Am I doing the right thing? Could this put me into any trouble?Will I regret my decision in future? Hope it works out best for me....

Child adoption has been a heart-touching topic since the very beginning; it is indeed a lovely thing to do which brings love and light to someone’s life and also gives a sense of fulfilment to the adoptive parents. The concept, which used to be a taboo in many countries, is now, slowly and steadily, gaining more acceptance.

However, a lot of people still have their hearts skip a beat because of the fear we have while pursuing adoption: – who are the biological parents of the child, does the child have any special needs, will I be able to accept the child as my own, will there be a strong bonding etc.

Let’s look at some of the most common “fears” of adopting parents and how best we can take care of them:

1. Will I be able to bond with the child:

Bonding is a slow and steady process; it takes time to develop, be that with a child, or with anyone else. It is a long-term course which requires you to shower abundant love and affection and convey enough security and assurance. Whether they are biological kids or adopted ones, one needs to spend quality time with them and establish a strong connect to take the relationship ahead. The biological kids may have some sort of a “head start” in terms of sharing that special bond with their parents, but the truth is that the foundation of a lifelong of emotional bonding between the child and parent is formed slowly as he / she is constantly being looked after and tended to with love and care by the parent, biological or adoptive. So, put aside any misconception and get ready to love and get loved by that special one whom you choose to have in your life. 

2. Will the child accept me as a parent:

A child’s brain is ready to comprehend most of developments in life once he / she turns 6 or 7 years of age. Therefore, if you adopt a child of that age, he / she would probably understand the situation and perhaps take time to accept you and develop those special feelings required for a trusting relationship. In case you adopt an infant, the bond with child would start developing at a very early stage of his / her development. Later, when he / she learns about the relationship, it would not be much easier for him / her to accept you as a parent.

3. How will my friends and family react: 

The opinion of the society has always been a big cause of concern to most of us. When it comes to child adoption, one of the biggest fear is that how will the near and dear ones and society in general react to it. Will they accept the adopted child as a part of the family? Will they treat him / her normally, similar to the other children of the family?While it is normal to have such feelings, it is worthwhile to keep in mind that you and your loved ones happiness is of paramount importance. Your “real” friends and family will always be by your side and support you when they find you happy and contended.

4. Is the child going to be healthy:

It is pretty normal to have fears related to the health of the child being adopted since you are mostly unaware of the health conditions of the biological family and of the child. Though such information in most cases is duly recorded to be shared as an important piece of information with adoptive parents, many might fear of some unknown health issues, disease or illness (which could be genetic or psychological) that may become apparent in the future. This might be stressful for the adoptive family later, who might not know what to do. Though it is important to dig out details during the process and be sure of what you are doing, there are instances which are beyond control in any human’s life. Any child, biological or adopted, when exposed to the changes in the environment, is likely to fall ill or develop some health issues at any stage of life. The same is true for adults as well. Once you have accepted the little one as a part of your family and life, you automatically ensure a right treatment and provide a better environment for his / her well-being. 

5. Adoption is too cumbersome:

Adopting a child, at first, may look a bit overwhelming to a lot of parents, both in terms of time as well financial commitment. The obvious reason is because it needs an extensive framework of legal and documentation processes to be adhered to for ensuring the safety and well being of the to-be adopted child. While a particular route may cost you more, others may be relatively less expensive. There is enough assistance available in the form of grants and benefits to offset the costs and to help you financially. Adoption tax credit is of great help once the adoption is completed, as you can easily settle your loans and dues with the same. Fundraising is also an option which has been tried out by many adoptive parents. As with all good things, it requires you to be diligent and persistent to help you get through the adoption process.

Conclusion:

The joy and delight of giving a new life to a child is unparalleled. Children are the most precious gifts sent to us from the heaven above and adoption is the best gift we can give them.

Who is Vaishali Karthikeyan

+ Personalised - Follows the adventures of a little girl trying to find her name

+Illustrations - beautiful , gorgeous illustrations that baby V cannot get enough of

+ Thought - there is just so much thought that has gone into this book. And it is evident through the rare and lovely characters introduced- Kookaburras, sloths, totems to name just a few. Also the cute puppet that comes along is an added bonus and cuddly toy.

+ Pages - Thick, glossy pages make it baby friendly

+ Personalisation - You can add a personalised page and your child's photo on the first page too.

+ Service - I am blown over by their service. Right from replying to every mail, sharing tracking info, neat packaging to feedback calls, these guys are super customer friendly.

Having kids is truly a joy and parenting is indeed, a joyful art. The little ones’ brains, habits and behaviour are in constant making and this provides an excellent opportunity for parents to introduce different activities to their tiny ones in a playful and exciting way so that they develop a lifelong love for them.

One such activity (and probably the most important one) is reading. We all have probably grown up listening to stories from our parents or grandparents during our childhood. It often brings a smile on our faces thinking of those joyous times when the sunset would bring in a spark of excitement, in anticipation of the approaching bedtime when the words of some enthralling story would make way into our ears.

Bedtime stories have been a time-honoured tradition followed by numerous generations, as they have been popularly known to prepare the little munchkins to sleep. However, they have a much bigger role to play in children’s overall development. Let’s take a dig at some of the benefits of reading these bedtime stories:

1. Establishes a bedtime routine:

Having a routine can be pretty boring but ask any successful person in any field, it is this boring routine which is the secret of his / her success. It is the ability to do something again and again, and get better at it which leads to greatness. For children, reading a bedtime story before you put them to sleep is one such routine. They should know that irrespective of all the activities they did during the day, no matter how tired they feel, they ought to have a reading session before sleeping. This probably would be the start of many other routines they will develop in future.  

2. Fosters bonding:

Kids are always upto some or the other mischief when they are awake – running around, exploring different objects, playing etc. And given the busy lives which most of parents have these days, they are spending less and less time with their children. Reading bedtime stories, however, is one great way to ensure that they get to spend some quality with their little ones. Children, as a lot of us would know, like to cuddle and snuggle up with their parents during these bedtime story sessions, which brings the family closer and helps create some special memories for both the parents and children. 

3. Boosts brain development:

When you are reading out to your children about a laughing panda, or a Santa Claus with lots of gifts, or Where The Wild Things Are – you actually have the power to transport them to that imaginary world of books and experience those stories. By narrating the stories with a lot of drama, animated voices and special effects, you help stimulate their imagination and also develop their logical skills.

4. Enhances language skills:

Reading bedtime stories aloud to children is considered to be one of the most effective ways to develop their language skills, as it introduces them to a lot of new words. Books which are rich in language (e.g. rhyming text) can help them learn phonics and also grasp the different sounds associated with each syllable. Children learn to recognize and differentiate, both visually and phonetically, the different words they come across. This goes a long way in building a solid foundation for their lifelong language ability. 

5. Cultivates reading habits:

The benefits of reading books are probably known to one and all. From increased focus to having better memory skills to being more educated and reformed, the list is endless. But the most important benefit of reading probably is that it makes you happier. The sheer joy one feels while and after reading a book is unmatched. And it is for a reason a lot of psychologists and psychiatrists recommend Bibliotherapy to a lot of their not-so-happy patients. In fact a recent study by Yale University on Bookworms and Life Expectancy found that people who read books live almost 2 years longer. So go ahead and read those bedtime books to your children which will set them up for a lifelong habit of reading. You are not just giving them knowledge, but also giving them a longer life. 

6. Develops listening skills:

“If talking is silver then listening is gold,” goes an old Turkish proverb. Our ability to have any sort of meaningful conversation lies in our ability to listen carefully, not just to listen and reply but to listen, understand and grasp the meaning of what is being said. Especially in today’s world when everybody seems to have an opinion about everything, it is imperative for parents to inculcate this dying art of listening in their children. And reading bedtime stories provides an ideal environment, where you can keep them engaged and engrossed (depending on how interesting you can make the entire session), to help them become good listeners and also improve their attention span.

