The art of reaching every child

These books are easy on the pocket and make their way to remote places in India, where other children’s books usually don’t go.

Wedding Clothes

For a long time, I’d been looking for a book. I’d loved it as a child, and remembered the plot vaguely. But I couldn’t recall the title, nor the author, and no amount of googling with strategic search terms helped. Then, a few weeks ago, Nilima Sinha, a senior writer I recently connected with on Facebook, posted about the 40th anniversary of the publication of her book The Chandipur Jewels. It hit me like lightning. It was the same book!

No, this column is not about the smug satisfaction that being a writer for children has given me the opportunity to rub virtual shoulders with my childhood idols. It’s just that this episode got me thinking of (and thanking!) the publisher of that book — Children’s Book Trust (CBT).

At a time when we didn’t have access to too many contemporary stories, CBT had been bringing out quality literature at very affordable prices. And they’re still doing it, even now, after several other publishers have entered the Indian children’s literature scene.

CBT has books for all ages, starting from concept books to picture books, to adventure stories for teens. They publish titles on folktales, mythology, tales from classics and Indian history, different kinds of nonfiction, and also short story collections. My first introduction to several Indian authors was through these short story anthologies.

CBT books are easy on the pocket. They have an excellent reach. Thousands of copies make their way to remote places in India, where other children’s books don’t usually go.

For readers in urban areas, these books aren’t available through the regular channels — general bookstores or online, for instance. So it’s possible many people don’t know about them. But find any CBT or National Book Trust (NBT) bookstore and you’ll find these books. There’s one in Bengaluru in Banashankari. Funky Rainbow, an independent children’s publisher in Bengaluru, also stocks copies of CBT books, among others, and they ship all across the country and abroad.

In comparison to the good-looking, beautifully produced books from other publishers, some CBT books might not look very attractive, but the content is still good (though I do find it can be a hit or miss sometimes).

As a young girl growing up in the 80s and 90s. I had many CBT books. I particularly remember The Kaziranga Trail, an adventure story by Arup Kumar Dutta. Having never read realistic contemporary stories with Indian characters before that, I didn’t know what to expect and hesitated a bit. But when I finally picked it up, it blew my mind and opened up an entirely new world for me and I have CBT to thank for it. And so it makes it all the more special that CBT has recently published a picture book of mine, and will include my story in an anthology shortly!

Meanwhile, I can’t wait for my next visit to a CBT store so that I can pick up The Chandipur Jewels and relive my childhood.

The author has written 14 books for children and can be reached at www.shruthi-rao.com

GobbledyBook is a fortnightly column that gives a peek into the wondrous world of children’s books. Hop on! Or as Alice did, plunge into the rabbit hole.