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ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: Born Behind Bars
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WEBSITE: http://padmasbooks.com/
CITY: North Kingstown
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COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 345
http://www.penguin.com/author/padma-venkatraman/1000070172
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PERSONAL
Born November 13, 1969, in Chennai, India; naturalized U.S. citizen; married; has children.
EDUCATION:St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore, India, B.Sc., 1989; College of William & Mary, M.S., 1994, Ph.D. (oceanography), 2001; Johns Hopkins University, postdoctoral research (engineering).
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, oceanographer, and educator. Brockwood Park School, Hampshire, England, teaching assistant, 1989-90; College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, teaching assistant and instructor, 1999-2001; Inwoods School, director, 2003-04; University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, lecturer, 2005-07, then director of graduate diversity affairs and lecturer in oceanography; instructor in scientific writing. Research fellow for M.S. Swaminathan Institute and Andaman & Nicobar Islands Environmental Trust; Institut für Meereskunde, Kiel, Germany, chief scientist for biological monitoring cruises, 1995; participant in other scientific cruises. Former staff writer for Gokulam; science writer for Chatterbox (children’s magazine), 1999-2003.
AVOCATIONS:Scuba diving, canoeing, hiking, painting.
AWARDS:Storytelling World Honor Book selection, 2008, for The Cleverest Thief; Magazine Merit Award for Nonfiction, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, 2008; Best Book for Young Adults selection, American Library Association (ALA)/YALSA, Rhode Island Book of the Year selection, Capitol Choices selection, Notable Social Studies Trade Book selection, Children’s Book Council/National Council for Social Studies (CBC/NCSS), Julia Ward Howe Young Readers Award, Boston Authors Club, ALA Amelia Bloomer listee, Best Book selection, Bank Street College of Education, Best Book citation, Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC), and New York Public Library Book of the Year selection, all 2009-09, all for Climbing the Stairs; Paterson Prize in Young-Adult category, South Asia Book Award in Young-Adult category, South Asia International Consortium, Crystal Kite Award finalist, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Julia Ward Howe Young Readers Award finalist, ALA/YALSA Best Books for Young Adults selection, Amelia Bloomer listee, and CCBC Best Book selection, all 2012, all for Island’s End; ALA Notable Book selection, CCBC Choices selection, Crystal Kite Award finalist, Outstanding Book for People with Disabilities selection, International Board on Books for Young People, Notable Book for a Global Society, International Reading Association, and several state and regional honors, all c. 2014, all for A Time to Dance; Earphone Award, Audiophile, for audio version of The Bridge Home.
WRITINGS
Contributor to The Use of Species Sensitivity Distributions in Ecotoxicology, edited by Glenn W. Suter II, Leo Posthuma, and Theo Traas, CRC Press, 2001. Contributor to periodicals, including Delhi-London Poetry Quarterly, London Poetry Quarterly, Mobius, Parnassus, Snowy Egret, and Wake up India; contributor to scientific journals, including AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, Environmental Science & Technology, Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry, Marine Pollution, and Water Research. Columnist for Hindu, Indradanush (in Hindi), and Tulir (in Tamil); former columnist for Sanctuary, Times of India, and Kahani (for South Asian American children).
SIDELIGHTS
Padma Venkatraman began her career as an oceanographer and led scientific research cruises on the Baltic Sea before turning to writing as a way to share her interest in oceanography. Geared for both adults and children, Venkatraman’s works include picture books, poetry, scientific articles, and over a hundred magazine articles about science for lay people. She writes in English as well as in several other languages. Among her stories for children are the award-winning picture book The Cleverest Thief and the mathematical folktale collection Mathematwist: Number Tales from around the World. In A Time to Dance, a novel, Venkatraman tells the story of a young Indian dancer recovering from a disabling accident.
Venkatraman’s debut novel, Climbing the Stairs, is geared for teens and centers on the struggles of fifteen-year-old Vidya. Living in southern India during World War II, Vidya and her family have been affected by the current movement for Indian independence led by Mahatma Gandhi. Vidya dreams of attending high school and college, even though such an education is uncommon for Indian women of the 1940s. Although her physician father is liberal-minded and in accord with his daughter’s wishes, Vidya must stand on her own he is terribly injured by demonstrators agitating against India’s British occupation. With her father no longer able to work, the teen and her family move in with her grandfather, who leads a much-more-traditional way of life. In addition to being treated like a servant, Vidya now faces the specter of an arranged marriage despite her growing love for friend Raman. Meanwhile, her brother Kitta is shifting in his political views: although their father supported the British war effort, Kitta now voices support for Indian independence.
