It’s never too early to begin learning and it’s never too late to assimilate a lesson. Ostrich Girl is for the young reader, but the lessons are for the older ones as well.
For the last many years, scientists have been telling us that we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction. The time to act is now, and the immersive story of Ostrich Girl is a nature lover’s way to raise awareness for a green planet. The book is a call for immediate action, focus on best practices for conserving the environment and preserving wildlife. The illustrations by Anupama Ajinkya Apte add magic to the narrative.
Set against the lush backdrop of Henry Island, this illustrated book with a hole is a captivating quest. Biswas paints a vivid picture of the island’s flora, fauna, and hidden secrets. It talks about malpractices, deception through the life of a young girl, Ritu. It delves into an important theme—financial need or greed can overpower our ethical outlook; and therein lies the root of the problem.
In an attempt to lure more people to the bird sanctuary, Manager Babu runs a homestay and has created a choir of songsters. These young people mimic birdcalls to lure visitors to the island. In reality, the bird life has dwindled. The people supporting Babu do this to earn their bread, but Ritu struggles to mimic. Her croaky call misleads a young tourist and ardent bird lover, and then the secret is revealed. More murk happens along the way.
Through Ritu’s journey, the book gently nudges readers to appreciate biodiversity and the delicate balance of ecosystems. The book ends with a powerful message and the illustrations are educational, introducing the reader to the different species.
For over 25 years, Lesley D. Biswas has been penning articles for magazines, newspapers. Her other books for children include the Chumki series, A Conspiracy in Calcutta. She enjoys gardening, bird photography and watercolour painting. Nature and cricket are close to her heart.
In an email interview, she shares her journey with Queen of Treasures. Excerpts:
How did your journey to penning books for children start?
I grew up in a quaint hamlet named McCluskiegunj, Jharkhand, where a private jungle stretched out beyond our backyard. I was a huge fan of Enid Blyton’s ‘Famous Five’ and ‘Secret Seven’ series. My imagination often ran wild and I’d imagine a secret cottage tucked away somewhere in the jungle, and treasures hidden in its alcove. The natural surrounds also meant regular sightings of wild animals like hare, jackal, mongoose, iguana, even a pangolin. Once even a herd of wild elephants visited us.
When I became a parent, I longed for my daughter to experience an idyllic childhood like I did, but all I could offer her in the city were stories about those times. She had some favourite animal tales and after listening to my anecdotes, she’d often ask me to make up new stories about them, which I enjoyed doing. So, after more than two decades as a freelance writer, when I felt the need to do something new, the prospect of writing children’s stories excited me.
How have your personal experiences impacted your writing?
Growing up in the lap of nature, my close observation of wildlife helped me appreciate its beauty and respect their instincts. So, when I began writing for children, along with sharing the amazing stories about nature, I wanted them to develop empathy for wildlife, to make them sensitive to their need for space and privacy, so that their interactions with nature, be it through travels or in their neighbourhood, would be pleasant both ways.
The objective of writing for children is to produce stories that captivate, entertain and make them want to read more. Experiences that intrigued you as a child are very likely to interest them as well. Children are intelligent beings and love characters who they can relate to, and look up to. Give them a hero and they are bound to be invested.
What was the inspiration behind this book?
Speaking of Ostrich Girl, my latest hOle book, during the pandemic I noticed a growing trend of people adopting animals. Locked up in their homes, the only connect they had with nature was through these pets, who also helped them cope with loneliness and the anxiety of uncertain times. As a birder, I was aware of all that goes into trapping wild birds that are sold in the pet markets, and this sparked the idea of Ostrich Girl.
The heartwarming story of Mangalajodi in Odisha, where a village of poachers gave up poaching and turned birding guides touched me tremendously. It’s a brilliant example of how awareness can make local communities come together to conserve biodiversity and I consciously incorporated the idea in my book. These days, children are incredibly aware of the crisis our planet is facing, be it the climate change or decline in certain wildlife species and are keen to be a part of a solution, which Ostrich Girl is all about.
Please tell us about the process of combining illustrations with words.
The illustrations often play around the ‘hole’, adding to readers delight, like on one page, it appears as if the bird is poking its head out through the hole. I also heard someone once mention that characters in the story use the hole to jump from one page to the other.
From an illustrator to the illustrations, the editor makes all the decisions. As an author, I provide any input and feedback that the illustrator and editor need during the designing process. I get a chance to give my preference before the cover is finalized, but it’s ultimately the editor’s call.
How do you keep the creative juices flowing?
As a creative person, I’m very conscious about engaging in activities that stimulate new ideas. I read books of diverse genres. While books by Enid Blyton and Ruskin Bond were my favourite childhood reads, some of my recent favourites are The Nightingale by Kristin Hanna, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, all books by Anita Desai. And I’ll watch any movie starring Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise…I know it’s an interesting choice.
