Bookhive Library - Magic is in the books.

It is a Zen-kind of a book in the mold of books like Zen Ties, Zen Socks, and Zen Shorts by John J. Muth. The book is meant for anyone from 8 to 80 years old. In the words of the author – It is meant to be one you can dip into anywhere, anytime. In other words, when one is feeling short of hope, inspiration, motivation, or saddled with fears, worries, or sadness, pick this book up and it will pick you up.

The book is in the form of conversation or questions and answers between four characters – the boy, the mole, the fox, and the horse. The boy was lonely before he met mole. Mole is conscious of his small size and his significance in life. The fox has been through difficult times and his outlook is shaped by the hurts he is carrying in his heart which is symbolized by his silence. The horse is the biggest and gentlest. He is also full of wisdom, not unlike an elder in the family who has seen all the ups and downs of life.

The story starts with the mole musing about his size. The boy tells mole that the size is immaterial. He may be small but his presence still makes a huge difference. If you ever doubt your place in this universe remember you are here because nature wants you and has an important role for you in this universe.

The second question is probably the most profound question in the entire book. The question - what do you want to be when you grow up? - doesn’t elicit the typical response like a doctor, a musician, a fashion designer, or an author. The boy replied to the mole –

“I WANT TO BE KIND WHEN I GROW UP”.

Well, how many of us think like that or instill a value of KINDNESS above everything else. What if all of us wanted to become kind when we grew up instead of chasing dreams of more possessions, more money, and more power. Difficult but it would change the face of this world!

Have you ever thought about success in terms of love? This is what the mole tells the boy when he asked him what success means to him.

The discussion veers to what is the biggest waste of time. The answer is not surprising – comparing ourselves to others, as it either makes us vain or miserable. The boy wistfully thinks only if there was a school of unlearning, which shows that it is not easy to give up our old habits even when they aren’t right.

Next, the discussion turns to fear and the mole thinks if there is one thing that surely kills dreams it is fear. Love your dreams because they have the power to change the world.

The boy and the mole come across a fox tethered to a stake. Is the mole scared of the fox? No, not even when the fox threatens to kill him if he were untethered. Unafraid, the mole chewed the wire which restrained the fox from pouncing on him and making a meal of him. Isn’t it liberating to be free of fear?

“ONE OF OUR GREATEST FREEDOMS IS HOW WE REACT TO THINGS.”

How we use this freedom decides whether it is a blessing or a bane of our existence.

When the mole subsequently fell in a pond, it is the fox that rescues the mole, repaying the mole’s good deed with a generous deed of its own. Kindness begets kindness! Something to always keep in mind, even when out of habit, we behave otherwise.

The mole muses that, while being kind to others is uplifting, being kind to self is the greatest of all kindness and is as uplifting because it is not dependent on others. Probably those who are kind to themselves are capable of being kind to others.

If you have difficulty living in present, the mole has a simple solution. He finds a quiet spot, shuts his eyes, breaths, and focuses on what he loves most – cake!

Admiring the beauty of nature the boy reflects we can only see things outside, but everything happens on the inside. If only we had the eyes that could see inside.

The three friends meet the horse. The four of them love each other’s company. They have fun together as the boy and the mole ride on their new friend. Then the discussion turns to more serious matters as the boy falls in the water and the horse picks him up.

He reassures the boy that we are all scared but when we are together we are not that scared. At the same time, crying doesn’t make us look weak but it is our strength.

The boy is in a mood to ask the horse more questions and gets more nuggets of wisdom. When asked about the bravest thing he had said, the horse replied – HELP. It is because when you ask for help you are refusing to give up.

When the four of them come across two ducks swimming in the pond the boy wonders how they look so together and perfect. The horse reveals the truth – there is a lot of frantic paddling going on beneath.

At that moment the mole shares the biggest truth of life

“THE GREATEST ILLUSION IS THAT LIFE SHOULD BE PERFECT.”

The horse reassures the boy that life is difficult but you are loved. In a moment of self-doubt, the boy worries his friends would realize he is just ordinary and wonders how come they still love him despite knowing all about him? The mole reassures that they don’t need him to be extraordinary to love him and the horse adds they love him all the more.