“With Climbing the Stairs, Venkatraman fills an important place in YA historical fiction,” wrote Sandra Udall Crandall in a review in the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. In her Booklist appraisal, Carolyn Phelan commented that the author “paints an intricate and convincing backdrop of a conservative Brahmin home in a time of change,” and her novel “vivifies a unique era and culture.” Vidya “achieves the psychological distance to ponder cultural and religious similarities and differences by way of her philosophically minded … [father] and her Jewish best friend,” wrote Cynthia Winfield in a Voice of Youth Advocates appraisal of the novel, and her story “will capture the imaginations of many readers.” Sam Coale, writing in Rhode Island’s Providence Sunday Journal, praised Climbing the Stairs as a “fine, occasionally heartbreaking novel,” while a Kirkus Reviews critic concluded that Venkatraman’s story “excels in its detailed description of a Brahmin girlhood … in a time of intense social and political change.”
In Island’s End, Venkatraman explores the social turmoil that results when a traditional lifestyle is exposed to outside influences. Fifteen-year-old Uido lives on an isolated island in the Pacific. She, along with others in her tribe, follows generations of history and tradition, living without modern conveniences or other technological trappings. Her society is deeply spiritual and honors magic, premonitions, and communication with spirits in other realms. Because Uido is adept at communicating with spirits, she is chosen to succeed the island’s elderly spiritual leader and faces a harrowing rite of passage. Suddenly, her island is visited by outsiders who bring “miracles”—such as strangely prepared foods and small sticks that create fire—as well as greed, disrespect, and disease. While trying to cure her younger brother from one of these new maladies, Uido resolves to protect her entire tribe even as she endures the rituals that are required of a spiritual leader.
Island’s End treats readers to “a fantastic cultural story with identifiable characters and a plot in which the reader will want to believe,” according to Voice of Youth Advocates critic Kristi Sadowski. Venkatraman “beautifully expresses a primitive tribe’s connection to nature and their struggle to find safety” as modernity encroaches, wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor, while in Booklist, Ilene Cooper asserted that the author “succeeds spectacularly” in chronicling the challenges facing her “admirable” teen heroine. A Kirkus Reviews writer also praised the thought-provoking novel, writing that Island’s End is “refreshingly hopeful and beautifully written,” while in School Library Journal, Amanda Raklovits predicted that Venkatraman’s “expertly paced” story “will stay with readers long after the end.”
Venkatraman provides an intriguing glimpse of the rigorous training required to master the classical Indian devotional dance form of Bharatanatyam in A Time to Dance. Veda lives in Chennai—Venkatraman’s birthplace—and has devoted much of her life to mastering the art form that has deep links to Hinduism and temple rites. The teen has a grandmother who supports her study of the dance, but her parents want her to focus more on academics in preparation for engineering school. After winning first place in a Bharatanatyam competition, Veda is the victim of a devastating traffic accident and loses one of her legs below the knee. A life-changing encounter with a U.S. physician who fits her with a low-cost prosthetic limb reawakens the teen’s ambition to dance, and she works diligently to walk again in hope of resuming her Bharatanatyam practice. When her longtime teacher discourages her efforts, Veda finds a sympathetic master and is paired with a handsome young tutor whose dedication to Bharatanatyam matches her own. In A Time to Dance, “Venkatraman weaves together several themes so elegantly that they become one,” noted a Kirkus Reviews writer, the critic citing the novel’s themes as “young love, grief, insecurity and a [teen’s] dawning awareness of class issues.”
A Time to Dance draws readers into a “delectably scented, sensual world,” remarked Gail Bush in her Booklist review of Venkatraman’s novel, the critic adding that “life is illuminated as a beautiful celebration of doing what comes naturally.” Writing in Horn Book, Katie Bircher appreciated the spare, free-verse prose in the novel, noting that “brief lines, powerful images, and motifs of sound communicate Veda’s difficult struggle to accept her changed body—and her new limitations.” Voice of Youth Advocates contributor Stephanie Wilkes deemed A Time to Dance “magnificently strong” and added that “Veda’s determination dances off the page and into the reader’s heart,” while in School Library Journal, Laura Fields Eason heralded the work as an “exceptional novel” that will “appeal to readers … also trying to find their place in the world.”
An eleven-year-old Indian girl named Viji is the protagonist of Venkatraman’s 2019 novel, The Bridge Home. Viji and her intellectually disabled sister, Rukku, live with their mother and their abusive father in a small village. When their father injures their mother, the two girls decide they must flee. Viji and Rukku set off for the city of Chennai. There, they support themselves by scavenging at dump sites for recyclable items. They live in a slum on a bridge. Viji hopes to become a teacher one day, but she must now focus solely on survival and protecting Rukku. The two become friends with Arul and Muthu, who are also homeless. Rukku and Muthu contract serious illnesses, and Viji vows to save them. The book is written from Viji’s perspective in letters addressed to Rukku.