Conclusion:

In the end, I can summarize the importance of bedtime stories by stating a slightly modified version of what Albert Einstein said:

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them bedtime stories. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more bedtime stories.”

Do you have a child at home who does everything but read? Are you having a hard time getting him / her to sit down with a book, even for 10 minutes? If you are reading this article, chances are that you have answered the above questions in the affirmative. Well that’s the bad news. But good news is that it all depends on you whether your child will take a liking to books or not.

If you are wondering what can you, as a parent, do to get your child to experience the wonderful world of books and the joy of reading, then read on.

1. It starts with Us, the Parents:

Children do what they see their parents do, not what we say. So if you want your child to read, drop everything and grab a book of your choice. You do not have a book at home or a library in vicinity, no problem: Pick up the newspaper (newspaper as in actual paper, not the online version). You do this on a consistent basis, especially when your child is around, and sooner or later, you will notice your child becoming more inquisitive about books and reading.

2. Use a Soft Toy:

Using your child’s favorite soft toy / puppet while reading out to him / her makes a huge difference. You can bring to life the various characters of the book and engage in role play activities, leading to a more interactive and engaging reading session. Children are generally more inclined to listening and reading out to their "friend and partner in crime" i.e. the soft toy / puppet etc. In fact, a team of Japanese researchers recently published a study on the secret to getting your child to read, and as per them, the secret might just lie in the way you use your child’s favorite soft toy / puppet.

So go ahead and make the best use of the soft toy / puppet. You can make it even more realistic by giving your child his / her own Oh! My Name personalized book which comes along with a puppet of one of the main characters in the book.

3. Bring Out the Actor in You:

Reading out a story to your child should not be a drill, neither for you and nor for the child. It should be an interesting and fun filled experience which the child enjoys and looks forward to. And it entirely depends on you (i.e. the one reading out the book) as how you can make it an interesting and a lively affair. As it is commonly said, don’t just read the story to your child, rather sing, shout aloud, whisper, murmur out the story. Use intonation to vary your voice’s pitch. Don’t just say “haha hehe”, when both, you and the child can yourselves go “HAHA HEHE”. Remember, children books are not supposed to be just read out, but to be lived out.

4. Go to a “Stand Alone” Book Shop:

The keyword here is not just a book shop but a “stand-alone” book shop. Let me explain: Have you ever tried taking your child to any bookshop in a mall or any other high upscale market? The first time I took my daughter to one of those high end book shops, she kept running back to one of the candy bars right next door or to the Disney stall who all the miniature versions of her favorite superheroes. After struggling on few more occasions, I stopped going there and instead took her to a not-so-fancy-yet-good-enough book shop in our neighborhood market, which hardly had anything interesting enough to distract her. And BINGO! We ended up spending ~20 min in the shop before her patience ran out. Those 20 minutes have now gone up to an hour which she happily spends browsing through various books.

5. Play the “A Very Long Story before Bedtime” Game:

For the past couple of years, my daughter and I have been playing this “A very long story before bedtime” game. Every night before putting her to bed, we take turns to create a long story, or rather a very long story. Here’s how it works: I generally start the story with the usual “Once upon a time…” (I know I lack imagination) and continue for ~30 sec. She then picks it up from where I stop and builds upon it. She continues for ~30 sec and then it’s my turn again. The cycle continues till one of us runs out of his / her creativity (and more often than not, that happens to be me). But on the positive side, I have seen her developing more keen interests in books, probably because she knows books are the best tool to fire up her imagination, a much needed ammunition for her daily duels with her father.

6. Join a Story Telling Session: 

Getting your child join or attend a story telling session is one of the best investment you can do as far as your child’s reading habit is concerned. Apart from helping him / her have better vocabulary and listening skills, there’s one more often overlooked advantage of storytelling sessions. And that is, it fosters learning through companionship and friendship. A lot of children don’t just go to these sessions to listen to stories but to meet their friends and talk, laugh and also learn along with them. It is this combined learning which I believe is the most important aspect of the story telling sessions.

So there you have it, try one or all of the above and see how your child responds. Most probably, you are going to see a positive change in your child’s reading habits.

Before I end, there is one more trick I want to talk about which may not be useful to you but can be very useful for soon-to-be parents:

The Abhimanyu Trick:

All of us are aware of the Indian mythological warrior Abhimanyu, who learnt about Chakravyuh (aka the secrets of warfare) while in his mothers’ womb. Now, as per a study conducted on babies’ language learning abilities, there is now scientific evidence that babies do learn language skills even before they are born. So if you and your partner are expecting a new member in your family, don’t waste any time, just get hold of some books and start reading them aloud.

Conclusion:

The truth is that every child likes books, provided he / she is given the right book and the right environment.

So next time, you find yourself thinking that your child probably does not like reading, think again. You probably just need a dash of creativity along with some persistence to get your child interested in the art and science of reading. 

The pages of the book are very thick, bright and attractive. The animations are really very good that attracts everyone. There is also an option to add our child's picture and a dedication message, this indeed will definitely be a lovely memory for him. Along with the book comes a cute hand puppet which is the friend of the main character in the story. Overall, a wonderful book with customisation at its best!

There are about 60,000 different species of animals, not including insects and other invertebrates (Source: Fact Monster’s Estimated Number of Species on Earth). But if you have to name that one species which gets children excited like no other, it has to be the Dinosaurs.

Every child and every adult (during his / her childhood) has had fascination with these dangerous-yet-majestic, fierce-yet-lovable creatures. A child may not remember his / her friend’s name, may not be able to say his / her own name, but will be well versed with names like T-rex, Stegosaurus (thanks to a large extent to Jurassic Park)

For a brief period of time, a child’s love for Dinosaurs is probably second only to the love for his / her mother (Fathers generally come last in this pecking order).

But what is it about Dinosaurs that children fall in love with?

Dinosaurs, an Enigma

Dinosaurs are extinct. And a lot of times, whatever is not readily available or is not tangible, tends to captivate the human mind even more. Children have an inquisitive mind and hence want to explore and experience new things before deciding what’s good or bad for them.

Children want to see the Dinosaurs in reality. They look for them everywhere, from zoos to parks but to no avail. They only get to hear about Dinosaurs from others or only find them in books and videos. This adds to their anxiety as they can’t really fulfill their desire to have a real “experience”.

Size Does Matter

One thing we all agree that Dinosaurs were large, exorbitantly large. For children, seeing something so large, previously unimaginable to them, is truly mesmerizing. It lets their imagination run wild. They can probably picture themselves riding on a Dinosaur and reaching up to the moon and the stars. And every night when they hear their mother telling them, “I love you to the moon and back”, they are probably thanking the Dinosaurs for helping their mothers get to the moon.

Children also hear and read stories where Dinosaurs, despite their gigantic size, can also move around with ease. And not just walk, they can run, fly and swim too. How they could do it is probably food for thought for a young mind’s imagination.

They could do anything and everything

Owing to their size, Dinosaurs could practically get away with anything. They could do whatever they wanted to do without anybody questioning them. You cannot imagine anybody telling a fully grown Tyrannosaurus or an Apatosaurus to go and brush their teeth or ordering them to finish their milk before going to bed. And most importantly, they could eat or not eat as per their liking. Some were herbivorous, some were carnivorous and some switched between being herbivorous and carnivorous as and when they wanted.

They have amazing skeletons

Go to any museum and the only place you will see surrounded by children would be the one with the skeleton of a Dinosaur. I remember my parents taking me to a museum and I was completely blown away as soon as I came across this huge intricate body structure which was kept right at the center of the museum. I had never seen anything like it ever before and I think there will never be anything like them in future.

Standing right there, it was difficult for me to imagine that such huge creatures have completely vanished from the face of earth. (Thankfully so, because if they were still alive, we would not be).

So finally, I think it boils down to the image which children make when they comes across a Dinosaur. They probably see a creature who is cool, big & mighty and somebody who has free will to do anything and everything (which child does not want to be like that?). In short, it becomes their first super hero, much bigger than all the other super heroes put together. 

