Friday, August 31, 2012

Shobha Viswanath at PublishingNext

Have you checked out the PublishingNext schedule? Go to Goa and hear Shobha Viswanath, Publishing Director and Founder of Karadi Tales, talk at a panel discussion on getting kids to read!


Saturday, August 18, 2012

Audio book to celebrate brave, everyday heroes

In The New Indian Express, a write up on the launch of our audiobook, A Quiet Courage, says: 

“We wanted to do this audio book because one must celebrate the everyday heroes in our society,” said Shobha Viswanath, Publishing Director. Anil Srinivasan, a classical pianist has composed music for the book. “When I listened to the audio, I was deeply touched by the sensitivity with which the book has been created, its level of excellence, and its aural beauty,” said  Manohar Devadoss. The launch saw audio-visual presentation, excerpts from the audio book, and a piano recital by Anil Srinivasan.

Read the entire piece here!

Friday, August 17, 2012

Reviews of The Rumour

The Rumour is a lovely story written by Anushka Ravishankar, published by Karadi Tales. It's fantastically illustrated by Kanyika Kini and one of our most popular picture books. The book is now published in North America by Tundra Books. Here are some recent reviews of the book from international magazines, journals and blogs!


On the Goodreads website are several reviews from customers and readers.

Bobby writes: Often in children's books, either the storytelling is stronger or the illustrating. However, here both are superb and come together very nicely. The story is based on the old concept that if you tell someone something, and he/she tells it to just one person, who in turn tells it to just one more person, etc, by the time the last person hears it, it sounds dramatically different than what the first person said. However, the creative manner in which Anushka Ravishankar interprets this story and the large, bright, colorful illustrations make this a must have in a children's library.

Sandy writes: With lyrical language, using rich (and enriching) vocabulary, this vividly illustrated story is intersperse with rhymed text. When a man tells his wife of an odd event, she begins the cycle of retelling with ever more outrageous distortions as word passes from villager to villager. This traditional tale has a satisfying resolution when the story returns to his doorstep and the town curmudgeon laughs until he cries. The illustrations, names, and cultural references give this a magnificent sense of place, and an appealing view of the community.

On CM Magazine, Alicia Cheng reviews the book: This hilarious tale about the nature of rumours contains appeal to audience of all ages. Older children will understand the cautionary and didactic aspect of the story while younger children will enjoy a funny story. Combining elements of humour and nonsense into an Indian tale, along with Anushka Ravishankar’s wonderful verse writing, this cautionary tale of rumours is a fun and enjoyable read for any child or parent.

On Kirkus ReviewsThe warm, jewel-toned illustrations play with perspective, growing Pandu’s face larger and larger as the rumor gets bigger, until trees sprout from his molars and animals of all kinds spring from his wide, open mouth. A playful take on a familiar cautionary tale is enlivened by Subcontinental flair. 

On Words By Mom: So many lovable and laughable aspects to this story.  The pictures are great!  Love the people and the backgrounds…really vibrant and detailed.  The text is great….told like a folkstory almost, it’s very appealing.

On School Library JournalGrumpy Pandu has the unusual experience of coughing a feather out of his throat and makes the mistake of telling his wife about the incident. Their tiny Indian village is a rumor mill, and before long the story is greatly exaggerated. Soon it is reported (in verse) that he coughed out a whole forest of trees and its myriad animals, a flock of birds, and…the feather. When Pandu hears the tale, he does something even more unusual; he laughs. The stylized ink and colored-pencil illustrations are bright and cheerful and depict the village inhabitants and their vivid imaginations.

On The RecordCranky Pandurang is so amused he laughs out loud, much to the villagers’ surprise. And his laughter is so infectious, all of them join in. This cautionary tale about rumours and how they can evolve into something far from the truth is geared to readers four to six.

