Inspiration is only a book away.
There is a page in The Girl Who Was a Forest, a picture book biography on the life of EK Janaki Ammal, in which young Janaki’s father tells her she is a seed. Tears sting her eyes because she wants to be more like a bird that can fly far and high, away from stuffy rules. But her father explains that from a seed, grows a forest. “A forest of dreams, ideas, and possibilities. Nothing can stop a forest from growing, Janaki, not even rules!”
This “seed” planted itself firmly in my then-six-year-old’s mind the very first time we read the book. He didn’t necessarily have the words to tell us how strongly he felt about it, but it manifested in different ways. He was so enamoured by EK Janaki Ammal he read other books that featured her, presented a paper on her for a class project, and continued to be fascinated with her life’s work.
A picture book biography has the power to plant a seed by introducing a person and their work, intriguing the reader to know more, and leaving them inspired – perhaps the reason for its immense popularity, the world over. We are now witnessing a resurgence of picture book biographies in Indian children’s literature. Picture book authors and illustrators are not afraid to tackle themes and formats anymore.
Perhaps this is the reason biographies have suddenly become popular.
Mamta Nainy, author of the Magic Maker series (Penguin India) said, “The time is just so ripe for telling stories that take a nuanced look at people’s lives, many of which could be used to address imbalances in the historical representation and could potentially be a new paradigm to teaching history by looking at familiar figures with new eyes and culling out unknown figures that have been grossly overlooked.”
As parents, we all understand how difficult it is to impress and inspire our overstimulated, instantly-gratified children.