To a book lover, the smell of a book is as important as the content. The first thing many of us do after getting a book is open it, bring it close to our nose and breathe in. Can we describe that smell? Most likely, the answer is no. Similarly, most of us cannot characterise the aroma of the main reading room of the National Library in Kolkata. Even old bookshops in Daryaganj in Delhi and Andheri in Mumbai have characteristic smells that we remember but cannot describe. Our cultural heritage has made us linguistically challenged to describe smell.

Smell is not just a sensory perception, it is also a social and cultural phenomenon. Yet, the poor nose has had a rough ride in the western culture. Plato famously claimed that sweet odours were for prostitutes, and the Enlightenment gave eyes and ears primacy over every other sensory organ. In fact, the sense of smell is still largely ignored as a knowledge marker of our past. In 2015, Dutch researcher Asifa Majid led a team that “compared how often speakers of 13 diverse languages, including English, around the globe talked about sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell in everyday conversation”. They found that in 12 of those communities “vision was the most talked about perceptual modality, followed by hearing”. Except for Semai, a language from the Malay Peninsula, smell leapt to second place, the team noted.

Odourwise
Now, two British heritage researchers want to start a multidisciplinary dialogue on smell, to describe it and relate it to culture-specific heritage. They started with old books — commonly recognisable objects of cultural significance. As part of their field study, the duo, Cecilia Bembibre and Matija Strli, at the University College London Institute for Sustainable Heritage went about asking people to describe the smell of old books and the aroma of an old heritage London library and recording their responses.

In one experiment, the visitors to the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery were presented with an odour sampled from a 1928 edition of Panait Istrati’s Les Chardons du Baragan, published by Bernard Gasset, obtained from a second-hand bookshop in London. The smellers were then asked to describe the odour. Among 79 respondents, 27 said that it smelled like “chocolate” or used similar terms such as “Cadbury”, “cocoa” or “chocolatey”. Ten people thought that it was “coffee”, and then “wood”, “burnt”, “old” and so on. Some more colourful descriptors of the smell were “rotten socks”, “mothballs”, “biscuits” and “bourbon”.

The setting of the other experiment was St Paul’s Cathedral’s Dean and Chapter library in London. The collection of this famous library was almost completely charred in the Great Fire of London. It was restocked in 1712 with close to 2,000 volumes from the library of Henry Compton, the then bishop of London. Even a speck of dust here is no less than 300 years old.

Here random visitors were asked to describe the characteristic smell of this heritage institution. All the visitors who came to the library found it had a “woody” aroma. When asked again, 86% came up with the answer “smoky”, 71% “earthy” and a significant 4% “vanilla”. They also answered questions on the intensity of the smells ranging between “strong aroma” and “very strong aroma”. More than 70% of the respondents described the smell as “pleasant”; “mildly pleasant” and “neutral” each had 14% supporters.

According to the researchers, smell should also be a part of the “intangible heritage” list as defined by UNESCO.To that end, their research focused on defining heritage smells and arguing their importance. They laid emphasis on creating a process for “the consideration for smells in heritage documents and guidelines, leading to the identification of smell as part of cultural significance of a place or object”. Heritage smells can also be used as a means to “engage and communicate with the audience”. For instance, if the century-old Madras Literary Society Library in Chennai has a distinct “mouldy” smell, that can be defined and preserved as a heritage marker and can be used to build a strong bond between the reader and the library.

Bembibre and Strli reported their finding in the paper “Smell of heritage: a framework for the identification, analysis and archival of historic odours” published in the journal Heritage Science. They also created a “Historic Book Odour Wheel” to characterise and archive the aroma associated with old books. The wheel, somewhat similar in design and objective to the one for wine-tasting, according to the researchers, is “intended to be an interdisciplinary collaboration tool, used by untrained noses”.

The wheel can serve as an example of an emerging collaborative framework for scientists and historians. The framework can be used to identify, analyse and archive smells that have cultural significance. This would pave the way for understanding the role of smells in perceiving heritage, something that is yet to be properly explored. The smell profiles of objects in a museum derived from the wheel can be used by conservators to ascertain the conditions of them and take measures to stop or delay the decaying process.

In Remembrance of Things Past, Marcel Proust writes, “When from a long-distant past nothing subsists, after the people are dead, after the things are broken and scattered, taste and smell alone, more fragile but more enduring, more immaterial, more persistent, more faithful, remain poised a long time, like souls.” Distinct odours serve as powerful triggers for the limbic system of brain that deals with human emotions and memory. A smell of freshly fried prawns or a strong whiff of eau de cologne does remind us of our grandmother’s sweaty, reddened face in the kitchen or father’s stern look at a shrieking mother when the bottle of perfume broke. One day we will be able to correctly describe that smell and decide once and for all if that old book smelled woody or chocolatey.

By Debkumar Mitra is a Kolkata-based science writer

How do you feel when something which you have believed in, something which you have always thought to be true ceases to be?

 Well I recently had the misfortune of going through that experience. But before I talk about that, there is something would like you to know:

Thanks to my parents, I developed an interest in reading at an early age.  I still remember the days when my mother used to buy me those perennial Indian comics like Panchtantra, Chacha Chaudhary, Tinkle and Champak etc.  During my non school hours, I could mostly be found tucked away in a quiet corner of the house with my heard buried in one of these comics.

As I grew older, I lay my hands on the Roald Dahls, Enid Blytons and the Ruskin Bonds. But my personal favorite had always been the Hardy Boys (I wanted to solve each and every case before Joe and Frank could!!)

I was probably in my early teens when my father introduced me to the one and only William Shakespeare. At first, his plays sounded a bit greek to me, but slowly I got the hang of the language and then there was no looking back as I went on from one play to the other and finished reading most of his major plays.

I was still in my teens when I first heard about 23^rd April being chosen as the ‘World Book Day’. I knew it was the perfect date to celebrate books as 23^rd April was the birth anniversary of the Bard. I had held this “belief” for 15 odd years, before it was broken in the most unusual manner.

It happened recently that I was in Bangalore visiting an old friend. Now one place I always make it a point to go to is the Blossom book store.  So my friend and sat in our Uber and made our way through the Bangalore traffic (which seemed like eternity) to finally land at the stairs of the iconic Blossom building.

After spending couple of hours going up and down the floors, sifting through the high racks packed with books from top to bottom, we found ourselves at the billing counter with our mountain of books. 

My friend, who loves buying books but does not like paying for them, came up with the following:

“Bro, the World Book Day is coming up. How about we gift each other some books?” Pointing to the stack of books we had in front of us, he continued, “You do the honors this time, and next time, I will take it up.”

I simply smiled and blurted out one of the lines of my favorite wrapper, “Love the way you lie…”

Realizing that he needs to be a bit more creative, he said, “Let’s do like this: Just tell me why do we have World Book Day on the 23^rd Apr and you won’t have to shell out a penny for those books!! But if your answer is wrong, then..”

“Done,” I cut him off, already feeling excited that I was going to get all these books for free.

“It is to commemorate the birth anniversary of William Shakespeare, who was born on 23^rd Apr, 1564,” I replied in a tone which rather suggested, “My friend, you are so naive!!”

I was expecting my friend to look a bit dejected (may be mouth a few bad words), but to my utter surprise, he just smiled and started tapping on his smart phone and read something which went like this:

“The ‘World Book Day’ is celebrated on 23 April, as the date is the anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare, Miguel de Cervantes and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, as well as that of the birth or death of several other prominent authors.”

At first, I did not really believe what I heard (well how often does it happen that somebody’s birth and death anniversary happens to be on the same date. But then how often have we had somebody like Shakespeare!! ). But the more I googled, the more disappointed I got. The disappointment slowly turned into resentment as to how could I miss this? And how could I forget about Cervantes who probably wrote one of the Greatest Novels Of All Time?

I was still busy questioning myself when I found my friend actually looking a bit dejected.

“Dude,” I said sharply, “Why are you sad.. You should rather be jumping with joy!!”

