Good colourful visuals, stories that introduce new words and enhance one’s vocabulary, and books that are free of gender, caste and class biases.
These are some of the suggestions that children’s authors and publishers have for the State government, which is planning to stock school libraries with fresh and contemporary storybooks.
Bolwar Mahamad Kunhi, who won the Bal Sahitya Puraskar instituted by the Kendra Sahitya Akademi for his book ‘Paapu Gandhi, Gandhi Bapu Aada Kathe’ under children’s literature category, said there was a need for contemporary children’s literature to be designed in a way where children will be able to read and relate. “Instead of writing stories on sparrows and crows, it can be written around things that children see,” he said.
He also added that it would be better if the content was developed region wise. “The Kannada spoken in Mangaluru is different from that in Kalaburagi and what is spoken in Mandya and Mysuru. So if the content is developed district wise, children will be able to pick it up better,” he said. He, however, was of the strong opinion that children’s literature should not preach.
H.S. Venkatesh Murthy, who won the Bal Sahitya Puraskar in 2013, said that good children’s literature should enhance their vocabulary by introducing new words and ensure that there is a rhyming scheme. He also said that the books need to enhance the imagination of the child. “For us, a stone is a non-living being but for children it is something that can talk and emote. So we need to ensure that literature is not just realistic but delves into fantasy.” He said that children’s books need to give them an experience. “That experience itself will lead to social awareness and stories should not explicitly tell the moral of the story,” he added.
Radhika Menon, managing editor of Tulika Books, a children’s book publishing house, said it was important for storybooks to have good visuals. “There is a need for it to be age appropriate.” Ms. Menon also said that there was a need for an editorial committee to ensure that the books do not have gender, caste or class biases. “Many books do not have overt biases but there may be subtle biases in the use of language or illustration, so the editorial team needs to engage with the text more closely,” she said.
