9 Chocolatey Bites: A Short Story Collection for Children by Ananya V. Ganesh

Hello everyone! I hope you all are having a cheerful weekend. Today’s short story is a collection of children’s fiction by very young author. The book is 9 Chocolatey Bites by Ananya V. Ganesh.

Publication Date: September 30th 2016

Publisher: Notion Press

Read Date: February 17th 2018

Pages: 78

Genre: Children’s Fiction

Stars: 5/5

From growing tails to talking ants, everything is just one big pickle in this fun collection of stories. In a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get next. Every chocolate has its very own surprise and taste, and so does every story in this book.

As wishes come true and uncles go cuckoo; snowy white clouds make everything misty and unclear. The gift of a king, the valour of a girl, the beauty of friendship, a golden drop of happiness – all these would play out in front of your eyes as you flip through the pages. The wrappers of a sweet gift would come undone, once you open this beautiful present… The question is, are you ready to be surprised and savour the different flavours, each one as delightful as the next?

9 Chocolaty bites is a collection of 9 short stories. Beautiful imagination of youngest author I ever read who wrote these stories at age 10. All stories had a message for readers, they were sweet and cute with witty remarks in some that made me laugh and left me smiling at the end of the book. 

What was in the story and what I liked –

1. Messy Desk- This story was about Anika who had very messy desk. She mets a talking ant in her room who made her participate in clean desk competition. It was a fun story. What I liked most about this story was the desk cleaning song and that description of Anika’s travel in ant world. I could see author has great imagination from this very first story. But my only concern was, I would have loved it even more if Anika has cleaned her desk herself rather than taking help.
2. A ‘tail’ of Laddoos- this was definitely funny. Poor Tanya who stole laddoos from refrigerator in the middle of night was now all angst and panicky because of her brother’s scary magic story. The story had nice message about stealing and the regret of it, how it can rob you of your sleep because of worry and humiliation that come with bad act.
3. My secret scribe- Maya was having her exams and all she do is pray rather than study. In each exams deities came down during her exams to help her. The conversations between God/Goddesses and Maya was entertaining, I liked especially the dialogues of Goddess Lakshmi. That description of Math was so hilarious. I so agree with author on this. All deities in this story were nicely described in just few words so that those who are not familiar with Indian Gods can get the idea about them. This was so fascinating and my favorite story of the book. Loved the message from the story that all kids should pay attention in the class to score well rather than just daydreaming during that hours.
4. A friend Found– This was very short and sweet story of Samhita who found her friend in her new pet Rusty. The message of the story was very simple and yet  uplifting about friendship.

“A friend can range from anyone to anything. Whether it’s your secret diary to which you confess your deepest and darkest secrets or a friendly little puppy you find pitifully sitting on the streets or a person who understands you and wants you to be who you really are.”

5. The Mango Pickle– This was story of family members fretting over welcoming uncle who was used to find faults at everything. To please him narrator’s mother decide to make his favorite mango pickle. Narrator who is little girl in the book told the story of different Mango Pickles made by different people in this book. Her voice was witty and it made the story so entertaining.
6. I believe in the Impossible- this was story of encouragement and will to turn the impossible to possible. A story of physically impaired girl who were told that she might have to be confined to wheel chair and how she proved everyone one wrong by will and proper treatment.
7. At the Moors- This was a story of nature lover girl Monika who found her friend in nature and lovingly made the moor near her house in Manchester a beautiful place. It was nice sweet story motivating everyone to grow trees and make the place better and pleasant, how one can find peace and happiness in nature. All nature lover would love to read this story.
8. The King’s Gift- this was happily-ever-after story of clever and gifted king whose gift was his ability to talk with animals. (A royal version of Dr. Dolittle! 😉 ) It was great story.
9. A bowl of happiness– It was meaningful inspiring story about little girl who demanded a bowl happiness from her father and what his father brought home after searching whole market it indeed turned out real happiness. The story gave such a deep message that with all kids we adults also need to learn about the happiness. It was my second favorite and perfect last story of this book.
   

I liked that all stories author mentioned Indian food and words and also wrote English translation of them. This book was way beyond what I expected. I simply loved all the stories, they were awe-inspiring, meaningful with wonderful imagination and cute doodles, gripping and so entertaining. I loved the foreword of the story written by Dr. Kiran Bedi, it was wonderful. I would love to read more by this little author, I just can’t believe she is just 13-year-old right now and has written these stories when she was 10.

They were perfect bed time stories and would be best for all school libraries. I recommend this book to all children.

About Author:

Born in 2005, Ananya V. Ganesh’s love for books started at a very tender age and she has become a voracious reader over the years. She began penning short stories, skits and poems from the age of eight and stokes up her creative energy by reading books, especially by her two favourite authors – Enid Blyton and J.K.Rowling. She has been developing many stories based on bits and pieces of daily experiences, as sparks lighting up her imagination. She has also visited dozens of countries with her parents. She weaves in some of her impressions of her travel adventures into the stories. When she is not reading or penning her thoughts, Ananya enjoys modern dancing and sketching cartoons. She is also an avid basketball player, takes delight in concocting new recipes and light cooking, loves composing her own songs and sings them when she thinks no one is listening. Ananya lives in Chennai, India since 2011.

Buy here: Amazon.in / Amazon.com

*** Note: I received review copy of this book from the author, in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to author for giving me a chance to read this book. ***

What do you think about the book and my review? Have you read this book already? Share your thoughts in comment-box below.