Phelan, writing again in Booklist, called the book “an absorbing novel of love, loss, and resilience.” Julie Hakim Azzam, contributor to Horn Book, described The Bridge Home as a “bittersweet story.” “Craftwise, the book is thoughtful. … Viji’s narration is vivid and sensory,” asserted a Kirkus Reviews critic. “Readers will be captivated by the message of love and the true meaning of home and family,” asserted Allison Richmond in Voice of Youth Advocates.
(open new)Like most of her previous novels, Venkatraman’s 2021 book, Born Behind Bars features a young protagonist living a difficult life in India. The main character in this book is Kabir, whose mother was incarcerated when she gave birth to him. For the entire nine years of his life, he has lived with his mother in prison, where she has been confined for a crime she did not commit. When a new prison warden comes, Kabir is abruptly kicked out of the jail. Though he has longed for freedom, he finds himself frightened and alone now that he is finally outside the prison’s walls. Quickly, Kabir is taken advantage of. He is sold into slavery, but he escapes. Kabir meets another homeless kid named Rani, who has a pet parrot. Rani agrees to help Kabir find his relatives. The two also try to think of ways to have his mother exonerated. In an interview with Alaina Lavoie, contributor to the We Need Diverse Books website, Venkatraman discussed her connections to the character of Kabir, stating: “As an immigrant who left India at age nineteen on my own and was then forced to create my own family of friends and discover a new sense of home, I am drawn to stories in which a protagonist is displaced and searching to understand what family and home mean, while also fighting for survival. And, just as Kabir does, I didn’t have a lot of people who believed in me as a kid, but I had a few—and that went a long way.”
Writing in Booklist, Emily Graham described Born Behind Bars as “an optimistic and earnest tale of the power of hope and the gift of family in all forms.” “This compelling novel develops at a brisk pace, advanced by evocative details and short chapters full of action,” asserted a Kirkus Reviews critic. Elizabeth Pelayo, reviewer in School Library Journal, commented: “Venkatraman takes these complex topics and makes them heartfelt and resonant.”(close new)
In an article she wrote on the Penguin Random House Audio website, Venkatraman described her writing process, stating: “Every novel has begun with an auditory hallucination that feels very real to me—I hear voices in my head, and I listen and write down what they say. It’s only after I can hear them clearly that I begin to see them—so it feels like listening to a book on tape, and then watching a movie—and then, as I write I get into my characters’ heads and hearts. They haunt me and then possess me, so I begin to dream with and within them.”
Venkatraman discussed the difficult situations she creates for her characters, and in turn, her audience, in an interview with G. Wayne Miller, contributor to the Providence Journal: “You are, for a while, if you read The Bridge Home, homeless and hungry and on the streets in India. If you read A Time to Dance, you are, for a little while, a person who loves to dance and loses your leg. … I wanted to put human beings into those situations because I think then you become more compassionate.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, April 15, 2008, Carolyn Phelan, review of Climbing the Stairs, p. 52; September 15, 2011, Ilene Cooper, review of Island’s End, p. 61; April 15, 2014, Gail Bush, review of A Time to Dance, p. 48; February 1, 2019, Carolyn Phelan, review of The Bridge Home, p. 73; September 1, 2021, Emily Graham, review of Born Behind Bars, p. 74.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, October, 2011, Carolyn Phelan, review of Island’s End, p. 115; September, 2014, Hope Morrison, review of A Time to Dance, p. 71.
Horn Book, July-August, 2014, Katie Bircher, review of A Time to Dance, p. 108; January-February, 2019, Julie Hakim Azzam, review of The Bridge Home, p. 106.
India Currents, June 24, 2008, Michelle Realle, review of Climbing the Stairs.
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, November, 2008, Sandra Udall Crandall, review of Climbing the Stairs, p. 258.
Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2008, review of Climbing the Stairs; June 1, 2011, review of Island’s End; April 1, 2014, review of A Time to Dance; December 15, 2018, review of The Bridge Home; July 15, 2021, review of Born Behind Bars.
Kliatt, May, 2008, Claire Rosser, review of Climbing the Stairs, p. 18.
Providence Sunday Journal, May 18, 2008, Sam Coale, review of Climbing the Stairs, p. 16.
