Article publish date: 15th August, 2015
It was a treat to be a recipient of 92.7 Big FM’s ‘Big Real Hero Awards’, presented in 2015!
92.7 Big FM’s campaign was covered in print media – you can access the article from The Hindu here.
A lovely article by Ms.Sai Priya Kodidala of Firstpost, detailing the wondrous journey of how Soviet books became so dear to Telugu readers.
You can read the full article here.
Article publish date: 19th September, 2020
Why are Soviet books so endearing? An excerpt from the article:
Apart from the illustrations, Soviet books’ appeal lies in its portrayal of realism. They acknowledge children’s experiences — including their challenges, emotions and anxieties. The books relationships between the rich and the poor, the compassionate and the cruel, but also left potential and ambiguity in human nature much like the terrifying yet kind Baba Yaga, the courage of the common people, compassion to be on the side of the distressed or the wide range characters which can be named Ivan.
Soviet books hold a special place in the story of Manchi Pustakam – the first children’s book that we published almost 20 years ago, was a bilingual Soviet book! Titled ‘The Mouse and the Pencil’, it continues to be available till date.
Manchi Pustakam mentioned in the article:
Today, Soviet children books might be found in their newly christened position as ‘collectibles’ or dusting away in public libraries. At stores and exhibitions, many parents look for more ‘practical’ books: ranging between encyclopaedias and competitive exam material. These shifts can make one wonder if the next generation of children will ever inculcate a habit of reading, leave alone in Telugu. Sporadic efforts are made by current publishing houses like Manchi Pustakam who fill the gap by republishing the archived Soviet children books for those who want to introduce to the next generations.
We have brought forward about 60 Soviet children’s books over the years. We have simplified the language to make it more accessible to current readers, experimented with font type, font sizes and also with some characters’ names.
As of today, we have 47 results under the Soviet Children’s Books tag on our website. These books continue to be well-received, with parents who grew up reading them now introducing them to their children!
An interview with MicTVDigital in our office/store, where we talk about early learning books, books to improve Telugu reading skills & more.
Publish date: 21st September, 2023
From their caption:
Do you want to know how to foster a love for Telugu language and literature in your children? Do you want to explore the rich and diverse collection of children’s story books in Telugu? Do you want to learn from the experts who have been publishing Telugu books for over a decade? If yes, then this video is for you! In this video, we will introduce you to Manchi Pustakam, a Telugu publishing house that specializes in children’s books. We will talk to P Bhagyalakshmi, the coordinator of Manchi Pustakam, who will share her insights and tips on how to nurture Telugu reading in children. We will also show you some of the best-selling and most popular books from Manchi Pustakam, which include original, translated, and bilingual stories. Manchi Pustakam believes that morals are acquired rather than taught, and that children should be exposed to different perspectives and genres of stories. They also believe that reading should be a joyous and lifelong habit, rather than a boring and forced activity.
Here is our Early Learning tag, from which some books have been mentioned in the interview.
You can watch the video by clicking on it above, or click here to watch it on YouTube.
Interview with Telangana Today – thank you, Ms.Sruthi Kuruganti and team!
Publish date: 11th September, 2023
You can read the full article here.
An excerpt:
Over the years, the dedicated publishing house has introduced various strategies to motivate parents to buy Telugu books for their children. These include featuring illustrations that children can colour, along with a cover-ready paper, launching affordable book sets and other initiatives.
“Though today’s parents are acknowledging the significance of Telugu language, I urge them to encourage children to physically engage with books and make their own choices so that it fosters the reading habit,” she adds.
You can browse our Telugu reading skills tag here.
A video interview with Padma Vangapally garu, of Voice of the People channel.
Interview date: 10th March, 2023.
Watch the full interview in the link above, or click here for the YouTube link.
We were at 350+ books at the time of this interview. Today, we are at 500+! Browse our new books here.
Interview with P.Bhagyalakshmi by Srisanthi Meher garu of ABN Andhra Jyothi during the Hyderabad National Book Fair 2022.
Article publish date: 31st December, 2022.
An excerpt from this interview:
Q: ఇప్పటివరకు ఎన్నో ఎగ్జిబిషన్లలో పాల్గొన్నారు కదా, అక్కడ ఎటువంటి అనుభవాలు ఎదురవుతుంటాయి?
పుస్తకాలను ఎంచుకునే స్వేచ్ఛని పిల్లలకి ఇచ్చేవాళ్లు, వాళ్లు ఎంచుకున్నది కాదని తమకి నచ్చింది కొనేవాళ్లు, మమ్మల్ని సలహాలు అడిగేవాళ్లు – ఇలా రకరకాల తల్లిదండ్రులు కనపడుతుంటారు. తెలుగు నేర్చుకోటానికి, పుస్తకాల పట్ల ప్రేమ కలగటానికి మేం ప్రాధాన్యతను ఇస్తాం. అయితే చాలా మంది తల్లిదండ్రులు పిల్లలకు వ్యక్తిత్వ వికాసం, జ్ఞానం అంటూ తపన పడిపోతుంటారు. ఎగ్జిబిషన్లలో మాకు సంతోషాన్ని, శక్తిని ఇచ్చేది పిల్లలు. తల్లిదండ్రులు భయపడుతున్నప్పటికీ ఇప్పటివరకు పుస్తకాన్ని పాడు చేసిన పిల్లలు మాకు ఎదురు కాలేదు. వాళ్లని స్వేచ్ఛగా వదిలేస్తే పిల్లలు చాలాసార్లు తమ వయస్సుకి తగిన పుస్తకాన్ని ఎంచుకుంటారు. ఒక పుస్తకం నచ్చగానే పిల్లల ముఖాలలో వెలుగును చూడటం ఎంతో సంతోషంగా ఉంటుంది.
