Book tells kids how to tackle difficult experiences

A new book introduces kids into discussions around difficult childhood experiences and addresses issues like grief and healing.

The picture book "The Ammuchi Puchi" is a gentle bittersweet story of love, loss and hope by Sharanya Manivannan with illustrations by Nerina Canzi.

The author says "The Ammuchi Puchi" was written to help children deal with the loss of a beloved grandparent. Aditya and Anjali lose their grandmother and find themselves consoled by nature.

"It's a book about grief, the supernatural, eternal love and the power of the imagination. Additionally, 'The Ammuchi Puchi' features distinctly South Indian landscapes including a grandmother who chews betelnut and tells ghost stories so many kids reading it will see themselves and their culture in it, and this will positively impact their sense of self in the world," she says.

Published by Puffin (Penguin Random House India), "The Ammuchi Puchi" is billed as a must have for every family to explain the concept of death and bereavement to young ones, as well as coming to terms with losing a loved one.

The story is about Aditya and Anjali and their grandmother Aamuchi. The two kids love listening to their grandmother's stories, particularly the scary one about the ghost in the tree. But the night their grandmother passes away, all her stories seem to lose their meaning.