Simplifly by The Picture Book Collector

From cute and curious kindergarteners 🔤
To smart and sassy second graders 😎

From listening to my stories 📖
To writing and telling their own✏️

Teaching comes a full circle!

Grateful to have known these kids since they were four. It makes me really proud to see them enjoy writing ✨

Buying online or from a store can be really tempting but making a DIY rakhi is unique and personal! ✨

While telling my students a story about Rakshabandhan, I encouraged them to make their own DIY origami Rakhis. And you have to practise what you teach 😀 so here’s my humble attempt at upcycling scrap materials and creating something unique and personal for my niece 🎊

“Once you have lived with the mountains for any length of time, you belong to them.” - Ruskin Bond

Through this collection of essays by an urban dweller like me has learnt quite a few aspects about pahadi life and has helped develop an appreciation and fascination for mountain life, flora, fauna and its people 🌲🍂

Published by

“Once you have lived with the mountains for any length of time, you belong to them.” - Ruskin Bond

Through this collection of essays by an urban dweller like me has learnt quite a few aspects about pahadi life and has helped develop an appreciation and fascination for mountain life, flora, fauna and its people 🌲🍂

Published by

Taking 'Being one with nature' a tad too seriously 😀

P.S. - The next time I have to explain what 'camouflage' means to my students, this picture might come handy 🍃🌲

A Himachali apple 🍎 a day will surely keep the blues away!
Biting into a crisp, juicy, locally grown apple is one of the simplest pleasures of the mountain life 🌄
Apples are grown at very high altitudes in areas such as Narkanda and Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh. At this time of the year, their branches are bare ❄️But this lovely book published by got us thinking about the apple tree blossoming through different seasons 🍃🌸🍎🍂❄️ This fun apple tree craft is a lovely way for kids to learn about the apple tree and the different seasons!

"Took a stroll through the deep dark wood"
Walking along tall pine trees that stood 🌲
Occasionally stopping to take pictures and stare 📸
And take in the clean mountain air 🏞️
But if you've read this book you'd know
We didn't encounter any Gruffalo 😮

The Gruffalo by and Axel Scheffler and published by is a classic story set in the deep dark woods. While some kids really enjoy the story, some really do fear the Gruffalo. I love using this book for Story Time as the beautiful illustrations by Axel Scheffler instantly transport you to the deep dark woods. I had so much fun re-imagining the story in the Himalayan forests🐁🐍🦊

All we want for Christmas🎄😀
What are your plans, this holiday season?

I have noticed that during these challenging times, it's the little things that really make a BIG difference! The other day, I spotted a rainbow in the sky🌈 and I was reminded of these wise words from one of my favourite books 'The Last Stop on Market Street' by and ,✨

We had the most interesting conversation when we came to this page. "Is there a difference between hearing and listening?" I asked. Some of the responses that I got from the students :
*Listening is more understanding.... Actually listening to a person, understanding what they're saying... Hearing is just random.. people talking to you* I think thought deeply while choosing words for this book! 📝

P.S : The beautiful birds that you see flying across this page are called tui and are native to New Zealand 🇳🇿 I love how the book introduces the reader to the local flora and fauna through the vibrant illustrations by ✨

Book - 'The Bomb' published by

Look at these vibrant illustrations by that bring alive splashy words by in their book 'The Bomb' by It tells the story of a young boy whose dream is to perfect the art of pulling off a Manu (a special kind of jump technique popular in New Zealand) This book was a great conversation starter as it led my students to share their own dreams and goals ✨

A 10 year old student who is super passionate about cars 🏎️ shared that he wants to master the AutoCAD software as it will help him in creating his own designs for automobiles!

Kia Ora! 🇳🇿
So excited to share this beautiful picture book that I bought in New Zealand The book by is published in English as well as Māori (also known as te reo) spoken by the indigenous people of New Zealand! Through this awesome book by and , I learnt some really cool things about the local culture, especially about pulling off a special 'bomb' (as in the splashy, jumping into the water kind of dive) and the Manu, one of the most popular jump techniques which Kiwi kids as well as adults revel in 💦 While I was reading this book aloud to my students here in Mumbai, they told me that it's similar to a cannon ball dive!
That's when I knew for sure that my students will connect with this book! ✨ More on that in my next post 😇