In Book Uncle and Me , authored by Uma Krishnaswami and illustrated by Julianna Swaney, nine-year-old Yasmin Kader borrows a book every day...
In Book Uncle and Me, authored by Uma Krishnaswami and illustrated by Julianna Swaney, nine-year-old Yasmin Kader borrows a book every day from Book Uncle, a retired schoolteacher who runs a free lending library on the street corner. When Book Uncle is compelled to shut shop because he cannot afford the permit anymore, Yasmin solicits the help of her friends to bring the library back.
While Yasmin did have the option of rallying for the library to re-open, the young members of MCubed Library in Mumbai could do little when the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in March led to its imminent closure as the nationwide lockdown was subsequently imposed.
“We received so many phone calls from both children and parents during the lockdown, inquiring when we would re-open,” said Reeta Gupta, who has been managing the library since 2017, from behind her mask. “Children told me they missed coming to the library, that they were longing to meet their friends – it was all very overwhelming.”
While the phone calls continued unabated, the love for reading could not be quashed. “Once the phase-wise ‘state unlock’ began, we decided to re-open the library in July – with safety measures in place – even if it was...
