Story Behind The Book
I decided to quit my job as a technical writer when I found out that I was pregnant with our second child. I wanted to be a stay at home mom for at least the first three years of his life. I was happy for the first few weeks volunteering in my daughter's school. But leaving my well-paid job in the hi-tech field helped me connect with my creative side too and helped me strengthen the foundation of what is today a popular children's magazine – The Balagokulam Magazine. This was also a voluntary position and I enjoyed it. While researching folk tales, ballads, and legends from India I decided to write a picture book that my unborn child would enjoy as he grew up. I took down all the books from my daughter’s bookshelf to find out what I liked about some books and what made me not care as much for others. I noticed that I loved books that made me smile. I noticed that I reread books that made me ask questions. I noticed that I retold stories from books that made me believe in its message. That is when I decided that I would write a book that would make children smile as soon as they saw it. I wanted them to ask questions about what they read and believe in the message that the book was giving them. As I was researching my first book, “Laugh with dinosaurs” a parent volunteer in my daughter’s school told me about the book that he was working on. He wanted to publish a collection of poems that were written with an understanding of what happens on the playground. It was with the decision to help him publish that Lekha was born. Soon I published both his book, Poems from the Playground and my first book, Laugh with Dinosaurs. To my satisfaction, I have seen many children, and adults, smile as they pick up these books and flip through the pages. I have answered many questions about dinosaurs and have seen many children learn to believe in the wonder of animals and evolution.