Summer, Statues and Samara

Hi! Hope you’re doing well. Some of you may be getting your kids back to school, and some may still be in the middle of summer holidays. It’s raining where I am; would it still be considered summer? I have been meaning to write to the Sam and Mi family for a long time, except writing these books keeps coming in the way ;) But staying in touch with family is important, so I will write every month about what’s up with Sam and Mi. Feel free to share with me all that’s going on with you.

I had an absolutely fun summer with my children. They are five years apart, and until now, they have both been on different tracks, with me running helter-skelter after them. Finally, this year we could engage in the same activities together. We saw some fun theatre performances, went out for lunches and built Lego. My older one had a steady stream of friends come over through the holidays, and I was living my dream of being surrounded by kids. Now that they are back in school, I miss them. Miss hugging both my daughters through the day. Miss stressing about the work I meant to get done instead of playing with them. Miss hearing their opinion of the world and everything in it. 

I often joke, "I write children's books, and my children are my homework." 

I had been writing children’s books for nearly eight years when I founded Sam and Mi, encouraged by schools, learning specialists and fellow parents. Sam and Mi started as a personal journey for me to teach my children the values and skills I consider the most important for a happy and successful life: empathy, problem solving and communication. As a writer, avid reader and collector of children’s books, sharing these values as picture books became my language of love. And I am grateful that I get to share this love with my readers. 

Raising adventurous problem-solvers and communicators is not easy. It demands supreme patience to empathise with their needs, allow them to make mistakes and explain to you (in great detail) the alternate solution. I remember the time my older daughter wanted to see a sculpture up close. The problem was that it was in the middle of the pond on our family farm. All the adults told her not to, as the pond was filthy. Her pleading eyes turned to me. I asked her, “Can you come up with a way to touch the sculpture without getting wet, Samara?” You know what, she did! She found a pathway built at the back to clean the statue. And ever since, she has continued to use it as she pleases to go and sit in front of the sculpture she likes so much. The character of Samara in our books is based on my daughter. And the sculpture is that of an elephant that we have now christened Alphabet! For all those who missed the reference, it comes from our most popular series 'Adventures of Samara and Alphabet' focused on raising problem solvers!

When my children first started school, I would worry whether their teachers and classmates would understand their sense of adventure. In the last couple of years, I have met many teachers who have organically picked up Sam and Mi books for their classrooms to encourage students to consciously build on their ideas. 

Today, I realise I don’t need to worry about my girls finding their way through the world. They can communicate their needs and find workable solutions. And when they need it, there will be an empathetic teacher waiting to cheer them on. 

I will sign off with this thought for July and write to you next month.

Feels good to chat!
Love,
Priyanka

Priyanka Agarwal Mehta

Priyanka is a mother to two vivacious girls and most of her books stem from the interactions she has with her daughters. Her books include subtle themes of empathy, problem solving and communication skills - capabilities that she considers key to a happy and successful life. She holds a BA from Northwestern University in the US and a MBA from University of Cambridge in the UK. She sits on the board of several educational institutions. She spends most of her time writing books and running an educational technology company.