What are your future plans?
As long as I’m enjoying writing for children, I plan to continue and have some book ideas in mind that hopefully will see the light of day soon.
Book Details
Publisher: Duckbill Hole (Penguin India)
Reading age: 7 years and up
Language: English
Pages: 80
Price: INR 225 (Kindle Edition available)
This post is part of the Bookish League blog hop hosted by Bohemian Bibliophile
Queen of Treasures 
Great questions and insightful answers. Enjoyed the interview!
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Thanks for sharing also Aishwarya👌
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Great interview and nice review
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Hey, I genuinely apologise to be spamming your blog site but I don’t mean to and genuinely read to your blog content and then only leave my honest comment. Anyways I think your blog only takes elaborate comments, so henceforth I shall keep that in mind.
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Thanks Caroline, the whole purpose of blog hops is to have conversations that add value to the post. It helps with traffic generation, searchability and also gives new viewers a chance to understand the site and what the contents are about. It’s also good SEO. Two words such as ‘good review’ ‘great interview’ are going more into spam scores and bot algorithms. It also defeats the purpose of being part of a community supporting each other. I am sure you will agree that you wouldn’t like me to leave a comment like ‘good post’ on your articles. I’m glad we are sorted on this matter.
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How interesting: a review with an interview. Enjoyed reading this post. I have read one of Lesley’s books in this series. And her short stories. She has an engaging writing style. It’s great to convey a message without being preachy.
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Oh nice to know you have read her books. I enjoyed her style as well, simple and effective. Am planning to read more of her stories.
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This sounds like an interesting book! Love the concept of a hole in the book, with the illustrations designed around it; I think I’ll pick this up for my niece.
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” Ostrich Girl is for the young reader, but the lessons are for the older ones as well“
Really there are many things which even the older ones need to focus on a bit more.
It was a lovely experience to getting to know about the author’s inspiration behind the book.
Thanks for sharing.
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The short review followed by a detailed interview was a good idea,this way we learn about the book without spoiling the fun.
The idea of having a hole in the book itself makes it so interesting too with birds poking out of the hole and characters running from one page to another, it all sound so wild and creative.
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Nice to have interviewed an author of books for kids. Many of us write about saving Earth but only a few of us actually do something about it.
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I love reading your review of a book themed on a crucial aspect of our life-nature preserve- and in particular targetting the children. Your interview added more flesh and context to the story. The challenge of the present time is, accept new challenges and better it start at a young age.
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My initial impression was good but the insightful interview turned it into great! With anecdotes like Mangalajodi and author’s own experience with birds leading to this, I am sure the book will be amazing. Looking forward to getting this one for my kid. Thanks!
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Am sure your children will enjoy reading this book.
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This sounds like a profoundly impactful read. “Ostrich Girl” not only offers a vivid narrative for young readers but also carries a deep, resonant message for adults. The blending of an engaging story with critical environmental themes makes it a compelling tool for raising awareness.
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This is indeed an outstanding interview from you Ambica… I think in 2024 you are in an absolute creative flow. I cant rememeber if ever I read any interview from your side earlier, but after reading this first interview for me… I am total fan of your grey materials in brain, because of the questions that you asked the author. Amazing Ambica
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Grey is truly the right term! 😀 As you grey and wrinkle, things look different. Am glad you enjoyed the interview.
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She had me at Enid Blyton 😍
Also, I love books that fall in children’s lit but give lessons to the adults too. Not to mention, a lesson which we all need to inculcate in our lives asap. Will check out this one after your rave review and reading the author’s responses
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The process of combining illustrations with words, especially with the unique element of the “hole” in the book, sounds like a delightful creative endeavor. It’s impressive how the illustrations add depth and engagement to the narrative, enhancing the reader’s experience.
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I loved reading this Insightful and thought- provoking questions and answers. The interview with review is really engrossing. Liked it. I hope the book is liked by all kids.
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isnt this a wonderful read. When I was given an opportunity to opt this book for review I’m glad I agreed. As I always say these books though aimed at children have lessons for adults as well. I love the hole books that I read out to my daughter.
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True. Its a lovely read.
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I love reading stories set in nature, and the idea of bird calls as a tourist attraction is so interesting. Now I am wondering what they found that burst the bubble!
I find author interviews to be insightful, and I see very few bloggers have the opportunity to interview them and include it in their reviews – so kudos for being able to do so.
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You will.enjoy. the book.
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Enjoyed reading both the review and the interview, Ambica. Characters and environments kids can identify with is always such a delight. I am quite intrigued by the “hole” concept. It appears to be a complete series by Penguin.
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Yes. The hole I feel is to keep the kids interested.
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