June 2nd Session included read aloud of “The Village Fair – Gaon ka Mela” a bilingual story book by Radhika Meganathan with pictures by Nancy Raj and published by Tulika.
Children shared what they do/see in a fair and it resonated with the book even before we read the book. This for us, is the quality of a good contextual book, that allows children to relate almost immediately with the content and yet it brings in something new in the form of the narrative or an element of the story.
The story was read and enjoyed, the language is very Standard but understood well by even the youngest listener because of the context and illustrations. Everyone loved the concept of the bioscope. One day we must make one !
What do we do after the story is over and retold, recollected and enjoyed ? We gave out balloons and watched young lungs blow life into them, play, burst a few and then decorate their balloons to share what they would feel on the day of a fair.
As the session ended and the children went home, waving endlessly, it seemed like we were at a fair. Tired, happy and smiling.
