This is the presentation about the Habitat Children's Book Forum that we made at the IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) Congress in London, August 2012.

1. ON THE BOOK TRAIL IN DELHI
the habitat children's book forum
DEEPA AGARWAL & DEVIKA RANGACHARI

2. Why the HCBF was needed
 City parents have little time to introduce children to books.
 Delhi has barely two well-functioning children’s libraries.
 No ongoing networking structure between children, authors and
books
 The book distribution network remains woefully inadequate
 Children’s bookshops are few and far between
 Children’s books hardly ever receive publicity
 Budding and enthusiastic readers are left with very little book-
related information
 Consequently, many likely readers turn away from books to easily
available distractions like TV or computer games.
 It was important to emphasize the pleasure aspect of reading. Many
Indian children believe books are only meant to impart knowledge.

3. Why the India Habitat Centre
 Among the aims and objectives of this
Centre is to:
“Inculcate better awareness and
sensitivity in regard to all aspects of
creative human activity including the
significance of art in habitat.”
 IHC provides space for talks,
discussions as well as music and
theatre.
 Thus a centrally located venue in this
crowded city, provided free of cost, was
assured to us.
 Habitat Programmes would feature our
sessions in their monthly calendar .
 Offer other support in the way of
mailing and the equipment needed for
our sessions.

4. How we began
• The Habitat Children’s Book Forum (HCBF) was
launched in October 2003 at the India Habitat Centre, a
cultural centre in New Delhi, India, by children’s writers
Deepa Agarwal and Paro Anand.
• It was a voluntary endeavour, with the aim of nurturing
the reading habit by showing children that books can be
fun.
• Another objective was to promote the work of Indian
authors and provide children with a platform to express
their views about books.
• For the past five years the forum has been organized by
Deepa Agarwal and Devika Rangachari.

5. Then and now…
Our rather formal launch
in October 2003 Making a story scroll

6. It took us some time to find a dedicated space
Poetry with eminent poet
Storytelling in the sun Keki Daruwala

7. How the HCBF works
 The Forum meets on a selected Saturday morning at India Habitat Centre,
New Delhi, and is open to all children free of charge.
 We introduce children to various genres of books and authors, illustrators
and storytellers.
 Information is circulated through our e-mail list, letters to schools, the IHC
calendar and event listings in the media.
 Children attend the sessions either as part of a school group or individually.
 Each two hour session caters to a specific age group and books are chosen
accordingly. The broad age group is 5-14 years.
 Readings, audio-visual presentations, interactions with the author, writing
activities and discussions are some of the methods we use.
 Since children’s books are often not readily available at bookstores, we
make the featured book available for sale.
 We have developed this format after years of experimentation and
discovered that it works best/well.

8. Celebrating classic writers like Nobel Laureate Rabindranath
Tagore
Enacting the poem “Bir The great man himself
Purush” (Brave Man) telling us about his life!

9. The HCBF Annual Event
 The annual day of the HCBF, usually planned around Children’s Day (November
14th) is a huge draw.
 We organize activities for both the 5-8 and 9-12 age group.
 Some of the activities for the younger age group include story building, role play and
enactment of popular stories.
 For the older age group we conduct a literary quiz based on a list of 20 Indian and
foreign titles distributed beforehand.
 The idea behind the quiz that each child gets to read and enjoy an eclectic range of
books.
 The quiz was conceptualized merely as an impetus towards reading.
 We also sum up the year’s activities in the form of a Book Parade.
 Supportive school librarians, teachers and parents are also lauded and
acknowledged for their enthusiasm.
 We are the only public forum that recognizes such efforts.
 We also organize a panel discussion among adult stakeholders to discuss important
issues that concern children’s literature in India.

10. We believe in celebrating books!

11. Scenes from our Annual Event
“The Monkey and the Crocodile” We know the answers! Hands
acted by Springdales School raised for the qu9iz questions

12. The Book Parade

13. From our photo album
Making a
 Browsing at the book
stall
newspaper

14. The Literary Quiz…
We know the answers too! Sagnik got it!

15. What they have to say…
 Children, parents, teachers and librarians are vocal in their
praise and reiterate that the HCBF has enormously
benefited them in various ways.

16. Sagnik Anupam, Class V, Delhi Public School
Sagnik with his Quiz
prizes
 I remember my first HCBF session, in 2009,
when I was seven years old. There for the first
time in my life, I saw real writers who wrote
for children.
 I’ve discovered that the books selected by
HCBF have always turned out to be
marvellous, improving my taste buds
particular to the exotic flavour of spices in
outstanding books.
 Also, I get to buy many books recommended
by experts in the field of literature. I get to
read books of different types and get familiar
with the writing styles of many authors. But
most of all, it helps hone my own styles of
writing.
 I enthusiastically await the Literary Quiz
Book List 2012. After all, it makes me read!

17. Authors…
Ranjit Lal, Children’s
Author:
I've enjoyed my HCBF experiences
since it's always wonderful to be face-
to-face with your readers and get an
idea about how they think and feel.
What's really encouraging is how they
open up after an initial spell of
holding back (as if they're sizing you
up!) from which point on it's open
house.

18. Librarians…
Chhabi Ghosh, Librarian, Cambridge School, Noida Shikha Gulati, Junior Librarian, Bluebells School
International, New Delhi:
The prime objective of school librarians is to motivate
children to read. The HCBF helps in achieving this The HCBF has given a platform to students to meet various
objective; its contribution is praiseworthy. Its various authors from across the country. The book-related
activities develop the students’ thinking skills, listening activities are well-designed and give a lot of confidence to
capacity and confidence levels. Librarians are also able to the students. The annual Literary Quiz has also helped
update their knowledge and learn about new children’s students to read more books.
books through these sessions. There is no other forum of
its kind. The HCBF coordinators, Deepa and Devika, have done a
wonderful job of bringing books and children together.

19. Publishing house editors…
Sohini Mitra, Senior
Commissioning Editor, Puffin
Books, India:
HBFC is all about making books fun for
children. It has been an absolute
pleasure partnering with them on this
mission. It’s a wonderful initiative, and
kids totally love the sessions and
activities. The twinkle in their eyes and
skip in their steps is testimony to the
fact that the forum has reached out to
the target readers in a big way!
Moreover, the forum is a great platform
for publishers like us to connect with
younger readers

20. The Impact
 The HCBF is a unique initiative that directly addresses
children and their book-related needs, advocating as it does
reading for pleasure, and its impact is growing enormously.
 It is the only children’s book forum of its kind in Delhi.
 The HCBF has been functioning successfully for almost nine
years and participation is constantly on the rise.
 Numerous participants have not only enhanced their reading
skills but also discovered their writing or artistic talents.
 Plans for improving this forum and enhancing its reach are
constantly afoot.
 The Habitat Children’s Book Forum also has a Facebook
page.