Set of 10 children’s books by Roshini Cabraal

Reviewed by rajiva wijesinha

Children’s books

I was a voracious reader as a child, and I fear that for many years I read largely children’s books. I still recall when the change occurred, after my father once asked me why I was still devouring Enid Blyton and Tintin and not looking at the classics. He pointed out to me some that we had in the library at home, and I thought I should give them a try.

I think Adam Bede was the first, when I was about twelve I think, and from then I did not look back, taking Dante’s Inferno to school the following year, finishing all of Shakespeare, ploughing through the Russian classics.

But I still enjoyed children’s books, retreating to them when I was ill, as when I recall I came back from an exhausting journey by train through India when I was sixteen. And I still enjoy them, though sadly many of my favourites in my own library vanished when I was sacked from S. Thomas’. I had taken them to my office in College and allowed students to borrow them, thinking this would encourage the reading habit, and they flocked in and took books week after week. But after I was sacked there was no attempt on the part of the College to get the books back, and finally a trawl brought back fewer than half. So I have now to borrow, though fortunately my niece is an aficionado too, and she has plenty though I ration my borrowing of these. In addition, a couple of years back I used book tokens to supplement the few books I did still have.

I have had some books from my niece in the last few months, but recently I had a very pleasant surprise when my cousin Roshini told me she had written a set of children’s books and asked me to have a look. I was delighted at the idea, and more delighted when I read them.

The main character is a parrot called Goldie, who has a great friend called Carl with whom she has several adventures. These involve a host of other creatures, ranging from ants to hippopotami. The books are splendidly illustrated, and interesting information is provided about the different animals in the course of the story, such as that whales are mammals and breathe air, and how hippopotami can see in the water.

There are also wonderfully zany characters, an ant who tells bad jokes and a mouse who runs from left to right when following Goldie and Carl. Goldie and Carl read a lot, his Dad having bought him ‘lots of books on other birds and animals and even humans’. And Goldie’s Dad has a phone on which he gets an SMS with directions to a party for a little leveret – the term, we learn, for a baby hare.

But in addition to being fun, Ro also suggests that parents should use the books to provoke discussion, about the various problems which Goldie has to deal with. Charmingly, there is an effort to rouse empathy, ‘to make the child understand the crocodile’s point of view as well’, when Goldie and Carl come across one who was in pain and therefore angry.

Goldie is not quite the parrot Kiki in Enid Blyton’s Adventure series, but for children of 4 and a bit older, for whom the series is intended, she would certainly be an interesting substitute.  And I have included lots and lots of pictures, for they are quite wonderful, and hearteningly zany, as when Goldie makes peace between two quarrelling piglets or lectures an elephant – as Ro herself would do – about being careless.