Fifteen must-have books if you have kids at home

http://www.mid-day.com/articles/15-must-have-childrens-book-titles/15858152

The world of books seems to be closing in. Book publishers and bookstores are finding it hard to stay afloat. Yet, a small revolution is also going on: literary festivals and the experience of group book-reading sessions.

For pre-schoolers and toddlers who have access to so much visual entertainment, a book gives them one thing that apps and TV do not — the chance to look, touch, read, feel and taste. Nothing can replace a book, especially for toddlers who constantly perceive things through their five senses.

A good book is an emotional experience. From the time I officially have been an adult, I did only one thing — continue to choose to read only children’s literature. If parents have a regular time and place to read to kids every day, there will be some stories that your kids will ask for, over and over again. To parents who ask how to get their kids to read, I say: you read, they will read automatically. Reading aloud helps children remember words, increase vocabulary and help in cognitive development.

Here are five books in each age category that I’ve read, savoured and admired:

Age: 5-8
Catch That Crocodile
Author: Anushka Ravishankar, Illustrator: Pulak Biswas 
Ideal for: 5-year-olds
This is one of Ravishankar’s beauties. Who will catch that crocodile that’s terrifying everyone? Probin, the policeman, with his stick? Can Doctor Dutta do the trick? Or is the crocodile here to stay? There is another thought: Who says a crocodile should be caught?

Because of Winn-Dixie
Author:  Kate DiCamillo
Ideal for: 8-year-olds
She wrote The Tale of Despereaux, a sweet story of an unlikely mouse. But I love Because of Winn-Dixie even more. Winn-Dixie is a story of 10-year-old India Opal Buloni who comes to a small town with her father and adopts a dog. A sweet story of love and forgiveness.

The Lion & The Mouse
Author:  Jerry Pinkney 
Ideal for: any age, really
Re-examine the Aesop tale with the finely illustrated book where Pinkey's ability to capture expressions in the faces of his animal characters shows how we hardly need words to communicate.

Green
Author: Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Ideal for: 5-year-olds 
Less in text, textured in colours, vibrant in emotions, I refuse to lend this book to anyone.

Don’t Let The Pigeon Stay Up Late
Author: Mo Willems
Ideal for: 5-6 year-olds
This multiple award-winning bedtime storybook will keep the child and the parent laughing through this beautifully-illustrated, bedtime storybook with great body language and expressions. This is a book about the skill children exercise creatively in dodging bedtime. A perfect bedtime read as your kid will fall asleep in no time!

Age: 9-12
Apart from The Narnia series, the Harry Potter Series, the Malory Towers and St Clare’s Twins series, these five stand out: 

Call It Courage
Author:  Armstrong Sperry, 
Illustrator: Dom Lupo 
This is a must-read contemporary classic. It is an adventure story of Mafatu, the son of the Great Chief of Hikueru (belonging to a Polynesian race who worship courage), who is terrified of the sea and how he overcomes this.

Holes
Author:  Louis Sachar
Holes, my favourite Sachar work, is of Stanley Yelnats, a juvenile delinquent who is sent to a camp where all the kids do one thing: dig holes. This is a  brilliant book that teaches you about loyalty, friendship and how not to judge people.

Hoot 
Author: Carl Hiaasen
Roy Eberhardt is the new kid at Trace Middle School, Florida. No one wants to talk to him but thickheaded bullies like Dana Matherson needle him. It is about standing up for oneself and the world of owls.

The Illustrated Mum 
Author: Jacqueline Wilson
Wilson has a way of looking at the ugly adult world from the eyes of a child and telling a superb story of love. With drawings by Nick Sharratt, it’s a first-person narrative by a young girl, Dolphin and her manic depressive mother Marigold, nicknamed “the illustrated mum” because of her tattoos. 

Malgudi Days 
Author: RK Narayan
If you have kids between nine to 12, insist that they read this collection of 32 short stories set in a fictional village in south India. Gentle, funny and insightful, each story deals with simple people and simple issues they are faced with in real life.

Age: 13-15 (Young adults)
The Twilight Series, The Hunger Games series and the Divergent series are racy, heady and well written books for YA; these stand out as well:

Kira-Kira 
Author:  Kadohata Cynthia
This is a story of Japanese immigrants’ shift to America and Glittering. When Katie and her family move from a Japanese community in Iowa to the Deep South of Georgia, it’s Lynn, Katie’s older sister who, with her special way of viewing the world, teaches Katie to look beyond tomorrow.

The Knife of Never letting Go 
Author:  Patrick Ness
Ness creates a fictional town Prentisstown, where there are no women and where all men can hear each other’s thoughts. Todd Hewitt is the only boy left in Prentisstown and he has grown up thinking and believing that this is how it is in the world.  

