Friday, September 24, 2010

Submissions to Karadi Tales

At Karadi Tales, we get a lot of queries from writers and illustrators who want to work with us. And we're always keen to explore these possibilities. But the volume of queries we receive can be quite overwhelming for our editorial team sometimes. Replying indvidually and making sure we have everything we need gets to be time-consuming - for us and for you. 

This is why we've devised submission guidelines for authors and illustrators. Take a look. We love hearing from you guys and we hope this makes things simpler towards that end!

We're looking forward to working with you!

Friday, September 17, 2010

AfterSchool Convocation

We're proud and delighted to announce that the first batch of Karadi Tales AfterSchool has graduated! Our warmest congratulations to all the Karadi kids and teachers at Sunny Smiles, our AfterSchool centre located in Navi Mumbai.

Ms. Pratima Rao and the kids of Sunny Smiles

Ms. Pratima Rao, who runs the AfterSchool programme at Sunny Smiles, sent us this wonderful email describing the convocation ceremony :-). Had to share it with all of you!

"
Here is the email giving details of the convocation ceremony we had on 10th September 2010 to formally conclude the Level 1 Programme of Super Story.


The programme was held at the Navi Mumbai Kannada Sangha Hall in sector 9A, Vashi. We used two home-made canvas backdrops, one showing a jungle scene and the other showing a water scene.


The programme started with a prayer and then a welcome speech. The 12 children danced to the Karadi Welcome Song, wearing various masks of animals and carrying placards of Karadi Tales After School. Then, we had a little miming to the story 'Bablu and the Mouse'. While Pranav and Adhya became Bablu and the mouse, the rest of the children were squirrels, bees, ants and sugarcane stalks.




'The Lizard's Tail' was a reading session. The children wore masks of the various animals while reading their own part. Then we demonstrated the 'Zip-Zap - My Tail is Gone' game. We only did the songs of Little Vinayak while Pratima sang, the children danced.




Then, with the water scene backdrop, we did an activity which we had not done earlier. While fish cut-outs were placed on a cardboard, children took turns to blow bubbles onto the aquarium scenery. If you remember, this was one of the sample lessons you had sent to us before we joined you as a franchisee.




Awww ..


'Fish Friends Three' was again mimed while the CD was played. Four children did the roles of the fishes and fisherman while the rest of the children did the singing of the songs. Our children invited other children to join them by singing the song 'Will You Read With Me?'

At the end of the programme, certificates were given away to all the children. 
"

A big thank you to Ms. Pratima Rao for her email and the photographs. If you wish to contact Sunny Smiles, dial 022 27820406.

And for more details on the Karadi Tales AfterSchool programme, click here.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Karadi-Readers

Somebody sent us the picture below recently... We have no idea who this little bundle of joy is, but we're sort of in love with him.


So here's what we're thinking. Send us a picture of a child reading a Karadi Tales book. It could be any child - your child, your neighbour's child, a random kid on a bus, doesn't matter. We still think it's cute!

We're going to make a lovely little collection to put up on our blog. And if you send us a really nice picture, we might just decide to be really nice to you! (Yes, this is a bribe.)

Okay? So send us the pictures - add them on Facebook and send us the link, tweet it to us or just attach it and send it as an email

Yes. We know. The cuteness just might kill us. But we think it's worth it. :-)

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Karadi Tales on Saffron Tree

Saffron Tree is our favourite website on children's content. We love the multicultural focus it has and the wonderful resources it provides for parents and teachers - and even children!

Karadi has recently made two appearances on this wonderful blog. Take a look!

A review of Listening to Poetry

'The books have companion CDs and the poems are recited by stage actors - Naseeruddin Shah, Gareth Armstrong, Shernaz Patel and Dhritiman Chaterji. It is an attempt to "resurrect the power of spoken poetry bringing back to life sheer pleasure of listening to verse" and what a pleasure it is!! Listening to poetry is a unique experience and must not be missed when the poems are such gems and the performers are of international fame and repute.'

Read the entire review here!

A review of The Lizard's Tail says: 

'When I read the book to my kids, I couldn't help but be influenced by Vidya Balan's gentle, warm, and cheerful presentation as I tried to recreate the magic, minus the songs and sound effects. The inviting Will You Read With Me? sets the tone for this series that helps children read-along as they listen to the CD. The Lizard's Tail together with Little Vinayak have become a recent favorite in our household.'

Read the entire review here!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

The Mouse in the News!


Our mouse has certainly been making the news in recent times. Read these two reviews to know more about the Mouse Stories

The Hindu writes: 


'Theatre company Evam deserves appreciation for its professionalism in picking the right voices for the stories. Karthik Kumar, narrator, has done a commendable job, conscious of the young minds for whom the work has been conceived. Music casts a spell on the listener, who experiences the mood, setting and characters brought to life by Anil Srinivasan's customary magic on the senses, while the bright and beautiful illustrations by Malavika P.C. draws upon one's attention to participate in the art of reading. Writers Shobha Viswanath, Lavanya R.N. and Pankaja Srinivasan have done their part to add a twist to each tale. Quite an entertaining work from Karadi yet again.'

Read the entire review here!

A review of Kaka and the Mouse on Saffron Tree says: 
'The music is lovely and the narration sounds very Indian- English. Easy to relate to and to follow. The illustrations, the colours are dramatic and very energetic. The crow with its toucan like beak is very expressive indeed. The fonts are engaging, filled with onomatopoeiac words, often adding a sense of drama, making for easy and enjoyable reading.'

Read the entire review here!