Publishers Weekly, April 28, 2008, review of Climbing the Stairs, p. 141; June 13, 2011, review of Island’s End, p. 50; March 3, 2014, review of A Time to Dance, p. 66.
School Library Journal, August, 2007, Elaine Baran Black, review of Double Stars: The Story of Caroline Herschel, p. 140; May, 2008, Rita Soltan, review of Climbing the Stairs, p. 140; August, 2011, Amanda Raklovits, review of Island’s End, p. 124; April, 2014, Laura Fields Eason, review of A Time to Dance, p. 154; November, 2021, Elizabeth Pelayo, review of Born Behind Bars, p. 72.
Voice of Youth Advocates, June, 2008, Cynthia Winfield, review of Climbing the Stairs, p. 155; October, 2011, Kristi Sadowski, review of Island’s End, p. 396; April, 2014, Stephanie Wilkes, review of A Time to Dance, p. 75; December, 2018, Allison Richmond, review of The Bridge Home, p. 74.
ONLINE
Author Village website, https://theauthorvillage.com/ (April 11, 2022), author profile.
Children’s Literature Network, http://www.childrensliteraturenetwork.com/ (February 20, 2009), “Padma Venkatraman.”
Melissa Roske website, https://www.melissaroske.com/ (May 4, 2020), Melissa Roske, author interview.
Padma Venkatraman blog, https://padmasbooks.blogspot.com/ (April 11, 2022).
Padma Venkatraman website, http://www.padmavenkatraman.com (April 11, 2022).
Penguin Random House Audio website, https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/ (February 12, 2019), article by author.
Providence Journal, https://www.providencejournal.com/ (October 12, 2018), G. Wayne Miller, author interview.
Publishers Weekly, https://www.publishersweekly.com/ (June 23, 2008), Lynda Brill Comerford, author interview.
University of Rhode Island website, https://web.uri.edu/ (March 26, 2019), author profile.
We Need Diverse Books website, https://diversebooks.org/ (September 7, 2021), Alaina Lavoie, author interview.
Padma Venkatraman, American writer and oceanographer,
PadmaWorkingAboardResearchShip
lived in 5 countries, visited many more, explored rainforests on remote islands, PadmaInRainforest played with mathematics, was chief scientist on research vessels, PadmaWorkingwithSediment
and decided to share the sea of stories within her, through her books,20160808_170302-2
as she sailed through life with her family…
Familysailing
To find out more about Padma Venkatraman, click here
About me
Occupation Author
Location United States
Introduction Padma Venkatraman is author of THE BRIDGE HOME (released to starred reviews in PW, SLJ, Kirkus, SLC and ALA Booklist), a Washington Post Kidpost summer book club selection and Audiophile Earphone award winner. The New York Times described THE BRIDGE HOME as "gorgeous storytelling" and the book was also featured on a list curated by Rockstar librarians Colby Sharp and Matthew Winner for the Today Show and is a #ProjectLit and #GRA19 selection. If you're reading this book for the #globalreadaloud (#GRABridge), please follow posts on her AUTHOR WEBSITE AND BLOG: www.padmavenkatraman.com
Interests Reading and Writing Books, Oceanography, Canoeing/Kayaking, Hiking, Music, Yoga, Meditation
Padma Venkatraman
India
aka T V Padma
Padma Venkatraman, now an American citizen, was born in Chennai, India. From an early age, she was interested both in the world of mathematical sciences and the world of literature. The two interests competed for many years of her life.
Genres: General Fiction
Novels
Climbing the Stairs (2008)
Island's End (2011)
A Time to Dance (2014)
The Bridge Home (2019)
Born Behind Bars (2020)
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Picture Books
Growing Gold (2007) (as by T V Padma)
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Non fiction
The Albertosaurus Mystery (2006) (as by T V Padma)
Double Stars (2007)
Women Mathemeticians (2008)
Award winning American author, Padma Venkatraman, has worked as chief scientist on oceanographic ships, spent time under the sea, directed a school, and lived in 5 countries. Her 3 novels, A TIME TO DANCE, ISLAND’S END and CLIMBING THE STAIRS, were released to multiple starred reviews (12), received numerous honors (> 50 best book e.g. ALA, IRA Notable; Booklist, Kirkus, NYPL, Yalsa BBYA; IBBY outstanding; and > 10 state lists), and won several national and international awards. She gives keynote addresses, speaks on TV and radio, serves on panels, conducts workshops, has been chief guest at international author festivals and visits schools all over the world.
