News & Reviews

Annual Comics Convention in Hyderabad on anvil!

Hyderabad Comic Con 2014 is set to take place at Hitex Exhibition Centre from October 10-12, 2014. Some of the best International Comics publishers are coming this year at Hyderabad Comic Con 2014. It will also feature Costume Play where kids and adults can come dressed as their favourite comic, superhero and gaming characters. There will be workshops with creators, artists and writers of popular comics and graphic novels.

The Comic Con express Hyderabad, the travelling version of Comic Con India in Sept ’13 saw a turnout of over 25,000 and sales worth over 75 lakhs in just two days. According to Jatin Varma, founder, Comic Con India, “With the tremendous response at Comic Con Express Hyderabad last September, we felt that a permanent event was required for the city. Therefore, it gives us great pleasure in announcing ‘Hyderabad Comic Con 2014’! Hyderabad fans were simply awesome and this year we are ensuring that we bring everything down to the city, the best of Indian and International content will be on display and we look forward to a great event! ”

The main participants for the Hyderabad Comic Con 2014 are Amar Chitra Katha, Orange Radius, Pop Culture Publishing, Random House, Campfire Graphic Novel, Holy Cow Entertainment, HarperCollins Publishers, Raj Comics, Scholastic India, Mario Gallery, Westland Publishers, Pan MacMillan and more!!

Wildlife theme for Leading Reading Schools of India Award 2015

The theme for the Leading Reading Schools of India 2015 Award is Wild about Wildlife. Books that showcase Indian wildlife – a fast dwindling heritage, have been carefully selected as reading material to enable children to appreciate our flora and fauna better and to reflect on the challenges that they face.

The Leading Reading Schools of India Award is an annual award established by Young India Books – an India-centric review site that promotes Indian books for children; to recognise and honour the five leading schools of the country; schools that believe in the power of the written word and inculcate a love for books and reading. The junior group will write between 100 – 300 words about a day in the life of an animal or, illustrate a scene from the selected book. Likewise, children from the senior category will write an autobiography of approx 600 – 800 words about an animal or illustrate the story in 3 – 4 pictures. Winning schools will receive a citation plus a year’s membership to the Bombay Natural History Society and a big hamper of books.

To know more log onto www.youngindiabooks.com/

Punjabi children’s writer Dr Darshan Singh Aasht honoured

Sahitya Akademi awardee Dr Darshan Singh Aasht, working at Punjabi University, Patiala, has been honoured at Chennai in three-day national seminar on children’s literature. The national seminar was organised by Kendriya Hindi Nideshalaya, New Delhi and Aggarwal Vidhayala, Chennai and Ministry of Human Resources Department, Govt. of India. The director of Kendriya Hindi Nideshalaya, New Delhi; Dr Kishori Lal Verma, Padmashree Dr Shyam Singh Shashi, former chairman and professor of translation JLN University.

A Punjabi author of international repute, Dr Aasht is an editor of children’s magazine Baalpreet. He has more than 70 published books to his credit in various languages including Shahmukhi script in Pakistan till date. Two years back, he was also felicitated by Sahitya Academy Delhi and the Deptt of Languages, Punjab.

Interesting books line-up from Sterling at FBF

Sterling Publishers children catalogue has an educational and entertainment line-up of books, games and puzzles. Pepper Makes A Special Friend is the latest title from the Sterling best-selling Pepper series. In this book, Pepper has a chance meeting with a child on a wheelchair. It is a simple story about how children with disabilities can be included in everyday activities as well as about accessibility for disabled People. It is one of the very few children’s story books from India that visually presents a wheelchair user in day to day life.

While, Brainstorm is a boxed set of activities that will tickle the brain. Barbie Educational Activity Pack includes educational activities as well as a puzzle and poster. They are also offering a set of four playful general knowledge series books in 3D, with glasses for reading. Also on offer are Flip and Learn Books, a basic concept board books with tabs that guide the child and Bright Toddler – a basic concept book in EVA material. Other games include Pepper 3-in-1 Game – an educational game that teaches basic concepts.

OmKidz at FBF

Om Books International offers children books under its imprint OmKidz. In Mini Bus Series, they offer My First Book series [Paperback] and Baby Record Book while in Super Scholar series, they offer Fix your Phonics, Hammer your Grammar, Maths made Merry. Other popular series include Fantastic Folktales series, 5-minute series (except 5-minute Tales) and books on well-known personalities like Mother Teresa, Bose, Nehru, etc. In mythology, they offer Krishna Tales, Shiva Tales, 101 Bible Stories, etc. Other attractions include 365 Stories from Around the World, 365 Adventure Stories, 365 Science Experiments and Om Illustrated Classics like The Invisible Man, Oliver Twist, Wuthering Heights.

New titles are also on the anvil…including two in Mini Bus Series, All Set To Read series, Cut-out Storybooks- Princesses and Goddesses, Princess Zara series, 3-minute Bedtime Stories and 3-minute Fairy Tales, Large Prints- Lord Brahma, Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, Tales of Mullah Nasruddin, The Adventures of Pilla the Pup and Other Stories, 101 Ghost Stories, 365 People Who Changed the World, 365 Facts You Should Know, 365 Ghost Stories and The Bhagavad Gita.

Om Illustrated Classics will also include Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibilities, The Time Machine, Treasure Island, Alice in Wonderland, and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

OmKidz will be present at the upcoming Frankfurt Book Fair.