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The old lady chuckled. "Each story that sinks into the book becomes a part of an ancient spiderweb full of stories."
"As more stories are added in, the spiderweb gets bigger and bigger and bigger until it forms an invisible blanket that covers every city and town, every village and every forest. And when someone who is walking by touches the web accidently, stories will flow into their head and from their head to their fingers and from their fingers on to paper..."
Suraya's Gift: The Story Catcher Children by Malavika Nataraj Puffin Books
Suraya has been given an exquisitely designed blank notebook by her aunt. She scribbles stories in it for a while only to abandon it. Later, unable to locate it she encounters the Story Catcher who tells Suraya the book has been passed on to another child who has better use for it. Malavika Nataraj's is a stunning debut.
The importance of stories can never be stressed enough. Ranjit Lal's new novel Our Nana was a Nutcase (Red Turtle) is about Nana, who is bringing up his daughter's...