Book: Grandpa’s Bag of Stories
Author: Sudha Murty
Illustrator: Priya Kuriyan
Publisher: Puffin Books- an Imprint of Penguin Random House, 2024
Length: 208 pages
Type: Paperback
Age recommendation: 7/8 years+
It was such a privilege to read and review this book during our India Visit in August this year, a book by someone I totally adore for her values and simplicity- Sudha Murty. Her books are a big hit among our KBC Childoos and definitely this book of hers gets added to her fantastic booklist!! With her wonderful narratives, she gifts us another of her books with a collection of short stories perfect as much for a bedtime read for independent readers as for a read aloud by older readers for younger ones.
Every chapter, every story reminded me of the time we were children, lying on our grandparents’ lap, especially our maternal grandmother (Paati) and listening to her wonderful stories. So reading this book was extra special.
Nirvana (almost 7) and Nivedha (4.5) are not independent readers yet, but they loved the stories in this book as we would cuddle up for our bedtime reads. Nirvana loves her treats and especially Indian sweets bring out all the expressions of excitement in her- so when we were reading ‘Jalebi teaches a lesson’, she was awestruck and added to her favorite list among all the stories.
Who would imagine a book that has stories of Jalebi and Bitter Gourd in it! Well that’s Sudha Murty for us! And there is a ‘subtle lesson’ in each of the stories – one that would definitely bring a little smile to the reader.
Priya Kurian’s illustrations are wonderful, the sketches are simple and yet very relavant to the narrative in their emotions, expressions and the surroundings. Each of the 18 short stories have at least one Illustration, so there is definitely the pictorial element to the story telling!
As Sudha Murty already mentions in her ‘Author’s Note’, this book is not only a follow-up to Grandma’s Bag of Stories and Grandparents’ Bag of Stories, but it is also an independent book.
As for the story line:
Ajja and Ajji are excited for their upcoming trip amidst the Uttarakhand hills, to a village called Mayawati. Their discussion about the trip is interrupted by a call from their daughter who lives in Mumbai, requesting if their grandkids could accompany them for the trip. Before the couple could even process their excitement, another phone call, this time from their daughter-in-law, doubles their joy when she puts forward a similar request for her kids!! Having ALL the 4 grandkids over for a vacation in the hills comes with as much joy as the responsibility – the terrain, the weather and so much more to the logistics. There is a brief discussion and it’s decided that Ajja and Ajji are indeed going to have a splendid vacation with all the 4 grandkids at Mayawati!!!
As the children and their grandparents start their journey, there unwinds one story after another – each as a result of a conversation, argument, random mention of a word – Ajja and Ajji open up their Story Bag and they have the immediate attention of the children through the travels and their stay at Mayawati.
This wonderful collection of stories is definitely a must have for our kbc childoos and in fact even for us adults because no matter where you are in the world, you definitely have had your own grandma and grandpa spending time with you with their bag of stories!
Wishing our kbc childoos a happy reading time!
Sudha Murty has written many books for children and adults. Short stories also include The Magic Drum and other favourite stories.
You can find her books for children here on Amazon. (kbc affiliate link). And her books for grown ups, here.
Sudha Murty’s books have been translated in Hindi as well.
If you enjoyed this review and wish to buy the book from Amazon (kbc affiliate link),
CLICK & BUY NOW!Disclaimer: Priyanka is part of the #kbcReviewerSquad and received this book as a review copy from the publisher via kbc.
Should you be looking for other books by Sudha Murty that are apt for 5-8 year olds are:
How the Onion got its layers
How the Sea Became Salty
How the Earth got its beauty (review)
These titles are also available in a boxset of 4 – My First Sudha Murty Collection
The Gopi Diaries: Coming Home (for 6-9 yrs)
THE GOPI DIARIES BOXSET Hardcover (for 6-9 years) is a boxset of 3 books in the Gopi Diaries series – Coming Home, Finding Love, Growing Up.
Unusual Tales from Indian Mythology | Set of 5 Books | Stories from Mahabharata, Ramayana, & Mythical Characters | Ages 9+
