Imagine an ecosystem that helps your child enter different worlds, and eventually figure out who they want to be.
That is the reading revolution that Enchantico, a monthly book subscription service, is aiming to start. “Readers to leaders,” says Sangram Surve, co-founder of Enchantico who feels that depth immersion into books is missing.
Enchantico makes books an experiential event. Each monthly box comes with a couple of books and an activity based on one of the books. There are collectibles in the form of author cards and badges. About 500 book boxes go out across the country every month, catering to children in age groups between five and 12. Co-founders Shalini Bajaj and Ravi Subramanian read through a selection of titles suggested by literature curator Lubaina Bandukwala to ensure that every book is whetted and every word adheres to a certain universal value system. Says Bajaj, “We want children to have a happy childhood. So the books we choose will not focus on divorce or broken families. We do believe that books should be a place of happiness for kids.”
Subramanian adds, “At times, parents foist their own choices on kids and try to get them to read the classics. But kids have very high filters and don’t take to it. At other times, parents simply don’t know what books to select for their children and end up giving books that aren’t appropriate.”
Subramanian feels that in the years in which children can develop a reading habit, from five onwards, they don’t have access to books. “The overall experience and therefore the value of reading has gone down,” he says.
Team Enchantico call themselves the gatekeepers to your child’s reading habits. “There are so many books that never make it to India. However, between us, we are well-connected to publishers and are able to get some wonderful writers,” says Subramanian
Enchantico is trying hard to encourage Indian children’s authors by sending a homespun book as often as possible. This is also the goal of its mothership, the ad agency ThinkWhyNot, which has Litomania, a lit fest for popular Indian authors, among its other literary endeavours.
The book box initiative will soon be nourished by an online presence, an inter-school platform and a large lit fest for children. “We will make it cool for kids to say they were at a lit fest,” says Surve.
Enhancing the reading experience will also address short attention spans.
“We will build an aura around reading and make parents see the value of it. Kids who read are bright,” says Subramanian.
Bajaj adds, “Is the kid going to be able to engage in independent thinking to form their own views? Reading is one of the mediums that ensures that.”
Book-based activities are a great way to ensure that the story stays with the child. There are boxes that allow you to make your own treasure box, others a dragon, and yet others a white chocolate moustache. The formula of reading-and-doing works, as Enchantico gets wonderful feedback from happy parents.
Their lean, six-person team loves designing and producing the activities to go with a book every month. Summing up its street-cred, Bajaj says, “It’s not that our box is cool but it makes kids cool and smart.”
Enchantico’s three-month subscription is for Rs. 2,999 plus shipping charges, six months is at Rs. 5,499 plus shipping charges, and 12 months is at Rs. 9,999 plus shipping charges. For details, see: www.enchantico.in
