- Categories
- CATEGORY
- AGE
- TYPE
SCROLL DOWN to the end to find a beautiful Father's Day craft and a free printable!
I love art and I can look at paintings for hours. I can sit in a gallery for an entire day but I cannot paint. Just Like Papa is about a girl Gia, or 'Genius Gee' as her papa calls her. Gia's father is a wonderful and famous painter. Their house is filled with his paintings and he is especially famous for painting hands.
Gia loves looking at his paintings and she can immerse herself in the worlds that he creates on canvas. Gia's papa loves her and says that she is an artist just like him. Gia too wants to be just like her papa but whenever she takes up a brush, she freezes. She is not able to draw what's in her mind.
Her father cheers her up and tells her that this happens to everyone. When he goes out of town to exhibit his drawings, Gia's granny comes to stay with her and something interesting happens - Gia discovers a totally different talent!
The book starts with Zakir's birth. Zakir's mother asks Zakir's father to whisper prayers into the newborn's ears but instead, Ustad Allarakha Rakha whispers tabla bols into his son's ears! Indeed, Zakir's life is all about the rhythm that possesses him right from his childhood. He loves drumming with his fingers on vessels, pots, pans, and everything he can get his hands on. He overturns his plate, spills food but he just cannot get the rhythm out of his fingers.
His father asks him, do you want to learn the tabla? Zakir says yes! We absolutely love how the book depicts Zakir's precious moments with his father. They truly shared a special and unique bond through music. The book is filled with other such fun and lovely moments. In one instance, little Zakir plays the dhol during the annual mela at the dargah near his house. During another incident, he breaks his fingers playing cricket and his father is upset but when little Zakir's eyes fill with tears, Ustad Allarakha hugs him and buys him a plate of dahi batata puri! This is such a beautiful book exhibiting the father-child bond. We highly recommend it!
We love picture books that have Indian classical music at the centre of the story. The Magic in My Fingers is special because it is a great narrative that has the young reader waiting to know more. When Roohi's brother doesn't attend sitar practice, Roohi is mad because if Aayan doesn't practice music, Baba won't take him to the market and Roohi won't get the kite she so badly wants. Aayan is nowhere to be found. He loves playing with pots and pans, says Roohi. He wants to be a cook when he grows up. Roohi wants to be a kite flyer but right now, if she even wants a kite, she should get Aayan to practice his sitar. The tap tap of Baba's cane signals the need for a desperate plan. Roohi then picks up Aayan's sitar. She holds it, places her fingers on the frets, and strums the strings with baba's mihrab. Baba can now believe that it is Aayan who is playing but Roohi is in for a surprise.
A beautifully written and illustrated book, The Magic in My Fingers celebrates a girl's hidden passion for music and her father's discovery of the fact. Highly recommended!
Papa tries hard to wake Annika up but all she says is “NO”! What does Papa do now? Charming and adorable pictures highlight the father-daughter bond as they walk around familiar settings in their house. The girl in the story likes to say 'No!' and her papa likes to find ways to get her up! This book is fun and my daughter did exactly the same thing when she was a preschooler!
The Little Big Man shows what it's like for a child to wear his father's shoes, to grow up and assume adult responsibilities. Tagore's magic exercised one more time, with this one. Through the eyes of a child, a poetic idea! Don't miss this beautiful book.
"How was I born? Did you drive mamma to the hospital? Did I come early or late? Tell me the story of the night I was born!" My girl loves to hear the story about how she was born and every time, she likes it if I add a little detail. Sometimes these details are a little exaggerated. For instance, my husband did not drive our car like a Formula 1 racer to the hospital and the nurses did not wear ear-plugs on account of my daughter letting out a piercing cry when she was born!
The father's story becomes funnier and more interesting. He tells Giggi about how she came out of his pocket and her mommy fainted! The dad's story runs parallel to a typical birth story but is very endearing. The book then ends with an interesting little twist that we really loved.
Richa Jha's book is perfect for reading out loud. We love how it defines the father-child bond and gives importance to the father's narrative, which is something we don't see enough of, in children's fiction. It's perfect for any day and not just Father's Day!
Ever since my daughter was born, I really wanted to read to her an Indian picture book about a stay-at-home dad. Well, here it is! What I love about Abba's Day is that it 'shows' and doesn't 'tell.' The book begins with Aaisha. Her father wakes her up on Sunday morning, which is her favorite day. He asks her what they will do that day. They wake up and make tea for Aaisha's mother, a working mom. "It's Ammi's holiday too!" says Aaisha, excitedly. The entire book is a simple, fun and endearing narrative about a lazy Sunday. Aaisha's dad does the grocery, makes the food and pretty much takes charge of the house. Another thing that both my daughter and I loved about this book was the little clues to the family that the illustrations have. Sunaina Ali is such a masterful writer that with simple words.
This post was first published in aspoonfulofideas by Poornima
So Father’s day is right around the corner and what would you like to gift your dad?
Here’s something simple for you to try out – A recycled DIY luggage tag for your dad.
It’s just a round-a-about way of telling your dad to take a break with you of course!
Guessed what are they? Yes, all the labels on your clothes or shoes or bags.
You'll need:
Acrylic or fabric Paints
Glue
Stickers
Decorative paper
Satin ribbons, jute string or any available thread.
Here, we are ready
There are no fixed steps.
You can paint the entire tag with acrylic or fabric paints. OR cover the tag’s written matter with different papers.
Try to use the already available color combinations or images on the labels to suit your tag.
Add one or more stickers.
If required, Paint over it to add some glitter or some effects.
Remember to cover the reverse of your tags with single color or white paper. That’s where your dad will put in his details.
My daughter painted the tags and then refused to share it with me! They are still lying hidden in one of her many bags
What details does a luggage tag require?
Owner’s name, address and contact number.
How does it help to have a luggage tag?
A luggage tag is attached to your travelling luggage.
It helps your bag stand out especially, among similar looking bags on a flight’s luggage belt.
If your luggage gets lost, the airline or train or bus staff can contact you immediately.
So here are some of them we made. Can you recognize the labels?
We sure hope to share some of these tags we made with our dads on father’s day.
We hope you liked our simple use of the labels.
Image credits: Poornima
