Two latest initiatives will keep the smartphone away from kids, and introduce them to smarter ways to unwind, finds Krutika Behrawala
Enchantico
Enchantico: A book subscription box
Two years back at Litomania, a city festival celebrating Indian literature, bestselling author Ravi Subramanian met and discussed the issues related to children’s books with the fest organisers, Sangram Surve and Shalini Bajaj Surve, from the creative agency, Think Why Not. After months of ideating and planning, the troika will launch, Enchantico, a book subscription box for kids, in August. “The venture is a passion project. Today, the biggest problem is that children don’t read. So, the idea is to revive their love for books. Moreover, there are way too many books to choose from and parents may not have enough knowledge about where to find them, considering the shrinking retail space given to books. Often, they pick up what they notice on the front of a shelf or a popular title, leaving many others, especially Indian authors, undiscovered. We aim to introduce them to kids through the boxes,” shares Subramanian, who is also the advisor for the venture.
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What’s in the box?
Targeted to the age group of five to 12-year-olds, the subscription boxes are categorised into four groups — for five to six, seven to eight, nine to 10 and 11 to 12-year-olds. Each box comprises two age-appropriate books, along with an activity related to one of them. For instance, a box with The Milk Moustache penned by Vikas Khanna, includes a mother-and-child chocolate baking activity with silicon moulds and recipe instructions, along with an apron and a kitchen mat featuring the book artwork. Meanwhile, if you open a box with The Party In The Sky, a book that introduces children to the solar system, published by Bengaluru-based Little Latitude, you will also find 3D cutouts of the planets, which kids can place on a foldable magnetic board. “While our primary purpose is to inculcate the reading habit, the activities aim to make the experience unforgettable. The boxes also include Enchantico merchandise like customised mugs, postcards, badges, and author cards to help them know the writer better,” informs Bajaj-Surve.
Shalini Bajaj Surve
Delivered in the first week of every month, the boxes are available on three and six months or yearly subscription basis. Currently, the boxes will only be shipped in India, each priced at '1,000. “Each box will be a surprise but we don’t want to shove a book down a kid’s throat. So, as part of the subscription process, we’ll ask parents to share information about their child’s favourite characters and authors. This will help us make the boxes as intuitive as possible,” she adds.
Sangram Surve
Curating books
So far, the team has tied up with seven publishers — Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Duckbill Books, Pan Macmillan, Little Latitude, funOKplease and Westland — who will offer a list of their upcoming titles every month. A panel of teachers and parents, headed by Lubaina Bandukwala, children’s literature fest curator, will sift through the titles to prep the contents of the boxes. “Children will find Indian and international authors in the boxes. For instance, one has Roller Girl, an international graphic novel on a girl who takes to rollerblade skating. Another features Fun In Devlok Omnibus by Devdutt Pattanaik, along with The Ultimate Indian Colouring Book by funOKplease,” says Bajaj-Surve.
The expansion plans include a school contact programme that enables students to interact with authors, along with Little Mania, a litfest solely dedicated to children, featuring a carnival like Comic-Con.
LOG ON TO www.enchantico.in (goes live by July-end); Boxes are dispatched between the 1st and 7th of every month
Busy Bags: Learn on-the-go
“Smartphones are extremely handy and tempting for parents to keep their children busy. I, too, succumbed to them, especially during travel and meal times, where it was difficult to succeed in feeding my daughter without showing her nursery rhymes on the phone,” confesses Rachana Adalja, a 30-year-old Vile Parle resident and mother of two-and-a-half-year-old Vedika. The guilt and the determination to find a meaningful-yet-fun way to engage her daughter made her develop Busy Bags, launched earlier this month. “It took me three months to conceptualise, design and prepare the project. I conducted online research to help me understand different factors involved but it’s the maternal instinct, which drives me to get more creative, as I need to constantly adapt to my daughter’s needs,” says Adalja, who comes armed with an MA in Counselling Psychology from Mumbai University and a five-year professional experience of working as a counsellor at various schools in the city.
Rachana Adalja with daughter, Vedika
What’s in the bag?
Currently catering to an age group of six months to three-and-a-half years, each transparent Busy Bag contains educational activities that keep the toddlers and preschoolers occupied. “The aim is to allow the child to explore real learning tools instead of virtual ones. The bag is compact, lightweight and can fit into your purse too. You can carry it to a restaurant or use it during train and flight journeys, or even as birthday return favours,” she elaborates.
Straw And Pipe-Cleaner Match Busy Bag
Moreover, the activities are based on different concepts like language, math/logic, shapes and colours, and fine motor skills. “These are some of the first concepts a child learns, which introduce basic skills and facts that help them gain independence and understand the world around them. For instance, Busy Bag for fine motor skills focuses on developing and improving pincer movements (using thumb and index finger) of the child and eventually, helps them to write,” says Adalja. Each activity also helps learn dual concepts at a time. For instance, from a Straw and Pipe-Cleaner Match bag, a child can learn motor skill development by fixing the straw pieces into the pipe cleaner, concept of colour by matching the straws with the cleaners and pattern formation by aping the pipe patterns created by a parent, which helps develop critical thinking and problem solving skills.
The activities use handcrafted items of daily use
Craft matters
From popsicle sticks to large buttons and clothespins, Adalja has handcrafted items of daily use to create 19 activities. The bags also contain a sheet describing the skill set that is nurtured. “The specified age criteria is as per my assumption and may differ from one child to the other. Also, adult supervision is advised since bags contain material that a child tends to put in their mouth,” she cautions, adding that 80 bags have been sold since the launch. “In fact, a friend, who is a special educator, picked up a couple of bags to use as teaching aids for her students. In due course, I intend to include more categories for older age groups too,” she sums up.
CALL 9930138818
EMAIL rachana.adalja85@gmail.com
DELIVERY Across India (shipping charges applicable)
COST Rs 150 to Rs 300 (an order of two or three bags will be delivered within two working days; larger orders will require 10-15 working days)
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