Padma Venkatraman's most recent novel, A TIME TO DANCE, was released in May 2014 to starred reviews in Kirkus, Booklist, VOYA, SLJ, and BCCB and rave reviews online and in newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune, Newsday, The Providence Journal and The Denver Post. A TIME TO DANCE accumulated numerous awards and honors, such as: ALA Notable, ALA/YALSA BBYA, Booklist Editor's Choice Best Books, Booklist Top 10 art bk, CCBC Choices
Crystal Kite Finalist, CSML Best Books, Eliot Rosewater (IN) masterlist, IBBY Outstanding bk yod, IRA Notable (NBGS), Julia Ward Howe Boston Authors Club honor bk, Kirkus Best Books, Mighty Girl Top 10 Character Driven Books, New York Public Library Top 25, New York City Reads (#NYC365), Nutmeg Award (CT) master list, Rebecca Caudill (IL) master list, Red dot award (Singapore), Sanoc/Saba hn, Sequoyah (OK) master list etc.
Padma Venkatraman’s second novel, ISLAND’s END, was released to four starred reviews (Booklist, Kirkus, SLJ and VOYA), won the international South Asia Book Award and the national Paterson Prize, was a finalist for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Crystal Kite (NE-SCBWI) and the Boston Authors Club Julia Ward Howe award, and received several other honors, including an ALA/Amelia Bloomer selection, American Library Association (ALA)/ Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Best Books for Young Adults (BBYA), Booklist Editor’s Choice/Best Book, Kirkus Best Book, and a Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) choice.
Padma’s debut, CLIMBING THE STAIRS, was released to three starred reviews (Booklist, PW and VOYA), won the Boston Authors Club Julia Ward Howe award and the ASTAL Rhode Island Book of the year award; was shortlisted for RARI (Reading Across Rhode Island), the Cybil award and state awards in NJ, ME, SC and UT; and was also honored with an American Library Association (ALA)/ Amelia Bloomer List citation, ALA/Young Adult Library Association (YALSA) Best Books for Young Adults (BBYA), Booklist Editor’s Choice/Best Books of the Year, Bank Street College of Education Best Book, Capitol Choice, Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) choice, Children’s Literature Network (CLN) Top 20, CBC/NCSS (National Council of Social Studies) Notable, NYPL Best Book, Pennsylvania School Library Association (PASLA) Top 40, etc.
Visit Padma Venkatraman at www.padmavenkatraman.com.
T. V. Padma
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Not to be confused with Padma Venkataraman.
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Venkatraman at the 2019 Texas Book Festival
Padma Tiruponithura Venkatraman (born 13 November 1969), also known as T. V. Padma, is an Indian American author. Before she became an award-winning novelist, she spent time on and under the oceans, acted as chief scientist on research vessels, directed a school in England and led diversity efforts at a university.
Contents
1 Early life
2 Scientific career
3 Writing career
4 Additional Awards and Honors
5 Speaker and Teacher
6 References
7 External links
Early life
Venkatraman was born in Chennai on 13 November 1969, and studied at The School KFI for most of her life. Even as a child, she loved to write, especially poetry. One of the poems she wrote as a child was published in the inaugural issue of the Delhi London Poetry Quarterly.[1] She also learned to play the Veena from Smt. Savitri Rajan, a disciple of Veenai Dhannammal. Yoga became part of her way of life when she began to practice asana, pranayama and dhyana at around the age of 8 under the direct tutelage and guidance of the legendary yoga teacher, Shri T. Krishnamacharya.
She spent her last two years of school at St. Michael's Academy in Chennai from which she graduated in 1986. She completed her undergraduate studies at St. Joseph's College, Bangalore in 1989, receiving Bachelor's degrees in Environmental Science, Chemistry and Botany.[2] There she enjoyed engaging in community outreach via Rotaract Bangalore Orchards. Venkatraman then spent a year at Brockwood Park School, in the United Kingdom.
Scientific career
Venkatraman's journey to writing was circuitous.[3] She moved to the United States to pursue graduate studies.[4] She obtained a Master's degree (1990-1994) and a Doctorate (1996-2001) from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), part of the College of William and Mary.[2][5] She conducted postdoctoral research in Environmental Engineering at Johns Hopkins University and later worked in Germany (at an institute formerly called Ifm and now known as Geomar), served as head of Inwoods Small School, and taught oceanography in addition to directing directed diversity efforts at the University of Rhode Island.[4]
Writing career
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Venkatraman's debut novel, Climbing the Stairs,[6] was released to starred reviews in Booklist, Publishers Weekly and Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA). The Providence Journal’s Sam Coale called it a "fine, often heartbreaking first novel" and pointed out that, although he was not a "young" adult, he loved it and had not realized that it was categorized as such until it was pointed out to him. The novel also received glowing reviews in Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, India New England News and India Currents. Climbing the Stairs won the 2009 Julia Ward Howe Award for Young Readers[7] and the ASTAL (Alliance for the Study and Teaching of Adolescent Literature) RI Book of the Year Award and several other honors (ALA/YALSA BBYA; Amelia Bloomer List selection; Bank Street College of Education Best Book; Booklinks Best New Book; Booklist Editor's Choice Best Book; Booksense Notable; Capitol Choice; CCBC choice; CLN Top 25; National Council of Social Studies/Children's Book Center (NCSS/CBC) Notable; NYPL Best Book; PASLA Top 40; PW Flying Start) and was shortlisted for Reading Across Rhode Island, the Cybil awards, and state awards in Maine, Utah, South Carolina and New Jersey.