The Fault in Our Stars
Author:  John Green
It’s about Hazel and Augustus Waters, cancer-survivors who meet at the Cancer Kid Support Group and their romance. But it is more than that.

A Single Shard 
Author: linda sue Park
Set in Korea, this book is about Tree-ear, an orphan, who lives in a potters’ village; he wants nothing more than to watch master potter Min at work, and he dreams of making a pot of his own.

When You Reach Me 
Author: Rebecca Stead Stead’s book is about sixth-grader Miranda whose world changes overnight when she receives four  mysterious letters.

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Handling difficult co-workers

Difficult Co-Workers: Avoid or Confront

Difficult colleagues are unavoidable at the workplace. Vinitha Ramchandani lists some universal options for dealing with difficult co-workers

    They say that there are only two things in this world you have no control over: the family into which you are born and the people you work with. As far as a family is concerned, the unconditional love and support that you receive helps you brush aside all the discomforts and incompatibilities at one go. But if you land in an organisation with shrewd co-worker/s who have decided to dislike you from the beginning- you have a potentially ugly situation at hand. 
Take the example of Preeti and Anitaco-workers and teammates. Preeti is senior in the organisation whereas Anita is a new joinee, with loads of experience. Both are great professionals; however off late Preeti has been feeling insecure and is quite vocal with her dislike. She has been stealing clients and Anita has taken notice of it. Anita's simmering rage reached its threshold one day, resulting in a public show down between the two and finally ended with her resignation. 
Many of you who are dealing or have dealt with difficult co-workers will completely empathise with Anita. Is there a better way to deal with such tricky situations? Experts say that simmering with discontentment never yields positive results. Every difficult situation warrants a different approach. Here are a few pointers that can help you sail through tricky situations with difficult people like a rude colleague, a politically correct coworker, domineering boss, a bullying client or an insecure teammate. 
Act quickly The first common trait that you will notice in difficult people is the fact that they enjoy their wicked acts. When you find that you are being treated unprofessionally, the biggest mistake of your life would be thinking that lying low or keeping out of the way will change things for the better. Confront the person as soon as possible, in the politest, but firm manner. Pre-empt the situation in your mind and rehearse if required. Think of the worse possible situation and the best way to encounter it and then make a go for it. While trashing things out with the difficult person remember to: 
Be firm: Tell the person that you want to work cordially. State what you don't like and ask if there is something that you are doing that needs to be changed. 
Be willing to accept a compromise: Bending a little to the extent that it does not harm your self esteem can make a world of a difference to your productivity. 
Be self-confident: Difficult workers are normally bullies at work. And the best way to deal with a bully is to keep up a straight face and act like a no-nonsense person. Be a professional This is an adage that you will have to translate into action. Never letting the problem bother you is a best way of dealing with it. And the quickest possible solution to this is to handle it yourself. "Most people take resort to complaining, either to their teammates or their boss, which is not advisable at all", says Paul Jacob, an HR consultant. 
It is best to avoid such negative approaches of dealing with the situation. Complaining about someone to others will quickly earn you the reputation of being the office grumbler. Badmouthing to your boss immediately will make it seem that you are not a good manager. In fact you may end up being labelled as someone who is temperamental and/or constantly embroiled in conflict. Here's a better way to handle the situation: 
Deal with the situation privately. You will only earn respect for this. 
If you are pushed to taking about it to seniors in your organisation, try to sound objective. Talk of how your productivity is being hampered at work due to your particular work environment. 
Be understanding Sometimes a difficult person is someone who is having a bad time-financial problems, marital incompatibility, health issues or a combination of all of it. Sometimes stepping in other person's shoes helps resolve many issues. Try becoming friends with that person- a change in attitude always helps. 
Sometimes a change of perspective helps. Instead of pointing fingers, do a bit of introversion. Ask yourself, 'is it only you who encounters difficult people'? If the answer is 'yes', there may be some problem in your attitude. Be open to accept and make changes in your working style. Ask yourself if you are a team person or if you tend to dominate at work. An understanding of yourself may be a beginning of a new work scenario. 
Take help 
Sometimes all attempts to diffuse the bad work situation may not help. In that case take help of a neutral person who has a good sense of judgement. Be prepared to hear that the faults like in you. Be open to make changes that the person suggests. 
Move! If you've tried everything and you still have to deal with an unprofessional person, then it's time to talk to your boss and your organisation's HR personnel, advices Riddhi Desai an HR professional. "Inform your immediate superior of your need to relocate within the organisation and take it to your HR department. Rest assured that no organisation wishes to loose good resources due to an unhealthy workplace situation," informs Desai.


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