On Urban MomsThis is an old Indian tale, which I have seen in other versions with different stories told, but the point of the story remains. It's a fun one, and a nice unpreachy object lesson in gossip, too. The art here is bold and bright, with enough South Asian flavour to give the story a nice feel for the area it hails from, while being nicely kid-oriented in it's colours and in the way it illustrates the story and highlights the absurdity of the ever-growing rumour. This one is a good story, great fun, and a nice intro to another culture's tales. 

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Helping them see the world through books

In Deccan Chronicle, a piece on our Creative Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired says:

Providing access for differently-abled children to integrate them as closely as possible with the mainstream is a Himalayan effort in itself, and taking the right step forward is the Creative Resource Centre (CRC) housed within the Hippocampus Children's Library in Chennai.

Read the entire piece here!

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

An Inspiration to Us All

Sujatha Babu writes a blog post on the launch of A Quiet Courage. She says:


This audio book is the first title in the series aptly named "Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives". The audio book has a musical background that includes some pieces that were Mahema's favorite, and aptly played and composed by Anil Srinivas and his team.



Read the entire piece here!

Monday, August 13, 2012

Story Extraordinaire

In The Hindu, a write-up on our launch of A Quiet Courage says:

As expected, the hall at C.P.R. Environmental Education Centre, where the audio book was launched, was packed. And it was also filled with laughter, a defining feature of the Devadoss’ marriage. After receiving the first copy of the audio book from former Governor of West Bengal Gopalkrishna Gandhi, N. Ram, director, Kasturi & Sons, and former Editor-In-Chief, The Hindu, spoke about what made the couple tick and in the process narrated humorous anecdotes culled from his long and deep friendship with them. Ram called them “the most extraordinary ordinary couple”. After Ram finished his speech, Manohar Devadoss chipped in with an account of how a young Ram once helped him carry Mahema over three flights of stairs. 

Read the entire piece here!

Saturday, August 11, 2012

A Poignant Experience

Krish Venkatesh writes a beautiful blog post about our audiobook launch of A Quiet Courage. He writes:

It is the human yearning not to yield to extraordinary situations that the couple came to deal with. Surely the impact of their courage and creativity will reverberate with generations to come. And Karadi Tales has made it a worthy document to be preserved and retold to anyone who is stuck in life.

Read the entire post here!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Stories about Differences

In The Ability Foundation Magazine, a lovely article on children's books that include disabilities and differences. The article is below. You can read the entire magazine here




Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Now, visually-challenged also get to enjoy books

In The New Indian Express, an article on our Creative Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired says:


“We felt a need for such a library for the kids. This center is a first-of-its-kind in India and we are very excited about the potential it holds,” said Shobha Viswanathan, a representative from the Karadi Cultural Alliance Trust. The CRC aims to stimulate the creative development of children with visual imparities and help them grow. The books can be accessed for free.


Read the entire piece here!

Monday, August 6, 2012

A creative resource for the visually impaired

In The Hindu, a piece on our Creative Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired says:

The CRC is a service-oriented project that aims to stimulate the creative development of these children, instead of providing them with basic curricular materials alone. The aim is to enhance their emotional and intellectual growth.

Read the entire piece here!

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Saturday, August 4, 2012

A children’s library for the blind

In Times of India, a piece on our Creative Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired says:


Possibly the first of its kind, the section provides easy accessibility for visually challenged children to story books in Braille, audio books and tactile toys. "We do have story books at school, but I haven't really read any that have pictures that can be felt," said Shaktivel as he ran his fingers over an embellishment of a tortoise.


Read the whole piece here.

Friday, August 3, 2012

Pictures from the launch!

Today, we launched Creative Resource Centre for Visually Impaired Children. It is a library especially aimed at children with visual impairments. This is an initiative by the Karadi Cultural Alliance Trust in association with the Sir Ratan Tata Trust Fund. The library is housed within the Hippocampus Children’s Library in Chennai. The CRC houses a variety of non-academic Braille books, audio books, tactile books, and tactile toys.

Here are some pictures from the launch.









More pictures are here!