If you are friends with me on facebook or follow me on Twitter or hang-out with me on Google, you will know that I have placed three picture books this year. They are all with independent publishers who have a niche and are extremely passionate about what they do.

The first picture book of the year was with Pratham Books, based in Bangalore, India. Their mission is

At Pratham Books, we believe that every child has the right to enjoy good books.  And we believe they should have stories set in surroundings familiar to them and in a language close to their culture. We believe that to make books accessible to every child, the price points have to be very low. Pratham Books is a brand of story books as Indian as the children who read them. As a not-for-profit publisher, our dream is to see a country where every child wants to read, is able to read, and has something good to read.

I emailed the editors a couple of times to understand what they were looking for. An idea about an umbrella and the monsoon had been in head for so long. I also wanted many Indian characters in the story. That’s how Ramu’s Red Umbrella was born. I had to find a simple Indian boy’s name and I used my Dad’s nickname. His official name is very long – but his parents and siblings call him Ramu. This book was intended as a tribute to my Dad who has been proud of my writing ever since I started.

Pratham Books were not on a reading schedule, but when they saw Ramu’s story, they loved it. The editor said I got 4/5 in their editorial meeting. What that 4 means, I am not sure. But I am glad I got it.

The brilliant thing is – this book will be published in several Indian languages and will be in the hands of thousands of kids. I can’t wait.