This summer, Vile Parle-based book club is inspiring young minds to pick up the reading habit in a fun way
Young readers with Christmas books at the Christmas reading party
Vile Parle-based resident Vidhi Joshi started Young Readers Book Club five years ago, to encourage children to read. “My elder daughter was an avid reader. On her 10th birthday, I hosted a book club party. I gave 10 books to all the children — one to each — and asked them to read them.” Joshi and the children, then, met and celebrated with discussions on what they read. Joshi now runs four batches with four to five children each; two of these are for young readers around the age of five and two for older children.
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“Adults can talk to kids, but they will never speak in the same wavelength as the kids want them to,” she says. This need, alongside the desire to help her daughter find more reader companions, led her to start the club. During the lockdown, she tried to conduct a few sessions online, but they didn’t always work out. “The children were young, and not really into the idea of sitting in front of a screen and talking about a book. As time passed, my younger daughter and her friends took a lot of interest. Primary school children have plenty of time in hand. We meet once a week now,” she tells us.
Geronimo Stilton’s books are a favourite among young readers. Pics courtesy/Vidhi Joshi
The club’s reading list frequently includes books of which one would ordinarily find a chapter or a short story in literature textbooks. Joshi says, “Often in classrooms, kids read one chapter. They don’t get to read the entire book. So, I source the book and circulate it for a month; everybody gets to read it over a month.” This helps them understand stories better and read the author widely.
Children read nearly five books a month. Joshi then gives them space to write their reviews. “I have a review page that is customised for every book; this has characters, setting, storyline, learnings from the book. I also ask them: if they could change something in the story, what would it be, or if they were a part of the story, what they would have done differently.” She adds, “Sometimes we include creative writing too.” For instance, she nudges them to write the same story as if explaining it to their grandparents or friends. This helps them relate the core emotions in the stories they read to their everyday lives. “Everyone has an opinion, so there are proper heated discussions too,” she chuckles.
Young readers show off their year-ender certificates
Joshi feels that the new generation has arrived in ‘an upgraded version’. “These five and six-year-olds come up with wonderful questions. The literature today is rich and stimulating too. So, we often fall short of time in our discussions.” Parents wait outside. Meanwhile, young readers are completely gripped inside by the stories. Nine-year-old Riana Ambani’s mother, Namita, says, “I discovered Vidhi when we wanted to get Riana interested in books. The format of the sessions got her to fall in love with books. My daughter never wants to miss a class.”
Little Aashvi Nemani shares Riana’s sentiment; her favourite book from the club being Geronimo Stilton’s The Search for Treasure. Stilton books are a favourite among the club members. They relish the humour, vocabulary, and the bright pages. For 10-year-old Saachi Joshi, Sudha Murty’s When I Taught My Grandmother to Read is a must-read. She delights in the simplicity of Murty’s language as well as “the character of the grandmother who was a perfect student. She learnt to read at a very old age from a very young teacher,” she reflects.
A young reader shares her opinion about a book with the group
For their commitment to reading, children are awarded certificates at the end of the year. This is a useful reward at a time of increasing distractions and diminishing attention spans. Additionally, Joshi keeps the session fresh by engaging the children in activities during festivals and introducing stories in different languages that are predominantly heard in the city. “Children don’t need textbook learning,” she believes. “They need to learn to be critical, ask questions, and analyse what they read in their unique ways.” With ChatGPT and such generative AI chatbots, there is the danger of the children falling prey to dependency on technology. This is where collective reading circles such as hers can truly bolster their individuality, intellect, and emotional growth.
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