తమ బడిలో, ఇంటిలో అంతకు ముందు చదివిన పుస్తకాలను ఎగ్జిబిషన్లో చూసి పిల్లలు ఆనంద పడుతుంటారు. మరీ చిన్న పిల్లలయితే మా పుస్తకాలు ఇక్కడ ఉన్నాయేంటి అని ఆశ్చర్యపోతుంటారు. తమ దగ్గర ఉన్న, చదివిన పుస్తకాలను గుర్తు పడుతుంటారు. పుస్తకం పేరు కనపడకుండా మూసేసి, బొమ్మ చూపిస్తూ అది ఏ పుస్తకం అని పెద్దవాళ్లని పిల్లలు అడుగుతుంటారు. ఇలాంటి ఆటలు ముచ్చట గొలుపుతాయి. పుస్తకాల అమ్మకాలు ఎలాగూ జరుగుతాయి, కానీ మాకు స్ఫూర్తిని, సంతృప్తిని, శక్తినీ మిగిల్చేది ఇలాంటి అనుభవాలే.
You can read the full article here.
Interview with Suresh Kosaraju by Srisanthi Meher garu of ABN Andhra Jyothi, at the time of Hyderabad National Book Fair.
Article publish date: 20th December, 2022.
An excerpt from this interview:
Q: తెలుగు చదవడం రాని పిల్లలు, తెలుగు చదవమని కోరుకోని తల్లి తండ్రులు ఉన్నారు. అసలు తెలుగు భాష మనుగడ ప్రమాదంలో ఉందంటారా?
చిన్న వయస్సులోనే కనీసం రెండు భాషలు బాగా నేర్పవచ్చు. ఇంగ్లీషు ఒక భాషగా, తెలుగు మాధ్యమంలో చదువులు బాగా చెప్పవచ్చు. ఒకప్పటి మధ్య, ఎగువ మధ్య తరగతి ఎదగటానికి కారణం కుటుంబాల నేపధ్యం. ఇంగ్లీషు మీడియం అయినంత మాత్రాన ఇంగ్లీషు బాగా వచ్చెయ్యాలని లేదు. జీవితంలో ఎదగటానికి ఇంగ్లీషు భాష అవసరమే. కానీ, అందు కోసం తెలుగుని విస్మరించాల్సిన, తక్కువ చెయ్యాల్సిన అవసరం లేదు. కొత్త తెలుగు పదాలను సృష్టించుకోవలసింది పోయి ఉన్న తెలుగు పదాలనే వాడటం లేదు. ఒకప్పటి తెలుగు అయితే ఉండదనే అనిపిస్తోంది, చాలా ఇంగ్లీషు పదాలు తెలుగులోకి వచ్చేశాయి. తెలుగులో రాసినప్పుడే చాలా ఇంగ్లీషు పదాలు ఉంటున్నాయి. అనువాదం చేసేటప్పుడు పట్టి పట్టి తెలుగు పదాలు ఇస్తున్నారేమో కాని తెలుగు భాషలో తెలుగుదనం తగ్గిపోతోంది. బహుశా టెంగ్లిష్‌కి మనందరం అలవాటు పడాలేమో.
You can read the full article here.
An interview with All India Radio Hyderabad’s Sri Valeti Gopichand garu, about Telugu children’s literature.
Air date: 31st October, 2022
Listen to it below, or click here.
One of our efforts to bring engaging stories at affordable rates, and improve Telugu reading skills is ‘Pustakalato Sneham‘ series.
The books are organised in colour-coded levels, and are aimed at different reading levels. The series currently has 10 sets, with 5 or 10 books in each set.
Event date: 14th November, 2021
Manchi Pustakam’s collaboration with Telugu Association of North America (TANA) began in 2017, with a common intent to encourage children reading in Telugu. The approach we took was to have an open invite for original writings in Telugu, and have a panel select the most appealing entries.
We celebrated Children’s Day in 2021 with the release of the prize winning books. They included ten picture stories for children below 10 years, and five novels for children above 10 years.
Have a look at the set of 10 picture stories, which continue to remain popular to date. And browse the TANA – Manchi Pustakam collaboration tag for more.
Watch the highlights from the event below. Or watch the video on Youtube by clicking here.
Weekly column by Suresh Kosaraju (of Manchi Pustakam), featured on TelupuTV, that ran for 19 weeks.
Article publish date: 19th October, 2021
Each week introduced a new book that had been translated into Telugu. Genres included novels, sustainable agriculture, adolescent health and wellbeing, education reform, and philosophy. The columns often included a brief description of the book, parts that resonated with the columnist, what made the book unique, inspiring behind-the-scenes tidbits and more.
Check out the article here, which has links to each of the 19 books introduced. Includes Parusavedi (The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho), Sivamettina Nadi & Neelam Rangu Godugu (Ruskin Bond), Singaravva (Chandrashekhar Kambara), Gaddi Parakato Viplavam (Masanobu Fukuoka), among others.
Of the 19, the following books are currently available for purchase on our website:
Sivamettina Nadi & Neelam Rangu Godugu – 2 books in 1. Available in comic book format and novel format.
Kamla Bhasin’s Conversations with Adolescents in Telugu: Koumara Vayassu Balalato Muchhatlu 1 & 2