The fox is mostly silent and tells his friends that, to be honest, he has nothing interesting to say. The horse, wise as always, tells him that being honest is most interesting.

The mole is curious to know the boy’s perspective whether his glass is half full or half empty. The boy tells that he is just grateful to have a glass.

What’s the advice when things feel out of control? Focus on things that you love. And when dark clouds are hovering above? Keep going, because the storm will pass.

One last piece of advice from the horse before they come to the end of their journey

DON’T MEASURE HOW VALUABLE YOU ARE BY THE WAY YOU ARE TREATED.

Always remember you are important and you are loved. You have your place in the world.

Written By

Artwork BY



A heart-rending story that goes back to the time of black slavery. It is a story of unbearable pain and suffering that black families had to endure because young children and adults were stolen from their parents, tearing apart entire families, communities, and nations. It is a story of inhumane treatment meted out to human beings because of the color of their skin. It is a pity that the racial and other forms of discrimination continue centuries later despite huge strides made by humankind in education, science, and technology.

Time – 1725
Place – Old Mali, West Africa

The Griot’s Prelude – Drums are beating and warning people in villages far and near of the lurking danger – the pale men with blue eyes stealing black men, women, boys, and girls.

Dinga, a Mende blacksmith, was a master craftsman and honored by his people. But most of all he was admired as a doting and loving father. His wife had died while giving birth to their son. All the elders in the village tried to persuade him to take another wife for the sake of his newborn son, but he would have none of it. He tied the baby on his back and went straight to his forge, where seven generations of his clan had mastered their skills. He thanked the mother elements – DONGI (Earth), NGOM-GBI (Fire), DZHE-LO-WA (Water), and FE FE (Wind) for making his seven generations, successful blacksmiths.

With no mother to look after his son, he invited them all to bless his son. Mother Earth kissed him on the forehead and proclaimed he is already strong like her mountain son. Fire Woman blew him a kiss and announced he would be an inspiring, courageous and spirited leader. Water Maiden tickled his toes and sang a lullaby – a boy has come, and happiness, laughter, and beauty have come. The Wind Spirit embraced and whispered in his ear – You and I will dance together and be forever free! Dinga held the baby up to the sky and named him – Musafa.

In time Musafa grew into a tall and strong boy, guided by the wisdom of the Mother Elements under the watchful eyes of his father. Village elders appreciated how well Dinga was raising his son. Of all the things, Musafa liked running freely through tall grasses with Wind the most.

From time-to-time, the drums spoke of war, famine, bloodshed, and treachery. But it was too far off to bother Dinga.

As Musafa came of age, he became Dinga’s apprentice, the eighth generation of their clan to wield the hammer. But he was no match to his father in making the tools. What he liked most was creating different things like a caterpillar, a tick bird, or a crocodile from scraps of metal. His father lamented to Mother Elements about Musafa creating useless objects and showing no interest in learning the real skill. They all told him to be patient.

And then one-morning Musafa was gone without any trace. Dinga had sent him to pick up wood, but when he didn’t return for a long time, he thought he was running with Wind and forgot to do his chores. As darkness fell, he searched for Musafa at all his favorite places, but there was no sign of him. Dinga found Musafa’s leather pouch by the side of the road and realized that he had lost Musafa forever. In agony, he tore his clothes and smeared dirt on his head to mourn his loss.

He intoned Mother Elements to help bring Musafa back wherever he was. Earth Mother was the first to go looking for him but returned empty-handed. She revealed that the pale men had captured Musafa. She saw him chained at the ankles, tripping and tumbling as they dragged him and lashed his ba****ck. Still, Musafa helped a girl who had fallen and told her Earth Mother‘s saying – Fear is a leopard; Courage renders him toothless. She tried everything possible (villagers remember earth splitting and rocks erupting on the day Musafa had been captured) but couldn’t free him from his captors.

Fire Woman assured Dinga that she would surely bring him back. Alas! Even she couldn’t save him. She scorched the grass and burnt the grasslands (villagers still recall that the savannahs burnt to ashes on the day Musafa had been taken) as she pursued his captors. But they escaped across the sand beach, loaded Musafa and other captives on the ship, and sailed away as she watched helplessly. Gone, Gone, Gone!

