Abhay .............finally takes the plunge??

Come summer and Abhay knows what to expect from his mom.....nothing better than to enrol him into swimming classes of course! For the last few years, swimming has been a mandatory summer time activity that almost always made its way on Onestoryaday! Every summer.....Abhay goes through first time jitters as he stands in line with other kids needing to be coaxed into entering  the pool and this year was no different! In fact he began worrying about it much before...during our two week vacation at my parents' farm house.....resulting in his doting grandmother pulling me up for being a pushy parent ( which I confess I am). This time however...the ordeal of having to watch him panic at the poolside didn't last too long .........as his body seem to remember what his mind didn't! By the end of the first week...he had not only regained his confidence of staying afloat sans floaters but also didn't stop showing off his pool side exploits to everyone around! So after all.....a little push is needed to take the plunge..isn't it?? 

I found a perfect book to celebrate Abhay's first confident splash into the swimming pool.... “Radhika takes the Plunge” by Ken Spillman and illustrated by Anu Biswas is a chapter book brought out by Young Zubaan publications. The story revolves around Radhika who in her attempt to adjust to her new surroundings in Perth post their move from Delhi, is hell bent on learning/going swimming with her friend and her dad, if only her perpetually worrying mother would let her. Finally Radhika cannot believe her luck as her mother gives in, only to realize that swimming isn’t simple as she thought….as she feels jinxed by her mother’s warning her that she is nowhere close to a fish!  But amidst the peer pressure, pressure of fitting into a new environment, suffering through the ensuing embarrassment and dealing with an ever-nervous mom, read on as Radhika does learn a thing or two about coping with fear! With pictures by the high school student Anu Biswas that best illustrate the travails of a tween caught in the motions of carving out her own identity in a new place, and printed content in a running handwriting font ….this is an amusing story that most kids aged seven and above can relate to. So let your young reader take the plunge with Radhika this summer ...just like Abhay did!! :-)