Did you observe the setting in the book? What role did it play in the book?
When a book is good, it is so easy to get carried away with the story. Rarely do we take a pause to feel the setting of the story. Where is the story happening and when? Does that influence the way the story has been written?
We at the Young Readers' Club set off on an exploration to do just that. We picked a variety of books to read. We made an effort to observe the setting, see if it bore any relevance to the story. In some cases, it didn't really matter except for perhaps a picturesque effect. For instance, Ranji, the Music Maker by Ruskin Bond was set in Mussoorie for no special reason other than the fact the author lives there. Similarly, Nancy Drew is set in River Heights, a typical American city, but does not have much bearing on the story itself. Eyes are on Nancy Drew and her exceptional ability to solve mysteries. Who cares where the mystery is happening?
On other hand, books such as 1000 year old boy by Ross Welford, helped traced a 1000 years of history in the background as the story progresses. Another excellent example is Laxmi Panda, the story of Netaji's Youngest Spy by Savie Karnel. Through the book we get a good picture of Burma in 1943 and how a simple village gets destroyed thanks to War. People lost their lives, families and homes. We also get a glimpse of the mood back then, the army training camps of the Indian National Army, the way they were run with limited funds and even a peep into British offices at the time. There is so much a setting can tell us about a time period, the decisions that the leaders took and the impact on the common people.
Read about our interaction with the author, of this book, Savie Karnel here.
Malory Towers by Enid Blyton, took the readers on a spectacular journey to a boarding school in Britain. "What? They had a pool in the boarding school? I want to go to!" said one of the readers in the audience while listening to a book talk on Malory Towers. Roopa Pai in her conversation with Kadambari Misra on the Iconic Women Podcast talks about how the setting of the books play such an important role. She for one grew up thinking that children in Britain as portrayed by Enid Blyton had a wonderful time, roaming around their neighbourhoods, moors, living in fancy places etc. She constantly compared their childhoods with her own Indian setting as a child. Eventually she found her way to children's literature set in Indian setting that she found far more easily relatable. She also learnt that the reason why the British children were shown having freedom in the countryside was on account of the fact that they were sent away to the country side as it was unsafe to live in the city in an era of war!
Coming to modern day fantasy, a book from the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordon, The Trials of Apollo was recommended in the group. The reader who recommended it gave us a glimpse of New York as well as the world of the Greek Gods which was in a different realm. It was fascinating to visualize the Greek God realm with the modern New York and draw a comparison.
Mega Monster by David Walliams took us on adventure to a deserted island on which there was a boarding school for misfits! No one could escape as killer sharks swam in the sea.
Every book that the children had chosen to read and recommend showcased how the setting intertwined with a well written story helped to transport them to a whole different world, a nice getaway from the daily routine. Without a good setting, it would be just another story in an imaginary place with no details. That's hardly any incentive to pick up a book and really enjoy it, is it?
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The Young Readers' Club is a book club for the 8-12 age group. We also do vocabulary building activities and mini writing lessons for a little variety!
Writing programs for the 9-12 age group- Young Writers' Club Jr.
The Young Writers' Club program for the 13-16 age group offers a weekly platform to read and discuss curated articles from the news, observe writing approaches and practise one's writing skills.
NEW! Tween Tribune is an online magazine for the Young Writers' Club (Jr.) program for tweens. Weekly updates of our discussions are published. Once in 6 months, the best of writing by the tween members is made available to read.
NEW! Musings from the Young Writers' Club is an online magazine showcasing the work we do at the Young Writers' Club.
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