Reading the magic quilt



Nonie's Magic Quilt has been reviewed in The Hindu!

Six year old Nonie refused to sleep and what did her parents do? Relate stories of every kind:
“Stories there were of little kids
who grew green grass on their lids
Tales there were of tiffin-ly fun
Of candies, cookies and cream buns
stories of princesses living in pails
stories of dragons with tricky tails

But interesting though these stories were, did our little Nonie sleep? Of course she didn't.

“Try milk” said the doctor, the teacher said “Rice”
Their cat said, “Just feed her some mice”.

As the parents grew weak with the effort of making her sleep, Nonie only got stronger.

It was decided then that this was emergency and help had to be summoned in the form of Munni, who arrives on a flying broom with a load of luggage.
She is quick to grasp the problem and sets down to work. And the solution is “The Super Sleepalicious Quilt, the X-42”.
Somu the snake, Munni's assistant, and she get down to work and exciting “ingredients” are called out for:
“The screech of a parrot, the swish of a breeze
The roar of thunder, a sigh of the seas
The tinkle of bells, the flute's tinny tune
The twinkle of a star, the silver of the moon
The wolf's howl in the dark of the night
Across the sky, the eagle's long flight…”
As all these swirl around, they are bewitched into becoming little pieces of cloth that make Nonie's quilt. And did Nonie sleep after this?

Read this delicious hilarious story Nonies Magic Quilt by Anita Vachharajani, in rhyme, to find out. Along with the lines that make you double up in laughter are the illustrations by Anitha Balachandran that sets you giggling and your imagination soaring. A “must read” as it can inspire you to set out on your own story in rhyme.

And in the Timeout:
Six-year-old Nonie has no time to sleep. After all, if she shuts her eyes, when will she laugh and play? Her parents tell her stories about princesses living in pails and dragons with tricky tails, yet she refuses to catch any shuteye. Finally, they summon Aunt Munni, who sets about making a Super Sleepalicious Quilt. This delightful story is told in verse form and is refreshingly cheeky and funny. Anitha Balachandran’s sharp and witty illustrations add colour to the poem making it a perfect bedtime story for children who are just learning to read.

Here's a link to the publisher's page.

And this email from Jenee, a friend who read Nonie out to her kids: (you can see she's been very, very kind :)

Hi Anita,
...I envy you, to take some much time to make something so nice and simple is soooo difficult. How much writing rewriting sitting with editor, convincing publisher, sitting with illustrator
Please tell Anitha that the Gandhi on the stamp is nice and mostly reminds me of Mario Miranda’s style)
The rhyming and at the same time runs like a story
What’s ‘green grass growing on the lid?’ “Bit of lunch”
‘Tight sleep’ a nice old phrase
Who named her Nonie? It’s not a common nickname I think.
The broom is kicking interest as my daughter suddenly said “Harry Potter poleya?”
Parents and adults who are reading will have to run to get dictionary and imagine really a lot with this story so kudos on that! Simply put it is worth the money and time put in while the kids will like the book itself.
Why have you named the quilt X-42?
I liked this the best
“Oh there’s always lot of room when you travel on a broom.”
and
“She plays all day, sleeps at night
Wakes up each morning, feeling bright.”

Thank you, Jenee! And of course, the reviewers at the Hindu and the Timeout.

Comments

hansatin said…
want to order a copy for meself, gave mine to my hairdresser as payment for a good haircut

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