Uma Krishnaswami: Books for Young Readers
The Girl of the Wish Garden
by Uma Krishnaswami, illustrated by Nasrin Khosravi
DOWNLOADABLE CURRICULUM GUIDE. Ideal for use by teachers, librarians, homeschoolers, and in book clubs and bookstores, this free guide based on The Girl of the Wish Garden contains discussion questions, activities, games, and more.
ABOUT THE BOOK: Loosely inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “Thumbelina,” the text in this book was created in response to the gorgeous award-winning art of Nasrin Khosravi. Lina, a tiny girl no bigger than a thumb, is found in a flower by her mother. Because she is so tiny, adventure and mishap easily befall her, and she must learn to survive in the world and seek the happiness that every child deserves as birthright. Elements of the Andersen tale are preserved in the pictures--the girl herself, the settings of lily-pond and forest, the mouse's house, compassion that drives a defining act of kindness. But other elements fall by the wayside--there is no predatory mole in this story, and Lina does not need to be rescued through marriage! Where the images depart from the Andersen tale, the words of the book follow.
The art was first published in a 1999 Farsi edition in Iran, under the title Dokhtare Baghe Arezoo.
Buy The Girl of the Wish Garden through IndieBound and support your local independent bookseller
Buy The Girl of the Wish Garden on Amazon
Review in Canadian Review of Materials
Uma's blog post on the publisher's blog, Inside the House
WATCH THE BOOK TRAILER with music and editing by Cooper Appelt and Laurel Kathleen
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Out of the Way! Out of the Way!
by Uma Krishnaswami, illustrated by Uma Krishnaswamy
2012, Groundwood Books
DOWNLOADABLE ACTIVITY KIT Ideal for use with classrooms, scout troops, book clubs, bookstores and fans of the novel, this free kit based on Out of the Way! Out of the Way! contains discussion questions, activities, games, and more.
ABOUT THE BOOK: A young boy spots a baby tree growing in the middle of a dusty path in his village. He carefully places rocks around it as the local mango seller rushes past shouting, "Out of the way! Out of the way!" As the tree grows bigger, people and animals traverse the path until it becomes a lane, flowing like a river around the tree.
In this simple, lyrical story, a wide-spreading tree and a busy road grow simultaneously, even as time passes and the footsteps of people and animals give way to speeding cars, buses and trucks. The illustrations, in pen-and-ink with vibrant blocks of color, have a classic folk-art feel.
The author and illustrator, who really do share the same name (except for the last letter!), have always wanted to do a book together.
Originally published in India by Tulika Books
Buy Out the Way! Out of the Way! through IndieBound and support your local independent bookseller
Buy the Indian edition in English or any of 8 Indian languages from Tulika Books
Buy Out of the Way! Out of the Way on Amazon
Starred review in School Library Journal
Starred review in Kirkus
Review on Educating Alice
Review on Saffron Tree
Watch Uma's interview with Kathi Appelt:
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The Grand Plan to fix Everything
by Uma Krishnaswami, illustrated by Abigail Halpin
2011, Atheneum
"A Grand Plan, a grand read! A modern-day fairy tale whose crazy threads tie up perfectly in the end. Truly a delight!”
- Linda Sue Park, Newbery Award-winning author of A Single Shard
DOWNLOADABLE ACTIVITY KIT Ideal for use with classrooms, scout troops, book clubs, bookstores and fans of the novel, this free kit based on The Grand Plan to Fix Everything contains discussion questions, activities, games, a recipe (complete with a secret ingredient), and more!
ABOUT THE BOOK: Eleven-year old Dini loves movies—watching them, reading about them, trying to write her own—especially Bollywood movies. But when her mother tells her some big news, it does not at all jive with the life script she has in mind. Her family is moving to India…and not even to Bombay, which is the center of the Bollywood universe and home to Dini's all-time most favorite star, Dolly. No, Dini is moving to a teeny, tiny town she can't even find on a map. Swapnagiri. It means Dream Mountain and it only looks like a word that's hard to pronounce. But to that open-minded person who sounds the name out, one letter at a time, it falls quite handily into place: S-w-a-p-n-a-g-i-r-i. An honest sort of name, with no surprise letters waiting to leap out and ambush the unwary. That doesn't mean there aren't surprises in Swapnagiri like mischievous monkeys and a girl who chirps like a bird. And the biggest surprise of all: Dolly. So now, Dini is hard at work on a new script, the script in which she gets to meet the amazing Dolly. But life is often more unpredictable than the movies and when Dini starts plotting her story, things get a little out of control. This is a joyful, lively Bollywood inspired story, full of colorful details, delicious confections and the wondrous, magical powers of coincidence. Uma Krishnaswami will have you smiling from ear to ear.
Buy The Grand Plan to Fix Everything through IndieBound and support your local independent bookseller
Buy The Grand Plan to Fix Everything on Amazon
Starred reviews: Kirkus and Publishers Weekly
Chicago Tribune review
Review at James Patterson's Readkiddoread
Interview with Jessie Grearson on Kirkus blog
Interview on KSJD Dry Land Community Radio in Cortez, CO
Review on PaperTigers blog
Review on Letter Blocks, the B&N Parents and Educators Blog
Watch the book trailer developed by Nikhil Krishnaswamy
Content © Uma Krishnaswami, 2006-2013
