When I was lying in bed and reading a book, I suddenly heard my brother laughing very loudly, and my father asked him why he was laughing. He simply said: "This duck is trying to bark...
qua-rk, qua-rk, qua-rk." And he kept laughing a lot.
The book he was reading is meant for children in the 5-11 age group. It is called,
Espi Mai is Stuck Again and Other Goan Tales. Its stories are based in Goa, set amidst Goan families, and Goan people. Many of the stories touch on old customs and practices. There are some laugh-out-loud stories included too.
Although I am waaaaay beyond the book's target age-group, I read it too, keeping aside my beautiful
Faith Girls book.
Some of these stories which I liked were:
Masu the Unhappy Fish. It is the story of a fish who didn't want to live underwater, but instead he wanted to live on land. It tells the story of the adventures he went through because of this.
There is also another story called The Lace Maker. It is about an old lady named Norma who taught all the children and their mothers to make beautiful lace when she was alone at home. The children used the lace to make dresses for their dolls.
The book was nice, though I would have enjoyed it more if I was a nine-year-old. I think it was a good thing that someone wrote a children's book. In Goa we do not have a lot of children's books being published (unlike adult books). Then the children start reading foreign books, which is a whole different idea system, style of living, etcetra.
--
Riza D'Mello Noronha, blogger-in-training
http://rizagoa.blogspot.com