Venkatraman's second novel, Island' End,[8] was released to starred reviews in Kirkus, Booklist, School Library Journal[9] and Publishers Weekly. It went on to win the international South Asia Book Award, and the Paterson Prize, as well as several honors (Kirkus BBYA; ALA/YALSA BBYA; Booklist Editor's Choice BBYA; CCBC choice, and ALA/Amelia Bloomer selection) and was a finalist for the BAC award and NE-SCBWI's Crystal Kite Award.
Venkatraman's novel in verse, A Time to Dance,[10] was released in May 2014 by Nancy Paulsen Books (an imprint of Penguin Random House) to starred reviews in 5 journals (Kirkus, Booklist, Voices of Youth Advocates, Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books and School Library Journal[11]); received glowing reviews in newspapers (such as the Denver Post, Chicago Sun-Times, Newsday and Providence Journal); and accumulated numerous awards and honors (e.g. American Library Association (ALA) Notable; ALA/Young Adult Library Association (YALSA) Best Book for Young Adults (BBYA), Booklist Top 10 art book for youth; Booklist Editor's Choice BBYA; Bookworm Central Top 40; Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) choice; Center for the Study of Multicultural Literature (CSML) Best Book; Eliot Rosewater Award (IN) finalist; Forever Literary Top 10 Character Driven Books; International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Outstanding Book for Young People with Disabilities; International Reading Association (IRA) Notable Books for a Global Society; IndieBound selection; Kirkus BBYA; Mighty Girl Best Books of the year; New York Public Library (NYPL) Top 25).
In 2019, Venkatraman's The Bridge Home[12] fourth novel for young people was released by Nancy Paulsen Books (an imprint of Penguin Random House) to starred reviews in School Library Journal,[13] Booklist, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly and School Library Connection. She also read the audiobook herself, and it was so successful that she was later asked to read the audiobook version of A Time To Dance. The Bridge Home Audiobook was a Junior Library Guild selection and won Audiophile Magazine's Earphone Award.
Additional Awards and Honors
In 2009, Padma Venkatraman was a finalist for India New England's Woman of the Year Award.[14] In 2008, her dedication to writing magazine articles for children was rewarded when she won the SCBWI Magazine Merit Award for Nonfiction. Prior to that, one of her earliest published works, The Cleverest Thief, published by August House was awarded a Storytelling World Honor.
Speaker and Teacher
Venkatraman has participated on panels at Harvard and other universities; provided commencement speeches at schools and keynote addresses at numerous conferences (including an upcoming keynote at NCTE); and been invited to attend international book festivals such as the PEN World Voices Festival, the Hong Kong Author Festival and the Caribbean Beach Pen Literary Festival (in Trinidad), where she was the chief guest. Her work has been featured nationally and internationally on TV and radio. Her speaking agency is the Author Village.
Padma Venkatraman (she/her)
“Books transform us because they let us travel without a ticket – not just to other places and times, but also, into other hearts and minds. When we open the pages of a good book, we enter a character’s soul and experience; when we close it, we’re a bit more empathetic. I love speaking, listening, sharing, and inspiring others because when we meet, the compassionate and creative magic of story comes alive in a special way.”
Biography
Padma Venkatraman is the WNDB Walter Dean Myers award-winning author The Bridge Home, a 2019 Global Read Aloud; Island’s End, A Time to Dance and Climbing the Stairs. All her books have been featured on numerous best book lists, received a total of over 20 starred reviews, and won multiple honors (ALA Notable books, NYPL Notable, Kirkus Best Book, Booklist Editor’s Choice, SLJ Best Book, PW Flying Start, etc.) and awards (including two South Asia Book Awards, two Paterson prizes, a Julia Ward Howe Boston Authors Club Award, SCBWI Golden Kite award and many more).
