Unplug & Read: A Family’s Guide to Holiday Stories
This holiday season, put down the phones and make room for reading! As families come together, it’s the perfect time to foster a love for books. Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta has curated a list of festive and cultural reads to spark imagination, celebrate traditions, and grow closer as a family.
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The big break at the end of the year is coming again. As schools shut off and busy parents get to spend time with their children- the key question is does the environment at your home support reading? Creating a 'reading cadence' at home is every parents’ responsibility. It is an investment you must make to secure your child’s emotional and intellectual growth. Long-term studies show these habits boost not only academic success, but also family ‘resilience’ into adulthood.
We at #BookStrapping list a few books that would best be called holiday books and family fun.
If you’re looking for read aloud books that explain Indian culture to children, here are a few. There’s Festival of Colors by Surishtha Sehgal, Amma, Tell Me About Holi by Bhakti Mathur, The Story of Diwali by Jay Anika, etc; which are suitable for the one parent taking care of a larger group.
In keeping with the time of the year, there’s an anthology titled A Very Indian Christmas featuring select holiday-themed stories capturing festive spirit in India and the diaspora. It features delightful stories by Rabindranath Tagore, Salman Rushdie, Aravind Adiga, Jhumpa Lahiri, and others, blending Christmas in settings from Goa to London.
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Another such book is Indian Christmas edited by Jerry Pinto and Madhulika Liddle, which includes contributions from Easterine Kire, Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar, and Jane Borges, with poems, essays, and hymns reflecting regional celebrations.
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My point is, pick any book! Because when the children they see you reading is when they pick up a book too!
Hence a family that sits and reads together, talks together, exchanges ideas and grows together, crafts a generation that learns not only to think and feel, but also to imagine and co-create. And parents, you'll be surprised how much your children can teach you too! Take the first step to foster togetherness, preserve culture and build a legacy for generations.
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Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta is a columnist and bestselling biographer. She is credited with the internationally acclaimed Red Dot Experiment, a decadal six-nation study on how ‘culture impacts communication.’ Asia's first reading coach, you can find her on Instagram @OfficialReetaGupta.
