1. Book Title : Bitter Chocolate
Writer : Pinki Virani
Publisher : Penguin Books
Price : Rs. 280/-
About the Book : A book that challenges our notions of family honour and morality Sometime, somewhere, the conspiracy of silence around Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) in Indian homes had to be shattered. This path-breaking book”the first of its kind in the country and subcontinent”attempts to give that sexually abused child a powerful voice. It provides damning disclosures about men, and some women, in middle and upper-class families who sexually abuse their children, then silence them into submission. Based on studies, reports and investigation, this book reveals that a minimum of twenty per cent of girls and boys under the age of sixteen are regularly being sexually abused; half of them in their own homes, by adults who have the child’s trust. In Bitter Chocolate, journalist and best-selling author Pinki Virani travels across the country to record the testimonies of the police, doctors, child psychologists, mental health professionals, social workers, lawyers and the traumatized victims themselves. The book opens with an account”brave and devoid of self-pity”of the author’s own experience. Going beyond blaming, Pinki Virani then proceeds with her insightful analysis of the issue in three notebooks. The first spells out what constitutes CSA, why and how this happens, its devastating after-effects which haunt the victims as they grow into adulthood. The second notebook describes these effects through two real-life stories of women who were betrayed as children by men of their family. The third provides practical solutions on how to counter CSA, including a framework involving the law, the parent and their child. A special chapter addresses adults who have never before disclosed their sexual abuse as children. Plus: a nationally coordinated helpline. Accessible yet comprehensive, Bitter Chocolate is written for the young parent and guardian, principal and teacher, judge and police, lawyer and public prosecutor, teenager and tomorrow’s citizen.
About the Author : Pinki Virani, with four best-selling books, has a body of work which gives voice to individuals who have none. It also leads to landmark legislation, not just once but twice. Her tireless campaigning for human dignity has lead to laws for two of the most vulnerable times in a human being’s life – in the beginning as a child & at the end as a terminally ill patient.
2. Book Title : Lord of the Flies
Writer : William Golding
Publisher : Faber and Faber (1954)
About the Book : Lord of the Flies opens in the midst of a war with a group of British schoolboys stranded on a deserted island in the middle of the ocean, with no adult supervision. It is an allegorical novel, and many of its characters signify important ideas or themes. Ralph represents order, leadership, and civilization. Piggy represents the scientific and intellectual aspects of civilization. Jack represents unbridled savagery and the desire for power.
About the Author : Sir William Gerald Golding, was a British novelist, playwright, and poet. Best known for his novel Lord of the Flies, he won a Nobel Prize in Literature and was awarded the Booker Prize for fiction in 1980.
He was a schoolmaster teaching English and music at Maidstone Grammar School 1938 – 1940 and then teaching Philosophy and English in 1939, then just English from 1945 to 1961 at Bishop Wordsworth’s School, Salisbury, Wiltshire.
During World War II, Golding joined the Royal Navy in 1940
3. Book Title : King Matt the First
Writer: Janusz Korczak
Publisher : Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Translator : Richard Lourie
About the Book : King Matt the First is a children’s fairy tale novel. In addition to telling the adventure story of a young boy who becomes a king, it describes many social reforms, particularly targeting children, some of which Korczak enacted in his own orphanage, and is a thinly veiled allegory of contemporary and historical events in Poland. The book has been described as being as popular in Poland as Peter Pan was in the English-speaking world.
Note: Some passages may, by today’s standards, be considered by some to be racist.
About the Author : Janusz Korczak, the pen name of Henryk Goldszmit was a Polish-Jewish educator, children’s author, and pedagogue known as Pan Doktor (“Mr. Doctor”) or Stary Doktor (“Old Doctor”). After spending many years working as director of an orphanage in Warsaw, he refused sanctuary repeatedly and stayed with his orphans when the entire population of the institution was sent by the Nazis from the Ghetto to the Treblinka extermination camp, during the Grossaktion Warsaw of 1942.
4. Book Title : Child Protection : Rights & The Laws
Writer : Dr. Upneet Lalli
Publisher : Social Action Foundation for Equity
Price : Rs. 250/-
About the Book : This Book is a compendium of the laws related to child protection in India. The convention on Rights of Child (C.R.C) & all major laws on child rights in India are discussed in a simple manner. Major provisions of the new legislation – Juvenile Justice ( Care & Protection o Children ) Act,2015 are discussed while the Law protection of Children from Sexual Offences, Act, 2012 is discussed in details along with the rules. This book has a child reader in mind while discussing Child Sexual Abuse & Safety tips. There are handy tips on online safety for children, & tips for parents to prevent & deal with child sexual abuse, 7 some tips for professionals for interviewing children. This book is a very handy guide to all those who are dealing in the area of Child Rights & Child Protection.
About the Author : Dr. Upneet Lalli is a doctorate in Psychology & a law graduate from Panjab University, Chandigarh. As the Deputy Director of the institute of Correctional Administration, Chandigarh, She has conducted & organised numerous training programmes for the functionaries of the criminal justice system. She has authored many articles & books & also conducted research on issue of custodial justice. Dr Lalli has been actively involved in working on human rights issues, gender & child rights & also prison reforms. She has also meaningfully contributed towards policing making & participated in various international & national conferences.