“I would have if I had picked some more books,” he said as both of us burst out laughing.

So I finally did the honors and left Blossoms loaded with books feeling happy that at least a long albeit wrong held belief finally stood corrected, even though it left my bank account a little depleted.

Who is Coins and Maps?

Written by Cheryl Joshi

Just lose yours for a day and you will know. That’s what I and my sister went through and realized that our names are as special as us. One day, only recently when all we were supposed to do was to study for our exams (over now), we were delighted to receive a package and were very excited but when mamma opened it, I and my sister just exchanged looks. I had thought my mother had ordered some gifts like a dress or maybe a surprise from my father but it was another book! The course books were more than enough for now and we didn’t need more books at least not during our exams.

But a second glance and the books looked very interesting. A lovely looking girl on the cover and an unusual title – I thought of flipping through the pages with Dabi. Yeah, that was a cute little buddy (hand puppet) you get with the book. Now it would not be wrong to say that Dabi actually looked more interesting initially with its wonderful color combination of bright yellow and red.

As I flipped through the book I noticed it was a lot of pictures ad to my utter surprise, the book was based on me. The book talks about how I forget what my name is and then how I meet friends like a cat, hippopotamus, chimpanzee, reindeer, monkey and a man with a huge, wobbly belly help me find the letters of my name, on my journey Dabi is with me all along and helps me on my adventure.

The entire story reads like one big poem with words rhyming making it easy to read and may be one day I could sing with Dabi. I was so thrilled to find out that Dabi has a birthday as well and celebrates her birthday on 1st January, I know because there is a tag on the inside.

The pictures and the easy reading style kept me and my sister hooked till the end. Well, she had her own name to look for so she got her own book rather a treasure hunt game. That’s what both of us decided to call this book – our own treasure hunts.

I showed this book to my grandparents and they were happy too and said that both of us should treasure this book because it is special and one of a kind. True that no one will have a book that has the same story as mine.

Mom Speaks:

I read both the books and was as excited as the kids to see such a wonderful and easy storytelling style with great illustrations. You can even have a customized message for your kid on the first page and that makes it even more special and an amazing gift which you would definitely want your kid to have. More recently, I got to know that you could also have your kids’ picture in the book, however, when I ordered these books you could only have your personalized messages. I would also like to add that the animals that help the girls get to their names give the message that we should love and respect all creatures made by God and be kind to everyone for every living being has feelings.

You could have your own customized copy of Oh! My Name, that is if you lose your name one day.

Who is Being Happy Mom?

Since childhood, I was not used to reading novels or inspirational books. The only books I read were academic literature But today, I have realized that reading books is the best hobby that one can have.

"Books are the real friends of man."

I am trying hard to fit the book reading habit into my daily routine. This is also the one trait which I want my child to develop during his childhood. He should not need to put an extra effort to read books. Thankfully, my 4 year old son has a habit of listening to bedtime stories. He loves listening to stories from his Dad. Sometimes he uses his own unique language to read out a story to us. We thoroughly enjoy the storytime sessions with him.

For us, books are another way to keep our kid away from digital life. I literally hate to give the phone, iPad/tablet to my son to engage him. Fortunately, we are successful in maintaining a gadget-free culture for our son.

In his first year of birth, we did not read books to him. But as he starts exploring the world, we also started to find good books for him. My son absolutely loves to read books in which illustrations are more than words. He is not able to read by himself, so for him, ‘story’ is defined by the pictures in the books. Hence, graphics are the top criteria for us, when we have to make a choice on the book to purchase.

I always look for books which are age-specific and creative in illustrations. It is often said that stories are defined by pictures, not by too much text.

A few days back, I received a storybook called “Oh My Name” written by Nikhil Mittal. The most distinctive aspect of this book is that it is a personalized story book. I had never heard of this concept before. When it reached our home, I was more curious to experience the ‘personalized’ book than my son.

What the “Oh My Name” Book is all about

As the name suggests, this book unfolds the story around your kid’s name. For example, my son name is Ayaan. This book has the story around the letters A, Y, A, A, N… It’s a unique style of letting the child know his own name’s letters. This book has made a beautiful story around the child’s name’s alphabets and the gender of your child.

Theme of the Book

Oh My Name is a personalized children’s picture book, where a child goes on a journey to find his own name along with his friend “Dabi”. Dabi is a puppet character which your child will get as a complimentary gift. During his journey to collect the alphabets of his name, the child comes across different animals, places and people. By the end of the book, your child will be well versed with the letters of his own name and also the name of his new puppet friend “Dabi”.

Therefore, the theme of the book is to get your child acquainted with his/her name and the letters of his/her name.

Story behind the “Oh My Name” Idea?

I was amazed to know the story behind the Oh My Name book. It goes like this…

A father was reading a storybook to his daughter but she was losing interest in between. She closed the book in a hurry. When her father asked her the reason, she replied that she would only read the book which contains her name.

That’s where the “Oh My Name” book idea sparked. The father believed that if his own daughter loves a personalized name book then every other child will love it too.

Recommended Age

Toddler / Pre-Schoolers of age group 2 – 8 Years.

Price

The exact price of the book on the website is Rs. 1,299/- but the author has created a special promo code for Being Happy Mom users. Use promo code BHM999 while placing your order to get the 23% discount.

Click here to order your personalized book

What I love about this book

• I am in love with the illustrations of this book.
• The language of this book is extremely simple and easy for your child to understand the story.
• It’s a colorful book for toddlers. Kids are attracted to stuff which is full of bright and beautiful colors.
• My son was completely hooked to the book till the last page.
• You can add a personalized message for your child.
• Paper & print quality is superb.
• The book comes with a complimentary hand puppet named “DABI”, your child’s companion during storytime and bedtime.
• The story and graphics in the book will be related to the gender of your baby.

Last but not the least, one thing which I personally liked about this book is that 5% of the total profits will go towards making underprivileged children’s lives better.

What I missed in this book

I missed that this personalized storybook should have the photo of a child to make it more personalized.

When I shared my feedback with the author then he updated me that they have recently added this feature. So, you can add your child’s photograph along with the personalized message on the first page of the book.

My Recommendation

Yes, I would personally like to gift this book to children between 2 to 8 years of age.

This book is the best way to give a personalized gift to a child. Everybody likes to keep stuff in which they feel recognized and personalized… same with this book.

I am sure that my child is going to keep this book in his collection for long, long time.

Click here to order your personalized book

Don’t forget to Use promo code BHM999

Disclaimer

All opinions are based on my personal experience with this book and are not influenced by the company, author or any brand.

Stuffed toys could be the secret weapon in getting your child to read. 

A new study has found that if a child believes their toys have been reading, they will do the same.  

Having a stuffed toy 'sleep over' could also help develop their social skills, the study claims.

The Japanese researchers behind the new study say they hope their results support the global spread of this approach, which has a positive effect on children's reading habits.

Stuffed animal sleepover programs are run all around the world, but until now there was no scientific evidence that they have an impact on reading.

The new study reveals for the first time that children who take part in stuffed animal sleepover programs read picture books to their stuffed animals significantly more.

'We wanted to know if there really was an effect, and if so, how long it lasts,' said lead author Dr. Yoshihiro Okazaki of Okayama University.

'Surprisingly, not only did the children show interest in the picture books, but they also began to read to their stuffed animals.

'This means that a new behavior pattern emerged that the children had not exhibited before; we did not expect anything like this.'

Stuffed animal sleepover programs are designed to get children interested in picture books.

Children take their toys to a library for the night and drop them off before going home.

The animals then 'search' for books they want to read in the children's absence - staff and volunteers take staged photos of the animals exploring the library and reading together.

The next day, the children collect their stuffed animals and the photos of what they did during the night.

They're also given the books their animals 'chose' to read.

Reading is important for the development of children's language skills and imagination.

When parents read to their children, it is a passive form of reading for the child.

But when children read to their stuffed animals, it is a more spontaneous, self-directed form of reading, helping them develop into more active readers.