Dinga was in despair when Water Maiden told him that she would pursue the ship and bring his news. The sky burst open, and the river swelled and reached the ocean (Every time the Niger River overflows, villagers are reminded of Water Maiden’s efforts to rescue Musafa). Days turned into weeks and weeks into months before she brought sad news for Dinga.

The ship was full of children snatched from the arms of Mother Africa. Many too weak to survive, others too disheartened to want to carry on living. But there was one voice singing a defiant song urging everyone to live on. That voice belonged to Musafa, and it was the only comforting voice in that den of suffering, cruelty, and death. It was Water Maiden’s teaching – When the drumbeat changes, you must change the dance that gave him solace. When they reached the shore, Musafa was sold to the Charlack Plantation in Carolina.

Wind Spirit wanted to go across the seas to bring news of Musafa to his grieving father, but she was too weak to cross the Great Water. Dinga wept and wept some more. Devastated, he only thought of Musafa and stopped working. Three years and still counting, finally, Wind Spirit found a way to go across. She went to the Sahara, gathering heat, picking up speed, sucking up water in the Atlantic before becoming a Hurricane, and landing on the other side. When she rode back home, she brought news of Musafa to warm the cockles of his heart.

The slaves worked in the to***co, sugarcane, cotton, and rice fields; built palatial houses for their masters. They told familiar stories and sang songs – Anansi became Aunt Nancy, Zomo the Rabbit became Br’er Rabbit. They cooked yams and okra, and rice and beans. They had not forgotten!

She found Musafa, now called Moses Shannon, working as an apprentice to Blacksmith Shannon. Customers liked his beautiful pieces of work, which sold like hotcakes. He had finally found music in his hammer. He still remembered what he had learned as a young boy back in his village – Learn by reaching back with one hand while stretching forward with the other. He told his master that his father was a genius who taught everything their previous seven generations knew.

When someone told him that his master was going to free him, Wind Spirit heard him whisper - In my mind, I have always been free, As free as Wind.

Today
Mali, West Africa

The drums are still beating today, but they are not warning people of the pale men with blue eyes. Griots haven’t forgotten Musafa or million others who were stolen from their families or Dinga and all those fathers and mothers who grieved for their stolen children. A lot of time has passed, but the pain has not lessened. Because the wisdom Mother Dongi (Earth) gave Musafa is still true

Kings may come and go,
But the family endures forever.

A storybook different from the traditional storybooks as the author draws beautiful illustrations and starts a thread but leaves it unfinished to let the reader use their imagination and come with their own stories.

A little girl loved stories. They take her to different places where she meets new friends and make her world wondrous. One day she noticed a book in the school that caught her attention. She borrowed the book and ran home, but didn’t see the words flying out of the book. A fox was following her and catching those words.

The girl was bursting with excitement and couldn’t wait to open the book. She settled down to read the stories after her supper. Each page had beautiful pictures, but there were no words. That puzzled her. Suddenly, she heard a whisper as she paged the book with mesmerizing pictures. It told her not to worry about words but use her imagination to make up her own stories. It urged her to imagine anything possible under the sun and make a story she likes, reimagine it, and make a different story.

The girl did what the whisper told her to do. She went right back to the first page and looked at the beautiful picture of a blue bear and bees flying all over. She thought of something but wasn’t pleased with it. At first, it wasn’t easy to come up with the right words. But she didn’t give up. She thought harder and looked more closely at the picture. And then just-like-that the words started flowing in her mind and make sense. She could see in her mind that it was the first day of spring, and the blue bear had just arrived. He promised…

From here on, the book has a stunning double-spread of pictures and a starting line for the reader to come with their own story. It is probably the most ingenious way to make a child make up their own story.

The girl flipped through the book, and words floated in front of her eyes as she weaved one story after another and then quietly drifted off into a dream-world.

When she woke up, it was later than usual, and the birds were already fluttering and chirping. She got ready and rushed out to go to school.

On the way, she met the fox, who had collected all the words from the book. The fox generously offered her all the words back in exchange for a favor. In the centuries-old tale, the fox was left disappointed as it couldn’t pick the grapes hanging high up on the vines. But it climbed on the girl’s shoulders, picked the grapes, and rewrote the timeless story. The grapes were no longer sour. They were rather sweet and juicy.

