A mother reading a board book to her nine-month old baby, Bink — this is how the 1994 family-comedy film Baby’s Day Out’s first scene unfolds. Bink loves the book so much that he has given it a nick name, Boo Boo. Bink’s mother cherishes these moments and holds them dearly, as she spends most mornings and afternoons at work, away from her child. Well, this is a common practice in the west — to start reading to the kid early. “This habit helps children understand their language, roots and culture from a very young age. This also promotes a better and deeper bonding between parents and the child,” says Nivethitha J, founder, Emmozhi Publications.
Creative library for crawlers
In India, the practice of reading story books to infants is not popular. But grandparents take on the role of storytellers. They sit with their grandchildren on verandahs and share stories of history, valour and morals. “Over time, I noticed that grandparents find it difficult to narrate new or English stories every day. For them to refer to books, there are many regional story books, but there was a gap in finding board books for kids,” she notes.
Board books, which are vibrant and heavily illustrated, are designed to be durable — even safe for children who tend to chew on them. They aid early literacy, develop vocabulary, enhance critical thinking, and improve motor skills. Despite their many benefits, most board books in the Indian market focus on the English alphabet, animals, birds, and phonics. “During Covid I wanted to buy board books for my one-year-old. I found plenty of English books available but none in Tamil,” she observes.
This realisation came at a time when Nivethitha wanted to rejoin the workforce. “I grabbed the opportunity and started with my own publication, Emmozhi Publications. Emmozhi translates to ‘my language’ in English. The publication’s goal is to promote regional languages and serve as an inspiration for others to introduce mother tongues to children as early as possible,” explains the Coimbatore-based publisher, who launched the venture in 2020.
The publication brings out board books on Tamil alphabets, short stories and three-letter Tamil word puzzles. Of the two storybooks published to date, one is a picture book titled Thottasinungi Ilavarasi, and the second is a compilation of 10 short stories based on Bharatiyar’s Pudhiya Aathichudi.
Since these are board books, many people are involved, and publishing is also costly. Hence, they fall into the pricier side, and people here hesitate to pay. But, these books have been a hit in foreign countries.
Nivethitha J, founder, Emmozhi Publications
The target audience is kids below 10 years. “The main idea is for kids to get in touch with their roots. Every story and every picture focusses on that. The English books and stories are set in a foreign land, where you have bungalows, white-skinned kids, snow; this is not something an Indian child could relate to. Keeping this in mind, our visuals will have children from all parts of the country — we also have a kid wearing a turban — making it inclusive.”
To make these knowledge-heavy and high on relatability books, Nivethitha gets in touch with various illustrators, designers, and story writers via Instagram. “What we are doing is important for the kids because they get exposed to Tamil only at the age of 6. Until they are three years old, we read and teach them the English alphabet and words, preparing them for school. There, they are introduced to the Tamil language in grade 1. Many find it difficult to cope,” she remarks.
Beyond regional boundaries
These board books are shipped to Sri Lanka, the US, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, Germany, and Switzerland. “Families living there for three generations are losing touch with their roots and language. These books are helping them learn the language. The language used in the book is also very simple; it is like how we have everyday conversations. So it is easier for anybody to understand,” she says.
Raised in a village and living in a city now, Nivethitha has exposure to life in both worlds. Understanding the nuances of life in both regions, the stories have visuals of a village with a narrative set in a city. Hence, these books are also mostly ordered by families residing in the villages.
Now, there are requests to add festivals like Pongal in the books. “Hence, we have been working on our next release for over a year now. We will be releasing it soon,” says Nivethitha excitedly.