Who Says Children Don't Read Books?

When an eleven-year-old devours a book on wildlife and goes on to write a book review, it calls for an exclusive story! Exclusive because the same eleven-year-old had led her parents on a hiking trail when she was only two-year-old. Yes, a two-year toddler leading a trail! Unbelievable, isn't it? Readers may browse our earlier story with title 'Toddler On A Trail'. In that story Maana's name had been misspelt as Mana for which Ghumakkad begs to be excused.

Ghumakkad is delighted to bring this guest story by Maana, Syon and Sachi, three siblings aged 11, 13 and 15. Born in USA to Anchita and Satyam Tyagi, their parents from India now settled in California, all three have 'Bharat/India in their hearts'. After nine years, it was a pleasure to meet Anchita and the children during their trip to India this summer. I was visiting Delhi and we met over lunch. Pressed for time, Kenneth Anderson's books came to my rescue for gifting it to all the three children. Kenneth was born on 8th March 1910 in Secunderabad and passed away on 30th Aug 1974 in Bangalore and wrote number of books on jungles and wildlife. Thanks Ashi our daughter in California and a family friend of Tyagis, for the suggestion. It is through Ashi that we came to know Anchita and family. 

As it turned out, the books were a hit with all three children. See the pictures below taken in Delhi and Jaipur.

All three children first read their respective books. Thereafter, they exchanged and read the other two books as well. As you can see from their 'reviews' which follow, they all loved reading the books. Who says children don't love books in this digital era?

We share their thoughts and impressions after reading the books. Youngest first.

The Black Panther of Sivanipalli by Kenneth Anderson

Reviewed by Maana (11 year old)

"I read The Black Panther of Sivanipalli by Kenneth Anderson. I liked it a lot because of the suspense that the book puts you in when Kenneth Anderson is hunting. You don’t know if the animal will even get shot because not all of the hunts are successful, which is realistic. It is amazing to know that all these stories are true. I also like that not all of the chapters are about hunting panthers and tigers, but also about other animals too, like snakes and elephants. One chapter was about a big bison with a crumpled horn. Kenneth Anderson did not shoot it, but it was still an amazing story. I also like that he doesn’t kill animals for fun, but because he needs to. Killing animals for no reason is terrible, and I’m happy that these stories are about only killing man-eaters and not innocent animals. The book is very informative and I learned many new interesting facts about animals."

Thank you Maana for sharing your thoughts after reading the book.

The Call of the Man-Eater, by Kenneth Anderson

Reviewed by Syon (13)

"I read The Call of the Man-Eater, by Kenneth Anderson. In this collection of short stories, Anderson writes about his adventures hunting man-eating tigers and panthers. He has also added a few stories about other things, like in A Night By the Campfire.  I loved reading these stories because of the way he writes, as if he is telling you the stories in person, instead of written on paper. They are also interesting because you really get to know about the people of rural South India, how they live, what they eat, and more. You also learn a lot about the animals of Southern India, including the ones that he doesn’t hunt. I would recommend this book to people of all ages interested in nature."

The book seems to have made an impact on the teenager. Thanks Syon. He was the first to finish reading the book.

The Kenneth Anderson Omnibus, Volume 3

Reviewed by Sachi (15)

"This review is for The Kenneth Anderson Omnibus, Volume 3. Overall, the book is well-written and quite interesting in content. The stories are paced well, and show facets of India that most people would never get to see, such as the simple lifestyle of the forest people. The lives of animals are painted in such a way that you felt as if you could understand the animal, its motivations, needs, and desires. The book also subtly advocates for wilderness conservation and protection, which shows how much the author really loves the forests and their animal inhabitants. The main criticism I have for the book would be that it provides a little too much detail about the geography. While there are maps in the book, they are mostly illegible (I don't know if that is bad printing or just me not being able to read it well), and the over-description is a little confusing. All in all, it was an interesting read, even though it was something that I wouldn't normally pick up."

Thank you Sachi for sharing your honest opinion and impressions. Yes, Kenneth Anderson roamed the jungles of south India during 1930s to 50s. The maps in those days were hand drawn and therefore not as sharp as Google maps these days. Your observation is well founded. Thanks again.

We hope you agree that children do love books. Books make a great companion for children and adults alike!

Other Guest Stories

Ghumakkad always encourages the readers to contribute their stories. Many such stories come from children of different ages. Some of the guest stories from our blog are listed below. Just click to browse it.

Coyote Gulch- Hiking In A Stream written by then 10-year-old Nikhil, our grandson (2018)

Ironman In The Family - a first hand account of Ironman 70.3 completed by our son Ankush. Read when he says "And my legs died"! How did he revive? (2022)

Fallen But Not Forgotten - Remembering our War heroes by Trixie Asirvatham from Bengaluru. Read about the Armistice Day and its history through a poignant picture story. (2017)

Women Hiking In Water by Akanksha, our daughter. Daring story of a hike in waste deep water by four young mothers all by themselves! (2019)

A Squirrel Comes Home by Rohini Tiwari a Nature lover from Coimbatore. Fascinating account of rescuing a baby squirrel and how it adopts the rescuer's home! (2020)

Winning The Hearts Of People by Abhishek Singh. Interesting story of how Indian Army helps the villagers in far flung borders of Arunachal Pradesh in north-east India. (2018)

Male Showstopper by Koushik Gopinath a wildlife photographer. Get close to the Tigers of Ranthambore with Koushik's lens. Superb photography. (2018)

Maya The Tigress of Tadoba - From Ranthambore Ankush takes you to Tadoba, Maharashtra where Maya the tigress rears her cubs. Feel the glory of the jungle.

Why Kodaikanal? by Ansh (then 14) and Nikhil (then 11) our grandsons. They describe the attractions of Kodaikanal through their pictures and story.

Ladakh: Shades of Heaven on Earth - breathtaking pictures by Abha and Akanksha who visited Ladakh with their families in Aug 2022.

After seeing all these guest stories, hope you are charged up to share your story. Your story can be on any subject as you saw above- from wildlife to travel to pets to hiking and so on! Do reach out to us on hbindia@gmail.com . We learn from each other as our logo below shows.

Thanks for browsing.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava and Anchita Nidhindra/ Secunderabad and California/ 19th Sep 2023

#Gueststory #BookReview #KennethAnderson #junglelore #Wildlife #Maneaters #Maana #Syon #Sachi #preservingtheenvironment #nature #environment #books #children #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh