Recommended Reads-What makes one?

Recently when I was going through the Book Review section in the online version of the Reader’s Digest magazine, I came across this request “Please recommend four books that no child should miss.” I couldn’t find exactly four books being recommended for this. If that has been the case, then it means there is a scarcity of good writing in English or the person who has recommended the books should be a novice like me. But what I actually found as the recommendation for this request is the name of quite a few authors namely ‘Edith Nesbit’, ‘Sir H. Hans Christian Anderson’, ‘Roald Dahl’ and ‘Astrid Lindgren’. I have not read any of these authors before. I have never come across these names. That left me with some questions in my mind:

• What makes an author a must read/ recommended read for children? (I couldnot find the answer where I found the recommendation).
• Which category or age group of children are these books recommended for?
• If these are the kind of books referred for children then what are the values these books provide for children?
• What is the degree of intellect the children are supposed to possess from the perspective of those who recommended them?
• And finally, will it help adults like me also?

So I began my search for answers to these questions and have started reading the list of authors mentioned above. Based on my reading, I will share my thoughts about the books of these authors from the perspective of finding answers to my above questions as and when I read them.
Readers, if you do come across any such list of recommended reads, please post them here as comments and if possible please provide me the link to those books if they are available online.
For people who are interested in reading old classic novels and short stories, you can read them at www.classicreader.com.

Parenting and What It Means

     Few news items that we read or few incidents in our life leave such a mark in our hearts that it compels us to share it with someone. Such incidents also keep us thinking to help us to learn from them.
     In recent times, we are hearing a lot about students committing suicide due to exam failures, young couple committing suicides due to family problems or newly wed ending up in divorce due to lack of understanding between them.
     On the other side, we see a lot of young people creating a new history each day. A 14 year old becomes a CEO of her own company, a young Indian from Ranchi leading a team to a world cup victory and there are many more such news that makes people proud of their younger generation.
    On seeing these two completely contrasting differences in the attitudes of youngsters today, one is made to think what makes a person do what he does. Is it due to the way they are brought up or is it due to the opportunities provided to them or is it the kind of people they are surrounded by? If we think further deep, is it the lack of awareness that the people can choose their opportunities and the people around them? If yes, whose responsibility is it to create this awareness among these youngsters? I am sure everyone would agree that it is first the responsibility of parents to make their kids as a confident, passionate and compassionate individual.
   In this almost mechanized world, people especially parents, who are responsible for their kids growth, are more bothered about their survival than about their growth as individuals. Many parents nowadays wish their kids should start earning more compared to their friends' and relatives' kids. This is the attitude with which they are brought up from young age. First, parents should have the understanding that money is not everything in life and people should not work just for the sake of money. (Then they are to be blamed for the creation of money laundering people in the country).So they do not bother about nurturing their kid's passion. They don't understand the fact that when a child is not allowed to find his/ her passion and live upto it, they start losing confidence in themselves and whatever they do for their parent's wish, ends up making their life more stressful.
  There is also the fact that if a child finds value in what their parents want them to do, they will excel in whichever career they choose. So parents should either help their kids find their passion and nurture it or should help their kids understand the value of what they say. Also, it is most important that every individual should be allowed to live his/her own life and nobody should force/control the lives of others.
  Dear parents, please act as guide to your kids to find their passion and grow. Never try to dictate your kids life for your expectations. Everybody has just one life. Choose what you want of your life and try to get it. If you don't get it, don't exploit your kids' life for that. Parenting is an art by itself. Understand, learn and enjoy doing it. Let your child live for what he/she wants. We can create a more responsible younger generation who will live a meaningful life.