Happy to have given a new end to the old tale, she ran the school, told the teacher she fell in love with the book and was dying to tell her stories.

The teacher smiled knowingly as she too couldn’t wait to hear them all…

Read to your child if you really care! Being a parent is a full-time job. There is a lot you have to do to bring up a healthy, curious, and active child. But if reading stories is not part of their daily routine, despite everything you …

An old Russian folktale with the message that, no matter what others think about you, it is your inherent goodness that counts. A good deed never goes waste, and with the right people on your side, you can do the impossible.

A peasant family with three sons lived somewhere in an ancient kingdom. Two older sons were smart as a whip while the third was called the Fool of the World even by the family. Being not as clever as his other two siblings put the Fool of the World at a disadvantage as even his mother and father did not care much for him.

When the Czar of the kingdom announced that he would marry his daughter to a man who would bring him a flying ship, it was natural for the two clever siblings to fancy their chances. When they decided to set off on their adventure, their father brought the finest clothes while their mother packed soft white rolls, meat, and a bottle of corn brandy for their long journey.

If this story were about the two clever brothers, it would end here, as nothing-was-ever heard of them again.

But this story is about the Fool of the World, who despite being less fancied than his older brothers, did not consider himself less worthy of the Princess's hand.

However, there was no warm send-off by his parents – only a bag with crusts of black bread and a flask of water when he decided to seek his fortune. Though, he would have loved having nothing less than soft white rolls, good meat, and corn brandy for his journey just like his brothers.

He had hardly started his journey when he met an ancient-looking man who was curious where the young man was off to. The Fool of the World told him not only the purpose of his expedition but also that he had no idea how he was going to make the flying ship to win the Princess’s hand.

The old-man suggested that they can share a meal, and then he could proceed with his journey. Though feeling ashamed that he did not have a meal worthy of sharing with a guest, he offered whatever his mother had packed for him. When he opened the bag, to his utter surprise, there was freshly cooked meat, soft white rolls, and corn brandy in his bottle. The man told him that while his parents might have forsaken him, God still loved him and had given him his share of good things.

After a hearty meal and singing songs, the man told him how he could get a flying ship. He advised him to offer everyone he meets on the way a ride on the flying ship.

Thanking and saying goodbye to him, the Fool of the world went to the forest. As instructed by the old-man, he walked up to the first big tree he saw, made the sign of the cross three times, and struck a mighty blow on the truck with his hatchet. Then he fell flat on the ground and closed his eyes.

He woke up after sometime when he felt someone shaking him up, and there stood a majestic flying ship as promised by the old-man. Without wasting a moment he climbed onto the flying ship and set sail in search of the palace.

As he flew, the first person he met was a man lying down with his ear pressed to the ground. The man was capable of hearing everything happening in the world. The Fool of the World told him to hop on, and they flew onward together.

The next person they encountered was hopping on one leg with the other leg tied to a sling around his neck. He was capable of going across the world in a single stride. They got him over and flew on their way to the palace.

The third person to get on board the flying ship was a shooter who could shoot objects thousand of versts (miles) away.

The fourth person to take a seat on the ship was able to eat as much as he could, and the fifth person could empty a whole lake in one gulp and still be parched.

The next person was carrying a bundle of wood which, if he scattered on the ground, would turn into an army of soldiers. The Fool of the World promptly offered him a place on the ship.

The seventh and the last person to be part of the motley crowd of distinguished people on the ship could change the hottest summer into vicious winter just by sprinkling straw from the sack he was carrying.

The group, singing merrily at the top of their voice, announced their arrival at the palace of the Czar, just as he sat down to eat his dinner.

The Czar sent his servants to check out the great prince who had arrived on the flying-ship but was disappointed to learn that there was no great prince, only a few moujiks (Russian peasants). It was something that the Czar had not bargained for. So he devised a plan whereby he would not have to marry his daughter to a peasant and at-the-same-time would get hold of their magnificent flying machine.

He wanted the Fool of the World to bring magical water of life before he had finished his dinner. The first person, the Listener, heard Czar’s order and told it to the Fool of the World even before Czar's servants delivered his message. He might be called the Fool of the World but he was smart enough to know that it was impossible to get the water of life in a year or even a lifetime, forget about getting before the Czar finished his dinner.

