Grandparent tales

November 11, 2014 11:23 am | Updated 11:23 am IST - Chennai

The Mystery of the Secret Hair Oil Formula by Asha Nehemiah

The Mystery of the Secret Hair Oil Formula by Asha Nehemiah

The Mystery of the Secret Hair Oil Formula by Asha Nehemiah

A resourceful grandmother invents a formula that can make hair grow even on the baldest head. She is asked to present her potion at the “World Herbologist Conference”. The conference is to be held at Mounashrampur, a remote and secluded place. She makes the journey accompanied by her flamboyant assistant, her bossy granddaughter, and lazy grandson. Along the way, the group encounters some deadly thugs who are intent on stealing the formula. They also have to overcome many other challenges as they make their way through treacherous terrain such as a dangerous forest with deadly porcupine cacti and lethal tangled vines. There is also a maniacal scientist who will go to any length – even murder – to acquire the formula.

Do they outwit the bad guys? Will they reach the conference? What is the real secret behind grandmother’s hair oil formula? Find out by reading Nehemiah’s hilarious tale with illustrations by Amit Vachharajani.

Gangsta Granny by David Walliams

Eleven–year-old Ben dreads Fridays. On Fridays he is forced to spend the evening at grandma’s house while his ballroom-dancing-obsessed parents spend some quality time with each other. Ben finds grandma very boring. She makes him play word games, stuffs him with disgusting cabbage soup, and worst of all she reeks of an odour that Ben can’t stand. One Friday Ben makes an astonishing discovery. Why are so many diamond bracelets, earrings, rings, and necklaces studded with precious stones hidden in a biscuit tin at Granny’s house? Is there something more to his white-haired, hearing-impaired grandma than meets the eye? Ben’s curiosity leads him to unravel her secret - Granny was once an international jewel thief! Now, with Ben's help, Granny is planning to pull off her biggest heist yet. Fridays at grandmas suddenly gets a lot more exciting! Gangsta Granny was adapted into a British comedy-drama television film which was first aired on 26 December 2013.

Getting Granny's Glasses by Ruskin Bond

Designed as a novella for children, this book combines short chapters with crisp storytelling. Ruskin Bond has his readers hooked in the very first paragraph:  Granny could hear the distant roar of the river, and smell the pine needles beneath her feet, and feel the presence of her grandson, Mani. But she couldn't see the river or the trees; and of her grandson she could only make out his fuzzy hair, and sometimes, when he was very close, his blackberry eyes and the gleam of his teeth when he smiled.  Clearly, Granny needs a new set of glasses. Mani gleefully volunteers to accompany her to the Eye Hospital at Mussorie. However, to get there they have to walk through the hill to Nain market 12 miles away, spend the night at a relative’s house, and journey by bus for a day. What are the adventures that befall them?

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