, the name Ravi struck me as one of the five rivers from western India! I’m sure there are many more.  I did catch myself thinking, if including names of other rivers with male names would have helped.

Author Interview: Bijoy and the Big River

Bijoy and the Big River

by Meera Sriram and Praba Ram

Every once in a while a book comes along that has the right combination of subject matter, narration, facts, and pictures that it makes you sit up and take notice. And reach out to the authors to deconstruct the whole experience of how the book came about.

Bijoy and the Big River is one such recently published book by Tulika. And am proud to know the authors of this book - Meera Sriram and Praba Ram, whom I consider my very good friends.

Bijoy and the Big River takes us to a lesser known part of India, the eastern state of Assam and tells the story of Eri silk, dubbed 'Ahimsa' or Peace silk as no silkworm is killed to make the fibers, set along the Brahmaputra river, with a young boy, Bijoy, as the protagonist.

The book is reviewed  in beautiful detail at Saffron Tree. Here I wanted to share the story behind the story. Having worked with the Praba and Meera intimately since 2006 thanks to Saffron Tree, I was thrilled to behold their latest book and decided to follow up with them to answer some of my questions.

I decided to share their answers in two separate posts - first, to spread the goodness -one post is not enough; and second, I loved each of their perspectives and didn't want to edit their words in anyway to fit in a single post so it won't be tediously long.

Meera is an "ideas girls"; she loves word play and word games and enjoys dancing to her own drumbeat. I am amazed by her enthusiasm and energy to follow her passion, be it photography, interior design, or authoring children's books. Without further ado, here is my recent interview with Meera Sriram.


1. When did you first start writing for children and how did that come about? 

Praba and I first started writing for children about six or seven years ago. We were already blogging about children's books and we'd often discuss ideas – things, themes and issues we thought had potential for great stories, particularly when set in an Indian context. So it seemed like a creative and natural extension at that point to kick start our writing.  Personally, looking back, I also think I had an irrational enthusiasm and a restlessness to do something about the void in India then. I had quit the corporate world with no resentment and I was eager to find out where this newly found urge to write was going to take me.

2. Your first book Dinaben and the Lions of Gir sits proudly in our bookshelf. How does the writing of Bijoy and the Big River compare with that of Dinaben, in terms of weaving a narrative? 

Thank you, Sheela. There is an overlap when it comes to the sentiments of the macro-themes. But in terms of narrative, style and standard, there is a significant difference mainly stemming from the age group and the nature of the series the books address. For instance – “Dinaben and the Lions of Gir” targeted a much younger audience. However with Bijoy, we had the license to pack more information and hence we ended up with a longer and meatier narrative.

3. Walk us through those initial moments when Eri aka Ahimsa silk chose You to tell its story: Were you looking to tell the story of natural fabrics like cotton and wool and landed on silk by accident? 

Sometime last week I came across this: The task is not so much to see what no one has yet seen; but to think what nobody has yet thought, about that which everybody sees - Erwin Schrodinger, and smiled. I thought it captured what we were going for at some point early on with our stories. Our intention was not to go looking for something out of the ordinary but instead to look at things fairly common, simple, and natural to tell a story. Because most often, these are the things we take for granted, these are the stories that go untold.  Silk was our first and only choice. We were drawn to the science behind it. Our research quite immediately led us to Eri and there was no looking back.

4. Did you consider anybody other than Bijoy to tell this story through - say, a young girl, Bimla?

Ha ha ha…no. Sounds very likely, but if I remember right, no :)

5. The process of research and fact-checking, not to mention finding the appropriate photographs, must have been tedious. Were you in touch with the silk farmers or any particular agency to provide first-hand information? 

Yes, we researched for several months on the internet. We later connected with many passionate bloggers, travelers and conservationists from different continents. One of them, for example, lived in France. And when we wrote to him, he had just returned home after working for two months with freshwater dolphins in Pakistan. It was pretty exciting! So, all these people who were in direct contact either with the regional ecosystem or culture helped us with information and photographs.

6. My kids enjoyed the factoids on each page that gave a context to the story. Did you set about assembling the facts first and weave the story around it or vice-versa?

Most of the facts were in our head. We had an outline for our story cut out as well. We wove in the facts as we wrote. Whenever we felt it was getting a bit too much or irrelevant for the context at hand, we pulled out those facts and kept them aside. Some of them appear as factoids in the book. A few more important details about Assam were added towards the end to complete the list.

7. The book is full of wonderful images you paint with words. One of my favorites is when "a brown moth with thick velvety fur and potted wings lands on Deuta's hands... Bijoy stands there enchanted." Another is "Click clack click clack! That is what Bijoy hears walking down the streets in Sualkuchi, nestled among sparkling ponds and lush green fields." before I quote the whole book, I was curious to know if and how much the photographs you gathered during your research evoked those beautiful words in the book. Did words come first and photographs came later? 

I am always excited to answer this :) Yes, it seems like the photographs inspired the choice of words. However, in reality, most of those photographs didn't enter the scene until much later. We were constantly building this mental image of everything we read about – landscapes, people and wildlife – with random visual inputs and information we were gathering during the research phase. It stayed with us as we wrote. Then when we set out in search of photographs, we found fragments of our story come alive through very diverse sources. It was pretty amazing how they all got shuffled up and fit right in.


8. You have done story times locally for Bijoy. Could you share some anecdotes about children's reaction first-hand as they listen to Bijoy and learn about an under-represented part of India? What kind of questions did they have for you? Were there any questions that made you wish you had included an answer to it in your book?

This is a great question, Sheela! I live in the U.S and I've only had opportunities to read to kids here. I always start by putting India on a world map and then zoom in.  I've had kids confuse East Indians with the Native Indians here, so you'd think it can be pretty challenging. However, at the end of every visit, I walk away impressed and exhilarated.

With "Bijoy and the Big River," I had a wonderful experience presenting the book to third graders in California. They not only received it with ease and enthusiasm but processed it very sensibly. I’d say it was the floods that touched them the most.

I had one kid ask me why the people of Assam continue to live there in spite of the floods year after year. Another asked me how the moth species would survive if all the pupae were stifled for silk (in the non-eri case). There was also a lot of inquisitiveness about what growing up on a river bank would be like. All these opened up great discussions, which helps me answer your last question - no, I think (so far) I’ve not felt like we should’ve included answers because I believe that a book should maneuver a child to think beyond, to ask, to wonder and to imagine. So, I’m always happy when kids come up with questions :)

Thank you, Sheela, for asking, it was a pleasure sharing my thoughts!

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Meera Sriram moved to the U.S at the turn of the millennium from India. After graduate studies and a brief stint as an electrical engineer, she decided to express herself in other creative ways, primarily through writing. She has co-authored three books for children. Her writing interests include people and cultures, nature and life’s everyday moments. Besides writing books, Meera reviews diverse children’s literature and writes articles on an online magazine, InCultureParent.com. She is also excited about an early literacy program, Little Lits, she will be starting in her community this summer. Curling up to read a good book with her little boy and girl is something she looks forward to everyday. She constantly fantasizes about a world with no boundaries over hot chai to help stay warm in foggy Northern California.

[image source: photo of my personal copy]