British Council, Bengaluru, invites you to join Young Readers’ Book Club
In the world of children's books, summer is always a special time, because it is awards time. The best books of the year rise above all others and for those who have thus far missed them; it is a reason to take another look. Here, at the British Council Bangalore, we are celebrating the shortlists for the Kate Greenway and the CILIP Carnegie Medal, given in the UK for best book and best illustration, respectively. Join us as we go on a journey to explore all shortlisted books for these awards in 2016.
In the fourth session, we embark on an unforgettable journey through life, art and literature with the book Fire Colour One by Jenny Valentine. The session will be led by Sheila Govindaraj, a well-known Bangalore based theatre practitioner. This programme is suitable for children aged 12 years and above.
Fee: Rs 200 per child
To register, please write to purnima.krishna@britishcouncil.org or call us at 0120-4569000/6684353
About the book:
A bold and brilliant novel about love, lies and redemption. Iris's father, Ernest, is at the end of his life and she hasn't even met him. Her best friend, Thurston, is somewhere on the other side of the world. Everything she thought she knew is up in flames. Now her mother has declared war and means to get her hands on Ernest's priceless art collection. But Ernest has other ideas. There are things he wants Iris to know after he's gone and the truth has more than one way of coming to light.
Without a single wasted word the spare, beautiful writing of this multi-layered novel takes us on an unforgettable journey through life, art and literature, concluding with a hugely enjoyable final plot twist that is both fantastical and entirely plausible. The vividly created, well-rounded characters expertly allow the reader to get in the mind-set of what these characters are thinking and why they behave as they do. The interplay between Iris and her father, and the tentative development of their relationship after so long apart is particularly poignantly drawn.
About Jenny Valentine:
Jenny Valentine worked in a wholefood shop in Primrose Hill for 15 years where she met many extraordinary people and sold more organic loaves than there are words in her first novel, Finding Violet Park, which won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in 2007. She has also worked as a teaching assistant and a jewellery maker. She studied English Literature at Goldsmiths College, which almost put her off reading but not quite.
About Sheila Govindaraj:
Sheila Govindaraj is a Bangalore-based theatre actor and director. She also choreographs Kalarippayattu movement pieces for Ranjan Mullaratt of Kalari Gurukulam / KAAPA. Sheila did two summer workshops at LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art) and then followed that up with a two-year intensive under M.Philippe Gaulier, one of the true inheritors of Jacques Lecoq’s method of training, with further embellishments to the training methodology from the master teacher himself. She has also trained under several theatre stalwarts including the late Veenapani Chawla (Aadishakti), Tim Supple, Anna Helena McLean, John Britton, and Mahesh Dattani. In Bangalore, she has acted under several directors including Diana Tholoor, Preetam Koilpillai, late Vijay Nair, Padmavathi Rao and Prakash Belawadi. Her body of work in theatre and theatre training includes Shakespeare and several contemporary playwrights. Training children in theatre and performance is a major thrust of her current charter. She has been conducting regular workshops for children at the British Council, Bangalore. Sheila also direct children’s plays. Her last production for and with children was Roald Dahl’s The Witches in May 2016 at Atta Galatta. This production was supported by Puffin Books and Atta Galatta. All the above she does while working as Head Baker at Spell Foods which produces the Bagels & Bakes for Atta Galatta brand of breads and confectionery. Her role at Spell Foods is to create the recipes for their products and to ensure quality. Sheila Govindaraj has also worked as Tech Writer and Product Documentation Head for 8 years in the software industry.
The British Council believe that all children have potential and that every child matters – everywhere in the world. The British Council affirms the position that all children have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse as set out in article 19, UNCRC 1989.