Does the above ring a bell? Do you have an active child who spends most of his/her time on one of the screens available at home? If you ever wondered how to get him/her off the screen and on to a book, it’s time to give “Oh! My Name” a try.

“Oh! My Name” is a personalized children’s story / picture book where your child, along with a friend called “Dabi”, goes on a journey to find his / her very own name which he / she does not remember. He/she will come across animals, meet some famous people and visit new places. He/she will find out a lot of interesting things (Did Dinosaurs really just vanish away? Was Mona Lisa really called Mona Lisa?) and during the course of his/her journey, will keep collecting the alphabets of his/her name. In the end, he/she does get back his/her name but then something else goes missing: his/her trustworthy friend “Dabi”.....

One thing which will really keep your child interested in the reading session (apart from the fact that he / she is the main character in the book) is the hand puppet of “Dabi” which comes complementary along with the book. It can be used to enact the story as you are reading it out to your child, thus making the entire activity a more dramatized and engaged experience for him / her.

After all, stuffed toys, teddy bears and puppets can be the secret to getting your child to read.

The book can be personalized for your child’s name on the Oh! My Name Website. You can also give a message for your child along with his / her photo at the start of the book which the child and you as a parent will cherish for lifelong.

In the end, as they say, “There is nobody in the world who does not like reading. It’s just that he / she has not yet found the right book.”
Get your child his / her own personalized book and you might just get him / her on to a lifelong journey of reading.

Who is Twins and Me?

Oh! My Name is a children’s story book which comes with a difference. Nikhil Mittal is the creative author of this book and the eye catching art work is done by Living Waters Creative Studio. Dear Parents, today I will be presenting my review of this unique personalized story book. Read more to know how my twins reacted to this new arrival to their mini library!

Disclosure : I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and are not influenced by the company, author or any affiliates.

What Oh! My Name claims?

Oh! My Name comes with a back story, where a father and his daughter were reading a story book and the daughter lacks interest in between. The father is worried that his child is not excited about reading books. But the child assures him that she likes books but only she will find it more interesting if she can find her name in the book.

And there sparkled an idea, turning the father into an author who has creatively come up with the personalized story book Oh! My Name which his daughter loves, so do will every other child.

What is the concept behind?

A child’s name has gone missing. Getting it back is his/her aim. In this journey, she discovers new places, makes new friends and finally completes the adventure with the exhilaration of finding her forgotten name.

How is it personalized?

While placing the order for the book, you will be required to provide your child’s name and a dedication message. The dedication message will be printed on the first page of your book. The letters of your kid’s name will be used to personalize the story.

While reading the book, your kid will be able to assume the child character in the story as himself. He will have an experience of,

• How one day he forgets his name.
• Starts with a quest to find his name.
• Collects the alphabets in his name throughout the journey from different characters.
• Gathers them all
• And finally cheers up in excitement for having found his Name(which will be printed at the end of the story).

In the course of the story, a character called Dabi will become your child’s friend who will accompany your kid in his quest.

This character Dabi is presented as a puppet (for free) with your personalized copy of Oh! My name. Your child will experience the story to be real with this puppet Dabi alongside him.

While ordering for this book, you can see a preview of what pages will be included in the book based on your child’s name. It will give you a heads up on how your book will look after print.

Our Review of Oh! My Name

Books are always my best companions. Technology has risen to unreachable heights and its impact on books is indeed disheartening.

We have not stopped reading books, rather our book shelves are becoming empty and our memory cards and kindle storage are exploding.

The craze on hard cover books is dwindling. But still there are people who cherish and celebrate the joy of reading real paper books. I am one such person who loves to have my own library of my favorite picks. And I have never failed to inculcate reading habit in my kids.

Right from their infancy when they started to observe things I introduced them books appropriate to every stage of their life. Now they have bloomed into mini book lovers who will be pretty happy to pick a book over a toy. Having said that, we were in real excitement when Oh! My name arrived.

What was my experience?

Before reading any book to my kids, I have the habit of giving a complete read myself once. This will give me a chance to work on how to narrate the story interestingly when I read aloud to them. Also it will help me to make few little tweaks if in case I felt some part of the story is not suitable for their little minds. So when I was reading through Oh! My Name before hand, to find out how the story flows, I was quite impressed.

My twins are finishing their pre-school now and are in the rousing stage of learning and identifying alphabets. They are yet to memorize the letters that combine to form their name. Children tend to grasp things faster when we teach them in an amusing and appealing way. Hence I found Oh! My Name will be a good start to teach them how to spell their name. And while ordering for the copy, I used the common part of my twins name so that both will feel connected to the book.

The language was simple and rhythmic. There were some new words which I was yet to add to my kids growing vocabulary. The pictures were colorful and eye-catching with minute details crafted well. This will intrigue my little ones to engage more as pictures speak more than words for their age.

The quality of the paper was very good and will be apt for their clumsy little hands. The presence of the puppet Dabi will fire their enthusiasm even more.

So that was from the Mom’s side. I felt Oh!My Name to be a win-win for me and my kids. Let’s find out what was their response.

How did it actually work with my kids?

I gave a short prep to my kids about the book and what they can expect in there. They were electrified to dig in more. And we started the story session right away. Their first admiration was for the pictures.

They stopped me from reading and questioned me what the boy was doing in each of the pictures. Once they were convinced with my answers they let me continue reading.

And when the part of introducing Dabi came, I showed them the puppet. They were blown up to see a character from the book getting out live.

During the course of the story many characters were introduced and my dearies had heaps of queries lined up to explore them. I hoped to wind up the session within 20-30 mins but it went on more than that.

Once the adventure of finding the name was over, we refreshed the creatures they met and the letters the child collected from them. When all was said and done, they were very confident and able to spell their name. Which is what I wanted. Mission accomplished! :)

We often do a skit after reading stories which fascinated them more. Each one of us will take a role and enact. Today after our story session, my elder twin took the role of the boy, younger as Dabi with the puppet in his hands and I played the other characters the boy meets. We enjoyed and relished performing every part of the story.

But one point which worried my younger twin was that Dabi didn’t converse much during the adventure( so he couldn’t as well while playing the skit ). It was the child and other characters doing much of the talking. As Dabi was live with him, he expected it to talk more.

There was a query from my elder twin – “Why my picture is not there mama, if that boy was me?” . I somehow managed to give him a convincing reply. And that left me with a thought, adding a picture of the child either to the dedication page or at the end of the story where he finds his name will make the book still more personal.

Those were some meager let downs other than which the kids enjoyed every aspect of Oh! My Name.

To sum up,

Our likes

• Creative concept.
• Neatly written.
• Attractive images.
• Educational for preschoolers who are in the initial stages of learning alphabets.
• Preview of the book while placing the order.
• Puppet Dabi enthralls the kids.
• Keeps children engaged.
• Quality hard cover and paper.
• Decent pricing.

Our suggestions

• Dabi’s involment and dialogues in the journey could be hiked up.
• A personal photo of the child could be included at an appropriate place in the book(I guess it may shoot up the price though).

My Verdict

If your child is a preschooler, Oh! My Name will be a good choice to teach him spell his name in an intriguing way. If you have an older kid who has started to read books on his own, this will be a perfect gift to encourage his reading spirits.

Along with a personalized dedication message, this book will certainly remain as a good memory even as our kids get older. They will cherish it as a valued possession refreshing the thought how they learnt their name when they were little ones.

Me and my twins firmly recommend Nikhil Mittal’s Oh! My Name story book for a good read.

It can add a gem to your kids book gallery.

You can order for this book at Oh My Name website and can contact Nikhil Mittal through various social media.

Happy Reading!!

Who is My Sweet Nothings?

Title : Oh! My Name

Author : Nikhil Mittal

Designer :  Living waters Creative Studio

Series : –

Genre : Fiction Personalized Picture Book

Publishers : Self Published on 2017 by the author

Length of the book : Depends but not exceeding 24 pages

Book Type : Paperback, Semi Soft Cover

Language : English

Recommended Age Group : Toddler / Pre- Schooler / 2 – 8 Years

ISBN : –

Source : Complimentary copy from the author

Blurb About The Book : 

Once upon a time, there was a father,

He was reading out a story to his daughter.

