Karnataka: New Kannada books seek to fill void in children’s literature

Karnataka: New Kannada books seek to fill void in children’s literature
on Aug 05, 2021

These Kannada books for children are a new hit in the state, for their innovative approach, to introduce to children in the age group of 2-7. The books will be sold in reputed bookshops like Swapna, Anikta, Light Room and Blossoms, while private schools have also shown interest to buy the books. For a long time, there was no Kannada literature for children, that were on par with English books published by Tulika, Pratham and others. Although Tulika publishes books in regional languages, they are mostly translations. A publication house, Ellara Pusaka of Vanita Annayya Yaji of Yellapur and her husband Kailash T V, has now come up with three books, ‘Modala Odu’ (First Read), ‘Ruchi’ (Tastes) and ‘Beeja’ (seed). Yaji is a founding member of a new unconventional private school, Bidiru, which is located in Bengaluru, and she is also an art teacher. The illustrations for the books are done by Vanita, and Shwetha for ‘Beeja’. Another book, ‘Navilura Sante’ (Navilur market) has been published through crowdfunding. The publication sold over 500 copies so far , comprising all the four books. Yaji said about four years back, when she could not find quality books for her daughter, she decided to create them on her own. The books appealed to her daughter. In March 2021, she decided to make it public with the help of her husband. “The response for the books is startling, and even Delhi Public School has shown interest in purchasing our books. However the deal is delayed due to the lockdown,” she said. The books are in high demand in districts in North Karnataka. Explaining more about the books, she said ‘Modala Odu’ and ‘Ruchi’ introduces relationships like father, mother and grandfather to children. ‘Ruchi’ talks about vegetables and tastes, while Beeja is a wordless book, which is about the growth of plant life at various levels, through the minds of children. Yaji further said due to the response, and few books being there in the segment, she will be coming out with new books. This year she is planning to publish two more books, and venture into storytelling. Source - Times Of India