Book Review : Picture Book Tree

I feel extremely happy to be sharing the wonderful endeavour of a mother with all the readers.

PictureBookTree is a tree that grows picture books and story books for children.

Stories about caring, sharing, love, and growing up. Like any tree, it loves to share its fruit, asking for very little in return. This site, which is started by a mother, shares beautiful life messages in the form of colorfully illustrated story books. Books that in a very subtle way lead you to appreciate and love this beautiful life, value relationships, respect nature and the world we live in. This site is a gift of a parent to all parents.

Pooja Sardana, the mother of this idea, wanted to make reading easy and accessible to all. She wanted the kids to read and enjoy as many books as they want without getting stuck with the price tag. "Money should be the last thing that should come as an obstacle in their growing up and experiencing life", she says. That's how this tree was borne. A tree which allows parents and children to climb up and read as many books as they wish to.

The site allows users to read, download, and print all the books for a subscription fee of only one dollar a year .

The site also has a Magic Box section where kids can enjoy short educational and funny videos, print out and paint coloring sheets from their favorite picture books or tease their brains with interesting memory puzzles! The site currently has 8 books, 5 more books are due for release by end of August. 15 books are in pre-production to be released by November. So there is a lot to look forward to. Magic Box was released this month and already hosts printables likes coloring sheets and Spot The Difference. Soon short videos, puzzles and other creative fodder for parents and children will be added. All of this comes for only one dollar a year .

PictureBookTree welcomes you all. Be part of the journey of a parent.

I Love You Mommy

A very reassuring story portraying a day from the lives of a mother and her little baby boy. The day

begins with mother waking the child up lovingly, followed by a series of activities that she does for him, which speak volumes of the affection, the warmth and the boundless love that is brimming in her heart for her child. The same feelings, though unspoken and

unheard, do reach out to the little heart in many ways.

They may not be acknowledged every single time but the child does know the presence of unconditional love in his life from a very close quarter and

attempts to reciprocate in his own innocent way.

This is the essence of the tenderly written story - 'I Love You Mommy'. It makes a big difference in building the confidence in the child when he/she is told over and over again - how dearly is he/she being loved.

A Day In The Park

Aman, a nature loving boy likes keeping his surroundings tidy, neat and clean. He is excited about a trip to the neighbourhood park with his mother and his dog friend - Lobo. But he gets disheartened by the apathy of people who come to the park to have some fun time. It feels like, they have such narrow vision that it is restricted to their personal enjoyment only even at the price of disfiguring and spoiling public property. But then he resolves something and starts a mission single handedly.

A wonderful way to convey an essential point to the children - no one is big or small when it comes to standing up for the right cause and even a small child can teach others how to be considerate and sensitive.

It shows how important it is to listen to the heart and follow it despite being the only one treading that path. If the actions are right, the confidence of doing the same enables the person to take on all the hurdles in the stride.

And sooner or later many others join the cause.

The Fish With A Golden Heart

If there is one star fish sharing a fish bowl with four ordinary looking goldfish, how would

the star fish feel - vain, conceited, extra-ordinary? And what about the goldfish, how would they feel - perhaps a little bad, especially when the star fish does not let any opportunity go, to bully the goldfish. But is there a way out of this vicious circle of hatred, revenge, bitterness? Perhaps there is one. There is always a path of forgiveness, which snaps everyone out of the negative feelings. It takes just a little effort from a person, but it gives immense pleasure to all. Such is the power of forgiveness.

'The Fish With A Golden Heart' is based on this aspect of life and how important it is to develop a vision

so that we are able to see the inner goodness of a person beyond the external cloak.

Mr. Might Meets His Hero

Having a super hero in a story is a sure way to enter a child's heart and this trick is used in the - 'Mr. Might Meets His Hero'. Mr. Right, the world's greatest superhero is very conceited because of his flying skills, his saving the world acumen and the reverence of people for him.

But one day he comes across a true super hero, Benji, but Benji is quite

unlike a regular super hero. He could not fly nor could he fight with the aliens and save the world. This little boy just knows very simple things - how to help elders, how to bring smiles to the faces, how to be compassionate and how to bring simple joys in the lives of others. In fact, he is just trying to practice the art of being a true human. Watching this hero very closely, Mr. Right learns many life lessons and realizes how ignorant he has been, completely engulfed in his own world of vanity and pride.

Miss Meow

Tim finds a purse lying on the grass while he is taking a walk one day. He wants to return it to

the rightful owner. He meets many animals as he goes along and keeps inquiring if the purse

belongs to any of them. It is fun to see where all these different animals are hidden and how they respond to Tim.

Children are introduced to the shelters, voices, food and movements of a variety of animals through this story. Knowledge imparted in fun way is always the best way to go about it.

Akayla and Woody

A very cheerful girl Akayla has a special bond with an extraordinary friend, an old tree Woody. They both have been taking good care of each other. They have shared wonderful times

together. This is one friend with whom Akayla has been sharing her secrets too. But one day, it looks like Woody's life is in danger and as expected from a true friend, Akayla stands up for her friend. But are her efforts enough to save her oldest friend?

How many of us are able to save our silent friends - plants and trees?

A great message illustrated beautifully by the paper and fabric cutouts, actually reinforcing the message of reusing the stuff and also

encouraging the kids to try making such collages.

Sharing Makes Me Happy

One day a little boy, while going to school, observes a family on the street and a little kid among them

looked very hungry. He cannot take that scene out of his mind till the time he decides to do something about it. Even a small gesture of sharing his lunch with that little kid, gives him immense pleasure and is appreciated by all.

Such stories teach the value of having compassion for people who are not as fortunate as us and how with a small effort from our side we could make a little change in their lives and make our world a better place to live.

A Walk With Grandma

A lovely story portraying a loving bond between Grandma Rose and little Ben. Ben decides to go on a walk with his grandma unperturbed by the fact that she could not walk and run fast with him. Ben just wants to enjoy the spring weather with his best friend - Grandma Rose. They meet many friendly creatures on their way and have a lot of fun. It is indeed a delightful day for both of them. Ben wants to keep walking further but

Grandma has had enough and can not walk any more, she wants to head back home. Does

Ben listen to her or does he continue walking? Grandma is sure to get a big surprise either way. You need to read to find out.

I especially liked the clever usage of words which go with the kind of plants

and animals they see and with the specific expressions. Will surely help in building the vocabulary of young children as they read along this interesting story.