Padma’s latest novel, Born Behind Bars, about a boy learning to fend for himself on the streets of an Indian city and fighting to save his incarcerated mother, is a Parent Magazine Book of the Month, Junior Library Guild Selection and was released in September, 2021 to starred reviews in Kirkus, SLJ, and Booklist. A beloved character from The Bridge Home reappears in Born Behind Bars.
Padma explored rainforests and coral reefs, led diversity efforts at a university, served as chief scientist on ships where she was the only female and only person of color, taught and directed a school in England, obtained a doctorate in oceanography from the College of William and Mary, and conducted environmental engineering research at Johns Hopkins University, before becoming a full-time author.
When she was nineteen, she left India on her own and is now an American. As a first-generation immigrant and a BIPOC woman with an invisible disability, she has been dedicated, for over a decade, to fighting for equity and diversity. She is the founder of Authors Take Action and Diverse Verse and her poems have been published in Poetry magazine.
Ask the Author: Padma Venkatraman
May 4, 2020 By Melissa Roske Leave a Comment
The Proust Questionnaire, popularized by the French essayist and novelist Marcel Proust, is said to reveal a person’s true nature through a series of probing, soul-searching questions. In the hot seat today, Padma Venkatraman, author of the multi-award-winning middle-grade novel, THE BRIDGE HOME (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2019).
What is your idea of perfect happiness? Being safe, healthy and feeling like I have nothing to do except enjoy being in a beautiful place surrounded by my dearest ones and knowing not-so-near-but-nevertheless-dear-ones are well.
What is your greatest fear? That we humans will destroy our marvelous earth.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? My tendency to get really depressed and stuck in a downward spiral when people are negative toward me or act unjustly toward me or others or misunderstand me or take advantage of me or others. I try not to give anyone else this power over my emotions and moods, but it’s hard sometimes to center myself and stay positive.
What is the trait you most deplore in others? Snobbery and elitism, especially when people see themselves or their work (or culture etc. etc.) as superior but pretend like they’re inclusive.
Which living person do you most admire? I admire certain specific things about a lot of people – right this second, I’m thinking about my friend Indira who was from the Roma community in India and whose resilience and courage inspired the protagonist in THE BRIDGE HOME.
What is your greatest extravagance? Syrupy sweet strong black tea with lemon and oodles of honey.
What is your current state of mind? Tired but happy (I am recovering from some kind of flu that may or may not have been COVID but has left me feeling truly exhausted).
What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Temperance. Especially if applied to fair-trade equal-exchange dark chocolate. I don’t buy chocolate that doesn’t claim to be these things, because I think those labels are important and I don’t want to eat something that was produced through cruelty. Then again, although I try to limit my intake, I do like a bit of choc every once in a while, esp with my very occasional nice glass of wine.
On what occasion do you lie? Whenever I am forced to eat cooked fruit. I am American but I am sorry, I will never like apple pie. Then again, if you force me to eat some, insisting it is the only apple pie I ever will like, then I will probably swallow a piece and swallow my honesty and pretend I like it a lot.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse? Oh God. I know that’s offensive to some people, but I can’t seem to get rid of it.
Besides writing, which talent would you most like to have? Art (like drawing and painting and illustrating type of art).
What do you consider your greatest achievement? My child, who is the wonderful, thoughtful, strong, sensitive, courageous and caring – even though I ought not to take any credit. Really.
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? An author. Every single time. Always an author who has the luck to get published and recognized. But always an author. I have about a hundred ideas that I won’t get to finish writing, even if I live to be a hundred. I’d like to come back and write them (and more, and illustrate some books, too, next time around). And I’d like my very same spouse and child, too, please.
What is your most treasured possession? Letters written to me (long-er ago than I care to remember) by my English teacher, Stephen Smith, and my friend Iwan Jones, both of whom believed I would be an author one day.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Self-pity that is indulged in for over 24 hours (or one week at most).
What do you most value in your friends? Loyalty.
Who are your favorite writers? In the field of adult writing – Richard Blanco, Marjorie Agosin and Kazuo Ishugiro (especially before he won the Nobel Prize – I used to say his name 20 years ago after he’d written his debut and I admire every book he wrote but after he got that prize, it’s just less cool to say his name, somehow, …)! In the field of YA and kidlit – so many and I don’t want to leave out anyone I love, so I am not going to start because I’ll not be able to stop.
Who is your hero of fiction? Winne-the-Pooh (I’m just realizing he might be the one to blame every time I get an urge to drink honey with a wee bit of tea in it).
Which historical figure do you most identify with? Avvaiyar – a Tamil poetess, who, among other things, defied social norms, prevented a war, and worked ceaselessly to promote justice and raise awareness of inequality, while also preserving her sense of humor and appreciation of beauty.