“This is so boring,” the girl said, “I don’t like it,”

She closed the book in a hurry, did not even want to sit.

The father said in despair, “You don’t like books! What will you do?”

“I like books,” she replied, “But the ones which have my name too.”

“Your Name!” the father thought, “Let’s make a book on the same,”

Fun to read, lively to look at, it was called “Oh! My Name!”

My Review : I had an opinion poll on twitter last week. And I was happy to share its results with you.

Such a powerful influence does have a book review. Imagine if you have lost your name. It’s very intriguing. Isn’t it ??? I and Mithu love our names madlessly. Mithu used to write his name in many different styles.  “Oh! My Name” is a personalized children’s picture book. It is personalized using the letters of the child’s name. The book was customized for my son MITESH. It has stories relevant for letters M, I, T, E, S and H. It is a unique picture story book for every name. The main characters of the story are Mitesh and his new friend Dabi. The boy has lost his name and he goes in search of his name with Dabi. On his journey, he explores and learns many new things. Read the book to know whether he found his name at the end of his adventurous journey. Though the book is meant for the age group 2 to 8, Mithu loved the book very much. He was so excited to see his name printed on the book with the special message from his Appa and Amma. He proudly recommended this book to his friends. We both loved Dabi, soft hand puppet. It perfectly fits every hand. Mithu enacted as a story-teller with his new friend Dabi. Really we were in full excitement on reading this book. Oh! My Name adds a crown to Mithu’s collection of books.  This book is totally a unique, personalized gift based on the letters of a child’s name and is a perfect gift for kids for anytime.

Unique Features Of The Book :

• First customizable / personalized picture book in India.
• The narration and illustrations are so lively.
• Suitable for introducing the alphabets to toddlers.
• The paper quality is high that everyone will get tempted to grab it once.
• Has a collection of short rhyming stories with relevant and beautiful illustrations.
• Has an option to specify the gender of the child. The story in the book will be related to the specified gender.
• The child’s name should be a minimum of 3 characters.
• There will be a different story for repeating letters.
• Dabi is a friendly creature who accompanies the child in his / her journey. Dabi is a hand puppet which comes along with the book to make the reading session with your child more interactive and interesting.
• Hand puppet Dabi is safe to be used by all.
• Dabi cannot be bought as a standalone item.
• Made in India.
• Online ordering, Free shipping across India and free cancellation.
• Wide Landscape Format
• Fully designed and produced in India for the first time.
• 5% of book’s profit goes towards giving under privileged children a better life.

In A Nutshell : Interesting book with awesome pictures and beautiful design.

My Rating : 5 / 5

You can order this book at Oh My Name website and can contact Nikhil Mittal through various social media.

About The Author : Nikhil is a 1st time author. When he is not writing, he is busy reading (either to himself or to his little one). In his own words,

“I always thought reading is the most rewarding exercise, until I discovered the joy of writing.” – Nikhil Mittal

Disclaimer : This post is not a sponsored / paid post. It’s an honest review in exchange of a complimentary copy from the author. This review is purely my personal opinion. Jointly presented from IPTA with Manisha, Dipika, Anamika, Janani and Menaka.

Who is Gleeful Blogger ?

Books!! 

Reading helps me keep my mind off to outside commotion, the best de-stressing & captivating exercise after a hectic day of running around unseen goals. I do not need any special space or time to start my affair with a book… either a cozy corner or while cummuting my handbag essential is a Book. 

When my little one see me reading, she hops on with her story-telling books and pretend read along with me. Though her concentration is short lived & trickles away instantly. I always wanted to get an interesting book, which not only garner her interest in reading but also educates. 

A friend mentioned about this ‘Personalized Book for Kids – Oh! My Name’ on enquiring further I found it pretty interesting, hence immediately decided to order one book online. They have a dedicated website, just log on to www.ohmyname.net and fill in your kid’s details to personalize your own copy of Oh! My Name book. The home delivery was prompt and the book is amazing. Paper quality is superb; colours and texture is great too. Infact, even I fell in love with it. Your Oh! My Name book comes with a cute little toy named Dabi it’s my daughter’s favourite pet nowadays. 

The USP of this book is, it’s personalized with your child’s NAME; and a cute little message… My litle lo is finishing her playschool 3rd year, hence recognising her name on the book piqued the interest levels to a new high. 

Our dear Author Nikhil Mittal has a flow with the words, his creativity made the book quite intriguing for kids (moms as well ;)) Book starts with this cute little girl searching something in her house; searching high and low, pondering all the while…. what’s missing? Oh! My Name. She cannot remember her NAME, her search begins with a journey; oh wait, I am forgetting something… her travel buddy, Dabi she goes on this adventurous ‘searching for her name’…..

Dabi & her new friend begins their fun along journey under the big blue sky. They meet many characters throughout their journey, each gives them something special and a lesson for life. 

Playful, educating, funny journey of Dabi & her new friend…

With all those gifts and adventurous ups and lows, will she be a able to find her name?? 

It’s interesting to find, so get your own copy now… 

You can also connect with the Nikhil & team via all social networking sites, like Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.

Thank You for reading : ) 

Who is Aditi’s Monologue?

Reading is very important to me, even more than writing. And I’ve written two books, I hope to write more, I blog regularly, I write travel blogs and other lifestyle related articles and posts for a few platforms other than this blog – which is a lot of writing but reading is still on top of everything else for me.

Needless to say, I hope my daughter Gauri grows up to fall in love with books and stories as well. She’s 4 years old right now and cannot read herself, but she won’t go to sleep without me reading several bed time stories to her, from books I’ve collected over these 4 years – or before she pretends to read from one of these books, making up her own story as she goes from page to page. It’s adorable, her stories go from fairies and magical talking cats, to X-Men and little girls who save the world from a bald dragon.

Books, I believe, feed the imagination of little kids and I love when little ones believe that nothing is impossible.

Needless to say, I always keep an eye out for good books for my daughter, stories that are not only age appropriate, but also exciting and special. And this is where personalized children’s book comes into picture.

What are personalized children’s book?

Well, these are books that are aimed at a specific age group with tailor made stories – and the technology makes it possible to name the main character after your kid. These books, as you can probably tell, end up being very special to kids who can read. But for those who can’t read just yet, these personalized children’s books become almost like the favorite teddy that they want to cuddle and sleep with.

A popular concept in America and a few other countries, the personalized children’s book idea is brilliant, according to me because I know that the 10 years old me would have been thrilled beyond compare to have a book with my the main character names after me. However, initially I did not find an easy alternative in India.

I had been on a look out for a personalized children’s book since almost 8 to 9 months, and finally when we taught Gauri to spell her first name, it became my top priority to find out a book that has her name in the story. So, I searched and researched a lot – This is when I found Oh! My Name.

The order process is VERY simple, took me about two minutes to place the order. They also offer a good quality free puppet with every personalized children’s book and the prices are very reasonable as well.

The delivery was very quick, and the puppet that came with the book is adorable!

Gauri loved the book from the go and loves showing it to our guests, spelling out her name on the cover. It is heartwarming to watch.

Adorable, isn’t it? If you want a similar book for your kid, just go on the website and order one. Along with the Kid’s name, Oh! My Name also gives an option to add a personal message from the parents/gift-er which will be printed on the first page of the book, at no extra cost.

Now Gauri loves the story and loves her name in the book even more. I guess what makes the kid happy is that the story makes her feel special. I can already imagine how much more exciting this could be for kids who can read.

If your children like to read, or if like me, you want them to make reading a habit, I recommend adding a personalized children’s book to their collection because it’s special. So if you’re tempted, go get an Oh! My Name for the little munchkins.

Who is The Bespectacled Mother?

It’s our name.