What was impossible for the Fool of the world was too easy for the second man, who could cover the world in one step. Before the Fool of the World could utter a word, he reached across the other end of the world and filled the water of life in a bottle. Knowing that there was plenty of time before the Czar would finish his dinner he sat down under a windmill and dozed off as the soft breeze blew. Meanwhile, the Czar was about to finish his leisurely dinner feeling rather pleased with himself as there was still no sign of the man with water of life.

The Listener again pressed his ear to the ground and announced that the man was soundly snoring. He could hear a fly buzzing over his head. Next, the shooter picked up his gun, took aim at the fly, and woke up the man as the bullet whizzed past his ears. The man was back with the water of life just in time as the royal dinner came to an end.

Unwilling to give up so easily, the Czar devised cunning ways to defeat a pack of country peasants. He first sent a meal of twelve roasted oxen and bread baked in forty ovens asking them to finish it in one go. It took the Eater one morsel to eat the entire meal. Next, he sent forty barrels of wine, which the Drinker finished in one gulp.

Realizing it would not be as easy to get rid of these simple folks as he had imagined, he invited the Fool of the World to take a bath before the wedding. He ordered his servants to make the iron bathhouse red-hot so that the Fool of the World would frizzle the moment he would step into it. This time it was moujik with the straw, who came to his rescue and froze the boiling water by scattering the straw in the bathhouse.

At his wit's end, the Czar told the Fool of the World to organize an army to protect the Princess. He was sure that a simple peasant would be hard-pressed to recruit a single soldier, least of all raise an army. But again, he had not bargained that one of the simple peasants would have the ability to raise an army by scattering twigs on the ground. It is precisely what the man with a bundle of twigs on his head did.

Now the Czar was on the back-foot. He not only had a resourceful party of simple country folks to contend with but a gigantic army of cavalry, foot soldiers, canons, and guns ready to take on his army in case of any misadventure by the Czar.

So he quickly did what he should have done in the first place. He sent fine clothes and jewelry for the Fool of the World, seeking him to marry his daughter. As far as the princess is concerned, she fell in love with the Fool of the World as soon as she saw him and loved him to distraction.

A poignant yet inspiring story.

What is Junkyard? It’s a place for things that nobody wants.

So if a class is called Junkyard, what does that make kids who are part of that class? Throwaways! Nobody needs them, and they are dispensable.

When Patricia joined a new school in Michigan, where her grandma and father lived, she was looking forward to a fresh start. Back in California, all the kids knew of her struggles with reading, the special-classes she attended and called her dumb. But it would be different here, and she would have a chance to make a fresh start.

She arrived at the school, looking for her class. She was assigned to Mrs. Peterson’s class – Room No. 206. She entered the room, and a boy with huge glasses, Thom, called her to sit beside him. The classroom seemed very different to Patricia, but she couldn’t put her finger on what bothered her.

In a while, a short and bulky figure walked into the classroom. Without any ceremony, the lady started reading the definition of Genius. She then turned to the class and told them that each of them was a genius to her. And then she introduced herself –Welcome to Junkyard, and I am your teacher, Mrs. Peterson.

During recess, Patricia found out why their class was called Junkyard. Jody, the super-tall kid, had a disease that made him grow fast. Gibbie suffered from Tourette’s syndrome, which is a neurological disorder. Stuart had diabetes. Thom had poor vision.

When she went home, with tears rolling down her cheeks, she told her dad and grandma that she was again in a special-class – the Junkyard.

The next day, Mrs. Peterson handed small glass bottles to everyone in the class. Each vial had a different essence in it – Lemon, Almond, Vanilla, Cinnamon, etc. Those who had Cinnamon were part of the Cinnamon tribe, and those with Lemon were part of the Lemon tribe. Patricia was in Vanilla group with Gibbie, Thom, Jody, and Ravanne.

From then on, members of a tribe worked together on their projects. Ravanne was a math whiz. Gibbie loved building things; Jody loved reading while Thom was the cleverest of all. Patricia was the official journal-keeper, as she was good at drawing. Soon they were inseparable from each other. They would go to Jody’s house where they would decorate cakes his mother made or watch Saturn’s rings from the telescope set up by Gibbie’s dad or go with Patricia’s dad, who organized a trip to the farm. They didn’t go to Ravanne’s house as she lived with foster parents.

