[Reader-list] Sensitizing through Stories: Story Revolution

[Chintan]

From
http://blog.prathambooks.org/2010/06/sensitizing-through-stories-story.html

Shalini Sekhar and Angela Jain, both teachers at Shibumi, a school in
Bangalore, run a unique online bookstore devoted exclusively to children's
literature sourced from second hand bookshops in their own city, and from
wherever else they happen to travel to.

As Angela puts it, Story Revolution is not just a bookstore, it is a
“selection service.” Each of these books have been read by either Shalini or
Angela. They offer books that are much celebrated, but difficult to come by
in India. Most of their titles are Newbery medal or honour books. The
Newbery Medal is a prestigious award given by the American Library
Association to the most distinguished American children's book published
every year. Others in the Story Revolution collection are “books that are
handpicked for their spirit and excellence,” their website (
http://www.storyrevolutionbooks.com/) would tell you.

“Children should get good literature, not just about anything. We scrutinize
each book carefully. The writing style is good, and also the fact that these
are stories coming from a sensitivity to things around. There are no rigid
ideas about teaching morals attached to these stories,” says Angela.

She agrees that some of the books might be difficult because of the specific
historical background they deal with, but is quick to point out that books
are a good way of getting children exposed to different cultures, and that
all the Story Revolution books deal with human emotions we all share
wherever we are.

Shibumi, the school they helped co-found, is one and a half years old. It
was around the time they were looking for resources for the Shibumi library
that the idea of Story Revolution started taking shape.

“We were collecting lots of books, and some were really good ones. We came
across second and third copies of these books. It seemed amazing; sort of
like a treasure. We wanted to share these with as many people as we could
but we didn't have big money, so we started to think of other ways,” shares
Shalini.

The name 'Story Revolution' has an interesting history behind it. The online
bookstore happened later; the initial idea had to do with 'revolving' books
across libraries. On their visits to local circulating libraries, they found
that Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Enid Blytons, and Sweet Valley were the most
popular books around. There seemed to be little space for other kinds of
books for children.

Shalini and Angela interacted with two libraries, and it was agreed that the
Story Revolution books would be kept as an experiment. Each library would
get a different set of books every month, and the previous month's books
would be passed on to the other library. This experiment did not take off
very well. They put in a lot of effort (covering the books, making labels,
pasting stickers on how to take care of the books), but stood disappointed
at what came of it. A lady at one of the libraries said that the books were
not being picked because parents don't let their kids read them; they think
these books distract children from their studies.

To read the entire post, check
http://blog.prathambooks.org/2010/06/sensitizing-through-stories-story.html