Have we ever given a thought to the stories which went behind naming us? As for me, I know my mother’s story and her bit of a struggle to get me the name I am widely known as. I have also written a post about my Name Theory. In case you feel the intrigue as to what is a Name Theory, you are more than welcome to read this post here. I can assure you will have a good laugh.

Okay. I know. That was some self-promotion.

Coming back to the stories behind the names, Dhruv got his name after the comic character Super Commando Dhruv, the comics I read a lot in my childhood. So much for the thought!

Now, what if we lost our name or cannot remember it? Just like in the old Hindi movies when someone loses her memory and asks “Main kaun hun? Who am I?” Similar thoughts struck me when I came across the customized books about a little kid forgetting his/her name. One such book is ‘Oh! My Name‘.

ABOUT THE BOOK – 

The author of the book is Nikhil Mittal and the art work is done by Living Waters Creative Studio

STORY –

A little boy has forgotten his name and is frantically searching for the same all over his house, to no success. Hence, he decides to on a long journey to find his name and, in this adventure, he is joined by a creature called Dabi. Both, the boy and Dabi meet different animals and characters on their journey. Each animal and character hands over to the boy a letter from his name. At the end, when he collects all the letters, he feels jubilant. However, he wakes up at this moment to realize it was all a dream. He finds a gift kept besides his bed, opening which he discovers the same Dabi and goes back to sleeping happily with Dabi by his side.

WHAT WORKED FOR ME – 

1. The good paper quality.
2. The provision of dedicating a personalized message to the child. This gets published on the first page.
3. The sing-song style of the lines in the story.
4. The hand puppet ‘Dabi’ came along with the book. The material quality of the puppet is good and it fits perfectly in an adult’s hand to use as a prop to tell and enact stories.
5. Attractive colourful illustrations.

WHAT WORKED FOR DHRUV –

1. His Mummy’s message for him – lines from one of his favourite book.
2. The characters the boy meets on his adventure. He liked the Dinosaurs most and the other thing which amused him was The Shapes Zoo and the placard saying ‘Do not feed the shapes.’
3. The puppet Dabi. As soon as the parcel was opened, Dhruv picked it up for playing instantly.
4. The pictures telling the funny stories independently.

WHAT DHRUV QUESTIONED – 

Why aren’t there animals particularly for letters ‘U’ and ‘V’ when there are specific animals for ‘D’, ‘H’ and ‘R’?

HOW TO GET YOUR OWN CUSTOMIZED COPY –

You can visit the Oh! My Name website and can create your copy by entering the first name and selecting the gender of your child. You can also see the book version on the site with the details you enter.

This book earns a Thumbs-up from me and Dhruv, both. It is a perfect gift for your child and for gifting on birthdays. You would not want to not order it. I am definitely ordering one more customised copy for Dhruv’s best friend’s birthday.

Sharing a few pictures from the book –

Who is Zara Hatke?

What is in a name?

“Name” gives you an identity. If I have to think deep we run throughout our life to create a name for ourselves. There may be thousands of people with the same name but we all want to stand out for something. We wish to be identified with something special.

As a newborn, we may not care about anything but as we grow things change. As we grow we want our names to make a mark and all the people associated with us also share the same feeling. As a child, I want Mahek should come first at the same time my mother also wants to see that.

This discussion can go on, I think.

We do feel special when we receive personalised stuff with our name, am I correct? We love personalised diaries, mug, frames etc. It makes us feel happy, brings a smile on our face and even our loved ones.

I thought lets gift a child something special. I came across this website which makes personalised books for a child. A site fully dedicated to the book Oh My Name. Can you believe it? I gave it a try. I was pretty impressed with the outcome. The delivery was quick and so were the contents of the parcel – the book and the puppet.

There is something about story books. I love them. Call me kiddish or mad I can still read them forever. I love all the fairy tales till date, it gives me positivity and hope. I believe in them. They work on a child subtly but effectively. Books should be a child’s friend throughout. Some messages which we can’t communicate effectively is been done by them.

So coming back to this book, in the initial years of a child when you are teaching them it’s so difficult to get things across. We use stories to explain things so why not do it to teach them their name. When a “Name” has so much impact then we can give it the required impetus as well.

This book is a journey to discover your name. I think it’s effective and a smart way for your kids. Nikhil who is the author of this book, himself went through this situation and so he has taken utmost care to develop it. A parent can understand it the best!

It’s been created especially for –

You can get your personalised book at oh my name website.

By selecting few options you can create your personalised book for your loved ones. Isn’t that quick and easy!

Hope you will enjoy it too. Gift it to your child or your loved ones.

Who is Mommyswall?

“Oh! My Name” is a personalized children’s picture book. It is personalized using the letters of the child’s name. E.g. If the name is Varanya, the book will have stories relevant for letters V,A,R,A,N ,Y and A. If the name is Zayn, the book will have stories relevant for letters Z,A,Y and N. In a nutshell, it is unique book for every name.The book is actually a storybook, which is most suitable for children of age group 2- 8 years. It is a collection of short rhyming stories with relevant illustrations.

NARRATION
The story telling is done in the third narration. This is done because the main motive of the book is to read out the story to the kids. The book takes you into a day into the life of a girl or a boy(personalized according to your choice- Well that is the best part), wherein she has lost the alphabets of her name , and starts them by first searching for them in her house and then following different trails which leads her to new places.

PLOT
The plot of the book is very interesting and revolves around the girl finding the lost alphabets. This exploration leads her to different places and interacts with different animals. The location of the story is set in different places like a forest and town among others.In this she quest of her name she is helped by ‘DABI’. Dabi is a dino puppet which is her friend in this journey. DABI is a finger puppet which comes with the edition of the book is definitely the main attraction of the entire story telling process. In fact what we loved about the entire ‘Oh My Name’ experience was DABI only. Parents can use DABI, which will make bedtime stories more interesting and enjoyable.

THEME
The central theme of the book goes like “A child’s name has gone missing. The child, along with his / her new friend “DABI”, goes on a journey to find his / her missing name”. Apart from the usual story telling, we can say the overall theme of the book is basically to get kids acquainted with their names as well as its spelling. That is the reason why the target age group is 2-8 years. These are the initial years of school wherein a child learns how to spell and pronounce his name. The ‘Oh My Name’ book does just that. This is an innovative and interesting way to accomplish that purpose as well. Apart from that, the main selling point of the book is, that it is personalized. The very sight of seeing your kids name printed on a book captures the gleam in every parent’s eye. The book also comes with a personalized message as part of the introduction. This feature definitely caught my eye and is sure to grab the market attention of new and would be parents.

GENRE
The ‘Oh My Name’ book can be categorized as a ‘Fiction’ book. Since it is personalized story book for the kids, categorizing it as hardcore fiction is not something we would do. Thus we can put this in ‘Children’s Fiction ‘ category. The story of finding the alphabets has been beautifully weaved which is sure to keep the kids hooked onto the book till the last page.

AUTHOR
‘Oh, My Name’ book has been written, Nikhil Mittal. Nikhil is a 1st-time author. When he is not writing, he is busy reading (either to himself or to his little one). In his own words, “I always thought reading is the most rewarding exercise, until I discovered the joy of writing.”

MOMMYSWALL REVIEW
The ‘Oh My Name’ book wins hands down as a very nice book for both kids as well as parents who can read the stories to their little ones. ’DABI’ the puppet breaks the monotony of just reading aloud the story. This is because along with reading the story to your kids, you can introduce ‘DABI’ to them and make reading aloud more enjoyable. In these modern times, where everything right from beddings, towels, key chains, mugs are becoming personalized, the ‘Oh My Name’ is an addition to this arena. If everything can be personalized, then why not books, and the ‘Oh My Name’ book does just that. This book can serve as the perfect gifting options, in today’s world when we parents aren’t left with many gifting options.I am sure kids will definitely get excited when they see their names imprinted on the book. One sentence which definitely went down in my heart was a line at the end of the book which stated ‘SPECIALLY MADE FOR VARANYA’.  Another feature which we liked is that this book is ‘Made In India’ and we are in full support of it. We would definitely recommend this book to parents and kids as we loved the illustrations and the representation of the story.