Mrs. Peterson worked tirelessly to make the Junkyard kids believe in themselves. But that didn’t stop other children from teasing them or making fun of them. On a particularly bad day, Mrs. Peterson could see that her class was extremely upset.

It was time for Mrs. Peterson to remind them what it meant to be junkyard kids. They weren’t throwaways that nobody wanted but her wonders. To others, they may be bent and broken, but to her, they were splendid kids who would become something new, something unexpected, something surprising!

To prove that she meant every word she said, Mrs. Peterson took the whole class to Melvin Beach junkyard, told each tribe to collect everything they could turn into something new.

Every tribe scoured through piles after piles of junk and collected everything from wheels to handles they could use to make something new. The Vanillas were the last to find the stuff they wanted. It was Gibbie who spotted it – an old wrecked model of airplane. When Thom said that it was just an old torn-up plane, Gibbie described it as a beauty, something they are going to rebuild into a new airplane that will defy the gravity and fly all the way to the moon.

Over the next few weeks, each tribe spent countless hours putting things together for their new inventions while Mrs. Peterson never tired of reminding them that they should not be like other people, who look at things and cry why things are that way. She wanted them to look at things and see what they could be and ask why not.

Each tribe was finally ready with their inventions. The Cinnamons had made Vibraphonium. The Almonds had made a Hanging Wall Maze, and the Lemons unveiled a device with perpetual movement. The Vanillas were excited to pull the cover off their plane. When someone said it was just an old model airplane, Gibbie replied that their plane was going to defy gravity and go to the moon.

Mrs. Peterson told the class that she believed everything Gibbie said. If he thought their plane would go all the way to the moon, then it would. The only thing, Gibbie told them, they needed to make it possible was a motor. It was an expensive motor. The whole class came together to raise money to buy it. It took bake sales by moms and dads sponsored car washes along with gadgets made by junkyard kids to raise enough money for the motor.

As the school science fair was round the corner, it was the right time to launch the airplane from the school’s roof. Mrs. Peterson told the class to think of a name for their magnificent machine. Many names came up, but they chose the name suggested by Jody.

The Junkyard Wonder. Rightly so, because the Junkyard Wonders had made it out of junk. Of late, Jody had started missing school a lot because of his poor health. He, even, needed help to climb stairs to the classroom on the first floor, and then before the plane could fly, lightning struck. Mrs. Peterson broke the news of Jody’s death to the class. Jody’s heart had a tough time coping with his growing body and had stopped working while he was asleep. They all mourned his death but also felt that the name, The Junkyard Wonder, was even more appropriate now.

Gibbie’s father had mounted the motor on the plane, and they tried it to make sure it worked fine. But there were many unanswered questions - would it work on the day of the science fair, would they get access to the roof where they weren’t allowed to go and many more.

The day before the science fair, the excited class was going through their plans when, Barton Poole, who despised them, overheard their conversation and squealed on them to the principal. The principal refused permission to launch a fuel-laden airplane from the roof of the school. But Mrs. Peterson told them to be ready with their original plan for the next morning. She spoke to the principal, who was okay if Gibbie’s dad, Mr. McDonald, supervised the whole launch.

The kids were all over the field, going through various science exhibits. The Vanillas were ready to launch the plane. With the entire school assembled in the ground below, the principal gave a green signal to launch the airplane. Gibbie spun the propeller over and over again, but the engine wouldn’t start. Mr. McDonald told the boys to hold the plane while he rotated the propeller himself. With a loud bang, the propeller came alive, and on the back-count of one, the boys let go of the plane. The Junkyard Wonder was airborne. It flew over the field and suddenly sputtered and seemed to stall, but the engine roared back to life with a defeating noise. And then with its nose pointed skyward, it pushed through the clouds into the stratosphere. Everyone watched as it became a speck and finally disappeared.

There were two people in everyone’s thoughts – Mrs. Peterson, who gave a new meaning to the word, Junkyard, and Jody. Tears rolled down Mrs. Peterson’s eyes as the Wonder went on its way to the moon.