It takes a special kind of love for children\u2019s books to create an imprint only dedicated to illustrated books. And that\u2019s how Tota Books got created. Yet it\u2019s also true that there is a growing demand from parents and schools for quality picture books. Stories that are easy to read, meaningful, and with exciting illustrations are being recognised as essential by discerning parents.<\/p>\n
Priyanka Malhotra said, \u201cWhen we started in 2014, we noticed first-hand at the Full Circle bookstores that this was a genre that needed more attention and while there was a growing audience for picture books, there weren\u2019t enough being published, and there was a lack in the diversity of content.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, there has been a growing demand for picture books and new content. Also, parents are now more conscious and aware of the need for young children to engage with tactile, non-screen reading.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sc0.blr1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/inline\/uqrgbiekqu-1747389844.jpg\" "\\"Priyanka")
Priyanka Malhotra started Tota Books as an imprint of Full Circle Books.The idea behind Tota Books was to create literature for early and young readers that was genuinely engaging, fun and allowed for exploration and to ask the \u201cwhy\u201d and \u201chow\u201d. While the books have a purpose whether it is storytelling or talking about concepts or emotions, etc, the idea has been to stay away from the didactic lens.<\/p>\n
Radhika Sathe, special education teacher, children\u2019s library founder and picture book evangelist, says, \u201cPicture books play a huge role in a child\u2019s development as a reader. They are an important source for the development of language and literacy skills and provide a sense of comfort and well-being. While a novel or chapter book takes 100+ pages to tell a story, a picture book accomplishes that in 32 pages!\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite this, the challenges are many. Any form of children\u2019s publishing in India has to deal with two demands \u2013 the creation of a \u201cseries\u201d of books, and pricing. Ashok Rajagopalan\u2019s Gajapati Kulapati series (Tulika Books) is one example of a widely loved and popular series that has entertained children through six books. Children\u2019s publishers are forever looking to build on a successful idea, and fulfil a need demanded by the readers themselves. Yet the surprise and quirkiness that can come about in a standalone title have to be recognised, and those books need to be presented to the market in new and interesting ways.<\/p>\n
It is perhaps this undeniable attraction that has Namita Gokhale, veteran writer, write a delightful picture book, A Dog Named Bob and a Cat Named Kit. The story is about friendship and the coming together of friends to find a solution. Anchal Lodhi\u2019s colourful and attractive illustrations will entice any four or five-year-old.<\/p>\n
Aprajita Ramsagar Singh, who wrote Summers with Dadu, says this about writing this charming ode to grandparents, and learning to deal with loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I rediscovered the world of children’s books as a parent, I became aware of the silence around events that bring sadness. I felt an urge to contribute to a shift \u2013 one where sadness is allowed a voice, and where it transforms into the joy of remembering.<\/strong> Where parents and caregivers are able to normalise these in an age-appropriate manner. I hope the book brings the grandparents\u2019 house into the spotlight, making it the wild card entry \u2013 the cherished, magical summer destination that rivals any exotic vacation venue.\u201d<\/p>\n As imprints like Tota Books continue to publish into this segment, the challenges that beset publishing, particularly children\u2019s publishing, are undeniable here too. The books are expensive to produce with four-colour printing. \u201cPicture books are expensive and require minimum print runs to be cost-effective,\u201d says Priyanka Malhotra. It is a constant exercise in working out specifications of paper, book size, number of pages and then putting a reasonable price on the book that will work for a price-sensitive market.<\/p>\n And yet, as publishers, we keep going, looking for the voice, the art that will create the slice of magic. With each book, there is a world of new ideas to present, whether they be books around friendship, family, kindness to fellow beings, or animals and birds. And sometimes, they are just funny books that will end up being read over and over again to become a lifelong favourite.<\/p>\n Sudeshna Shome Ghosh is the Executive Publisher and Head of children\u2019s books at Speaking Tiger Books.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Imagine a book. A slim one. A colourful one. You flip through it, and it appears to be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129560,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3938],"tags":[3444,12004,4038,57124,77,57125,57122,57123,57121,57120,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-129559","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-books-and-ideas","10":"tag-childrens-books","11":"tag-childrens-publishing-in-india","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-speaking-tiger-books","14":"tag-sudeshna-shome-ghosh","15":"tag-sudeshna-shome-ghosh-speaking-tiger-books","16":"tag-tota-books","17":"tag-tota-books-priyanka-malhotra","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129559\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sc0.blr1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/inline\/igzhilcsjb-1747389741.png\" "\\"Some")
Some recent Tota Books titles.<\/p>\n