Int’l Children’s Book Day: Six authors who write about NE for kids

International Children’s Book Day, an annual celebration of children’s books, is held every year on April 2.

Although in the last decade, children have been observed to gravitate towards alternative digital forms of entertainment, like gaming for example, books still hold value for many.

This global event not only spreads awareness about children’s literature but also promotes children’s authors and aims to inculcate and encourage the habit of reading among children. In the Northeast, there are several talented creators of children’s books.

Let’s look at six creatives from the Northeast who write or/and illustrate for children.

Arup Kumar Dutta – Padmashri Arup Kumar Dutta has written 17 novels and several short stories for young children and has been internationally acclaimed for his work. The Kaziranga Trail, The Blind Witness and Adventure Stories are some of his best-known works for children.

Mitra Phukan – Mitra Phukan from Assam has written the book Mamani’s Adventures (1986) which won her the UNICEF-CBT award for children’s writing.

Mamang Dai – Mamang Dai, a journalist from Arunachal Pradesh has written extensively about the culture and history of her state. She has written two children’s books – Once Upon a Moontime and The Sky Queen.

Tara Goswami – Barcelona-based author Tara Goswami, revealed her flair for story-telling initially as a dissertation project but later published it as a children’s book ‘The Bogoli Phut Days: Pitki’s Adventures in Assam’.This book is a delightful introduction to Assam, its culture, geography and folklore.

Canato Jimo – Book designer and writer Canato Jimomi from Nagaland is an upcoming children’s book creator. He has designed wordless picture books for children and younger people. His works, with themes like a child’s daily life, and fantasy monsters from Naga tribal folklore, include ‘Asamo, Is That You?’, ‘Snip’, ‘Afo and I’ and ‘I Love Grey’.

Pankaj Saikia – Hailing from Assam, Pankaj Saikia is an illustrator who has designed children’s books like The Theatre of Ghosts, Chupuk Chapaak, Where is number 5?, Catch That Moustache Thief! Childhood memories, significantly growing up in Assam and ghost stories told to him by his grandmother are sources of inspiration for him.

Happy International Children’s Book Day! If you’d like to surprise a young reader or the inner child in you with a book, you know what to do.

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