Source: Mommyswall.com

I usually develop cold feet whenever a review copy gets sent to me.
A. I am not a professional reviewer.
B. The fear of not liking it and having to tell the author grips me.
And hence, I usually avoid such situations all together.

'Oh! My name,' however, intrigued me because:
1. I had never seen a personalised book and in fact wasn't really enthusiastic about the idea.
2. I loved the illustrations.

The packet arrived today, addressed to the younger one. He called me to ask if he could open it and I requested him to wait. I am glad he listened, else I wouldn't have witnessed the sheer joy he felt on seeing it.

The story revolves around a boy who has lost his name. He sets out on a journey to find it and meets Dabi on way. The book then traces their journey as they find all the alphabets of his name. The illustrations are lovely and the printing quality is excellent.

The younger one is 13 and yet he found the entire thing endearing. The fact that his name was in the book and it had a message just for him, kept him grinning for a long time. One can safely assume that the younger kids will go ballistic about the idea (even the reluctant readers).

The book was accompanied by a hand puppet of Dabi which is a bonus as it can help in a dramatised telling to the younger lot.

The only gripe? The older one is convinced that I love him less since the book addresses only the younger one.

For more: https://ohmyname.net

PS. Some of you messaged asking about the quality of writing. So although I feel the plot could have been tighter, the younger one is still not over the fact that the spine of the book has his name! So more than the perfection, this one is about a personal touch.

Who is Sakshi Nanda?

Blog link - http://www.sakshinanda.com/2017/02/oh-my-name-is-fabulous.html

Who is Sakshi Nanda - http://www.sakshinanda.com/p/about-me.html

Children love to own things. (So do adults I know, but let’s not go there!) The little ones want to be proud possessors of things they enjoy, can boast about and later stack and add to their burgeoning numbers. There is always a wish-list on display under the fridge magnet and another one ready to be scribbled after the best friend’s birthday gifts are opened or inadvertently an advert for the latest in children’s goodies watched. (You should have caught the TV remote in time!)

They just want! They know what they want and how they want it. Only sometimes they may know why they want it. Nonetheless, they want and that’s explanation enough. And you, loving parents, need to give, or to put it in the blackmailer’s language, provide. But wanting and getting isn’t always so bad. As a parent nothing makes me happier than my child asking me for books to read, for instance. It is a “demand” I love to meet and never argue against because I always feel like I’m pandering to my childhood love too as I cater to my child’s. Plus, it’s a great first love to have. Books! So be it book fairs or book shops, jumble sales or Children’s Day coupons, this mother hunts for good books with a zeal which she doesn’t even show for good food. Ahem.

So, what is a good Children’s book according to me? One which excites them, frees their imaginations, makes them feel, makes them question and maybe makes them learn a thing or two about their world, about gentle manners, values like team work and Quantum Physics, why not? They grow up so fast! And these days, academic pressure... Sorry. But you get the idea. That’s a good book there for me, minus the Physics, that is.

What is an even better book? A uniquely personalized book. No, not one which simply copy-pastes your child’s name in place of Prince Charming but something like ‘Oh! My Name’ by Nikhil Mittal, which takes personalization to a level beyond mere labeling. It’s a concept which instantly caught my attention and later my appreciation for how it involves tiny readers. 

When I ordered the book online, I was asked to write a Dedication which would actually be printed in my copy of the book.  You could write anything under the sun and over the moon, addressed to your child and signed off with your role of ‘Papa and Mama’, or whatever your relationship is with the kid you are ordering the book for. I thought it was a great opportunity for me to give him my list of Life’s 10 Most Important Lessons but his father disagreed. So a sweet little wish for his dreams to come true it was to be. This idea of creating a dedication not just personalized the book but also added an emotion to the giving of the present itself. The printed words making owning this book even more special

But it doesn’t end there, the promotion of a lovely ‘this is my book!’ sentiment. 

‘Oh! My Name’ makes your child a part of the book. Literally. 

‘I didn’t forget my way, but my name.’

This is the story of a boy/girl who has forgotten his/her name and is looking for it. The name is put together letter-after-letter and page-after-page in an adventurous tale. The wonderful twist is, your child is the protagonist of the story and it is he/she looking for the name. No surprise then that it is his name spelled bold and bright in white at the end of the tale! 

The boy in my book, with a unibrow and wearing a red cape, meets different creatures as he journeys ahead. His friend and ‘ally’ Dabi goes along; a favourite toy magically turned real. With expressions of bewilderment and wonder, he meets some animals that he knows and some fantastical creatures like Ila Pika who he is happy to now know. Everyone gives him a letter to take along, in return for what goes on. What goes on is a secret I’m keeping!       

The story is brought alive with big and beautiful illustrations in a book which is printed on a wide landscape format and is super easy to hold. The story is brought home in a child’s mind with its rhyming sentences and simple expressions. Invented sound words like ‘Ho HoHokeya’ make reading aloud fun and some conversations are bold and big to be read even louder, perhaps. 

There are lessons and messages gently tucked inside the story, without making it sound like school curriculum. Each tiny episode of meeting a different creature makes the boy in my book make the boy reading it learn something. Take help when you need it, but don’t forget to lend your helping hand when another needs it more. So if in the first part it’s the boy taking help, in the second he has learnt to help back. Both appreciation and gratitude abound, along with thank you and awards. Dabi, the magical toy, stands for that magic which shows itself when you most need it. It tells children that friends help. Strangers become companions. The universe comes together to lead you on to happiness. Even a snake can give you something that ‘will help you make progress.’ The important bit is to move onwards. And even more, to know yourself. But for now, your name would be enough.

‘Oh! My Name’ is great for pre-schoolers who are just jumping into the sea of phonetics as well as early-readers. This book will certainly make them identify the letters of their name, in the correct sequence at that. Of course, adults will have to help them read the rest of the book. It can make for a good first introduction to many animals too! Words like ‘Organic’ and a picture of Shakespeare made my reading session with my five-year-old digress into unchartered territory. Even more fun! The mystery keeps them hooked, even if the older clever clogs realize the spelling of the name rings a bell. So if by the time NIS have been found and Nishad guesses it’s his name, how the rest of the letters will appear in the story keeps him reading on. For those who don’t make an effort to start putting the letters together as they read, well, the book holds a bigger surprise then! Who says being lazy is bad, huh? 

There was one thing though, in NISHAD’s story that caught my eye. The transition from I to S, only, seemed like a jump. If the book is created by stringing letter-episodes together, it should be seamless. ‘The boy was looking at a creature’ could begin ‘Just a few steps ahead…’ for example. That would help maintain a continuity to the journey. However, such nuances are for the adults to notice in their boring grown-up critical worlds. Children don’t have time to waste on such nitty-gritties. All mine had to say when I asked him about it was ‘I don’t know what you mean. I only wish my name were very loooooong’. Request denied, of course.

While ordering the book online I could read the complete thing with just a ‘tap to open’. Just a sample page as preview would have been enough, or it takes away the charm for adult readers who love tales written for children. (Pssk! It did make me create one in my name to read.) I also found out that the same letters in two different names have same episodes in both books. But repeat letters in the same name have different episodes. Which means multiple stories have been created for the many letter combinations. Which also means siblings with common letters in the name will share a little more than just their parents.

What if siblings could become characters in the same book, looking for letters of their names appearing all jumbled up? Fighting to own the first shared ‘A’ or ‘I’? Oops. Sorry. I digress there.   

‘Oh! My Name’ is a lovely book created with much thought.  It came along with a Puppet of Dabi, who has now occupied pride of place in my child’s bed. He felt immense surprise followed by interest and joy on receiving and reading this story which brings together the real and the magical. A real him in a magical story! The tiny adventure in this good-looking book is very personal and at the same time very important too. Because what’s in a name? A lot, especially if it belongs to a child.