Sabah Hussain
Sabah Hussain
THINGS LOST AND FOUND IN HISTORY: A DOZEN AND A HALF STORIES by Arthy Muthanna Singh Rupa Publications, 2019, 159 pp., 195
November 2019, volume 43, No 11

In the world where science can provide answers to most questions, the unsolved mysteries of the world intrigue and fascinate us even more. Especially the kids who have completely different levels of inquisitiveness and worlds of imagination. The authors Arthy Muthanna Singh and Mamta Nainy have written the book in the form of a detective novel, finding clues and unravelling the mysteries step by step. They entrust the role of a sleuth to the readers from the very outset so that the onus of analysing the clues rests with the readers. In the beginning the book gives the feel of the NCERT ancient history book but only simpler and plainer sailing.

There are twelve and a half stories in the book tracing a long period of history from the ancient ones like the doom of the cities of Muziris and Mathura, Harappan civilization to the latter day mysteries like that of the Padmanabhswamy Temple vaults. Both the authors have immense experience writing children’s books in a way which not only can inculcate the interest of book reading in the children but also adds up to their knowledge about vital topics like introducing important personalities like Gandhi through anecdotes and the retelling of Jataka tales rather than the preachy moral science books.

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