What happens when grannies forget where they have kept their things? Ammachi wakes up one morning to find that her glasses are missing and the whole house turns upside-down. She washes the cat and cooks her slippers and tries wearing her granddaughter’s blouse! Will she find her glasses soon enough to stop everyone from being driven crazy by her antics? Ammachi’s Glasses, a delightful wordless book from Tullika Publications, will captivate any child over the age of two. Author and illustrator Priya Kurian’s detailed and highly entertaining illustrations bring out the ridiculousness of the situation while providing multiple opportunities for young readers to exercise their imagination. As a wordless book, Ammachi’s Glasses has a distinctive charm. Do check out our earlier post on ideas for how to use wordless books for building vocabulary.
For a slightly older child try Mamta Nainy’s Mutthasi’s Missing Teeth, illustrated by Debasish Sarma, and published by Tota Books. Mutthasi is strong and tough (though her teeth aren’t). And she’s rather fond of eating. What wilf she eaf after she misplaces her falsf teef? Young readers will enjoy how she lisps her way through her conversations with her sympathetic granddaughter.
The books are rich with subtle details which indicate their location in Kerala but could easily be about grannies anywhere in the world. And both grannies are quirky, spunky and full of mischief, a welcome change from stereotypical placid grandmothers who smile indulgently on their grandchildren or moralize about good behaviour. Interestingly, both Priya Kurian and Mamta Nainy found inspiration for their stories in own grandmothers. This is easy to believe for the tone of the stories include equal parts of affection and exasperation which is probably closer to the reality of a grandmother and grandchild’s relationship than more traditional books suggest. If you know any reader under six years of age, do purchase these books and prepare for lively conversations and endless giggles as you read them together.
Thank you, Poulomi Pal, for alerting me to these lovely books. One more ‘granny book’ that deserves special mention is Ammachi’s Amazing Machines by Rajiv Eipe.