KOCHI: Unni Ammayambalam, a Malayalam author who specialises in children’s literature is now busy preparing over 35 interactive books for children in Malayalam. “The books will be very simple with illustrations, and the kids will be easily able to scroll through the pages. The aim is to make them understand and learn just through touch.” The books are being prepared for kids studying up to class VII.
The award winning author will lead an interactive storytelling session ‘storytime’ with children at Schoolkutti.com children’s library on April 9. ‘The Magic Schoolbus’, a book authored by Unni, may seem to be written in English. However, the book which garmered the author the award for the Best novel by the Kerala State Institute for Children’s Literature is in fact in Malayalam. The children’s book consists of stories within a story, according to the author.
However, while many claim Malayalam literature is declining in popularity, also the case with children’s books, Unni Ammayambalam likes to differ in his viewpoint. There might have been a time when Malayalam literature saw a decline in importance, but according to the author, there are more readers in the vernacular language, more than you can imagine. He says, “Even when it comes to education, we have more Malayalam medium schools than English medium, though people speak more about the latter. You also find well organised libraries stocked with Malayalam literature in the former.”
Specialising in children’s literature, the author forayed into children’s literature after 2002, when his book ‘Mazhayathu’ earned him the P T Bhaskara Panicker award for children’s literature. Says Unni, “Children’s literature in the vernacular language is flourishing right now. We have so many authors coming up in this segment.” The author also feels that there are more children reading Malayalam books, though many prefer the official language. The session will be on from 4 to 5.30 pm on the premises. For more details, contact 04714015293 or 9847320281.
