Ever wondered what kind of Indian books to give your young ones to read? A glance at Young India Books, a web portal, will definitely give you a good idea.
Young India Books was started two years ago by Shamim Padamsee because she was fed up with children not knowing about Indian authors and their works. The website claims that it reviews Indian books for children “from birth to 16 years”.
“I have travelled to different countries and everywhere people have their own culture and books but in India people mostly read books by foreign authors talking about foreign lands,” said Padamsee. “I wanted to change this scenario and so started Young India Books.”
Young India Books focuses on reviewing only India-centric books. The website has a dedicated team that reviews all kinds of Indian books.
Padamsee believes that children in India should grow up in the Indian culture and be able to connect with it, and that the best way to do so that by reading Indian books.
The vision of the site, she said, is to, “enable children from around the world to appreciate and understand the unique cultural, geographical, cultural and historical diversity of India, through books specially selected for review”.
Based in Mumbai, Padamsee said that she has played multiple roles — an educationist, globetrotter, social worker, business woman, diplomat, mother and grandmother.
She is passionate about children’s literature and believes that books are important learning tools. She has penned a number of books for children — A Silly Story of Bondapalli, Birdywood Buzz, Dancing on Walls, The Adventures of the Flying Magic Jharoka — Poachers in Paradise, The Adventures of the Flying Magic Jharoka — Rebels in Rajasthan and The Great Birdywood Games.
Pamdamsee said they don’t just review “any book but books of a certain standard”. “We review books that meet our quality standards and criteria and have some special appeal or message for children,” she concluded.