Written by, July 1 -- Purnima Singh

International Dickens Medal winner for his book of fiction Six Feet Distance, Ratan Bhattacharjee's Putu Shona is much more than a collection of stories about a little girl named Renee. It is an autobiographical narrative that documents the emotional, intellectual, and moral development of a child through everyday experiences shared with her family. Comprising over sixty episodes divided into two sections, the book presents childhood as a journey of discovery, learning, affection, and cultural inheritance.

The stories move effortlessly across continents-from Glen Allen and New Jersey in the United States to Toronto in Canada and Kolkata in India-offering readers a portrait of a child growing up in a m...