What is your motto? “Conquer through Compassion, Create with Courage.”
PADMA VENKATRAMAN is an American author who lived in five countries, worked in a laboratory, taught and directed a school, spent time underwater, and served as chief scientist on oceanographic research ships before becoming a full-time writer. Her most recent novel, THE BRIDGE HOME, won several awards and honors (WNDB Walters Award, SCBWI Golden Kite Award, Paterson Prize, Nerdy Book Award, Audiofile Earphone Award, 2019 Global Read Aloud, ALA Notable, Jr. Library Guild Selection etc.) and her previous novels, A TIME TO DANCE, ISLAND’S END and CLIMBING THE STAIRS were each released to three or more starred reviews and also won numerous awards and honors. Padma enjoys speaking to audiences virtually (and her speaking engagements are arranged via THE AUTHOR VILLAGE), and also enjoys solitude and meditation and yoga. Learn more about Padma on her website and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
QUOTED: "As an immigrant who left India at age 19 on my own and was then forced to create my own family of friends and discover a new sense of home, I am drawn to stories in which a protagonist is displaced and searching to understand what family and home mean, while also fighting for survival. And, just as Kabir does, I didn’t have a lot of people who believed in me as a kid, but I had a few—and that went a long way."
Q&A With Padma Venkatraman, Born Behind Bars
September 7, 2021 by Alaina Lavoie
Q&A With Padma Venkatraman, Born Behind Bars
By Thushanthi Ponweera
Today we’re pleased to welcome Padma Venkatraman to the WNDB blog to discuss Born Behind Bars.
Born Behind Bars
What did you most enjoy about writing this book?
I loved spending time with the characters. Kabir and Rani are such fun kids, and Grandma Knife is just such a cool human being, and so is Kabir’s mom and… I don’t want to list them all or I’d give away too much. Many of my characters are based on real people, and as I wrote, I felt as if I was spending time with those people again. Ultimately, at the final stage of writing, it was as though they had taken over my being, as if I temporarily was inside their minds and hearts—and that, for me, is one of the most exquisite (and at times also excruciating) aspects of my writing process. So, it’s not all fun, but the intensity of the process is part of what I value as a writer.
Did any of your real-life experiences from your time growing up in India make it into this book?
Other than the characters, the setting—both Chennai and Bengaluru—are cities where I lived when I was growing up. I love music, just as Kabir does, although my musical abilities aren’t spectacular. I also think that, as an immigrant who left India at age 19 on my own and was then forced to create my own family of friends and discover a new sense of home, I am drawn to stories in which a protagonist is displaced and searching to understand what family and home mean, while also fighting for survival. And, just as Kabir does, I didn’t have a lot of people who believed in me as a kid, but I had a few—and that went a long way.
What are your thoughts on children born in incarceration?
On the one hand, if we continue to incarcerate mothers, I do think it’s wrong to tear children away from them. On the other hand, if we decide a child should remain with the mother, behind bars, then we must do all we can to ensure these children get access to an excellent education and are able to experience life outside jail. But, as we know, even in the outside world, there are terrible inequities in terms of education and access to learning environments.
There are deeper questions, too. Should we incarcerate people at all? If yes, we need to reform and rethink and reexamine our attitude to “justice” and acknowledge, with scrupulous honesty, everything that we are doing wrong.
It is shocking to think that just one innocent person might be forced to live behind bars; yet we live with the fact that innocent juveniles are imprisoned. A CNN article cited National Exoneration statistics showing that while Black people represent 13 percent of the US population, they represent nearly half of those exonerated (because they were unjustly incarcerated). In India, people from marginalized communities are far more likely to be unjustly incarcerated. The fact that Born Behind Bars is based on a true story is horrid; what’s worse is that people like Kabir and his mom are still suffering in our world. Yet, many people refuse to acknowledge the systemic racism that underlies all this.
I hope readers of BBorn Behind Bars will ask questions that need urgent answers—and also engage in introspection about underlying and fundamental injustices in societies that can lead to crime and perpetuate poverty as well as miscarriages of justice and police brutality. I hope my books will empower readers to create a more compassionate and equitable society.
Both Born Behind Bars, as well as the previous The Bridge Home highlight, the goodness of the main characters despite their challenging circumstances. What are the factors that you believe make a difference?
I think love is so important—if even one person gives a child unconditional love, that is an incredible help. Also, as in Kabir’s case, in Born Behind Bars, having someone who believes in you as well as exposure to at least one role model who is a good and compassionate human being. Finally, given that my childhood was no picnic, a sense of humor always plays an important role in my books, because keeping alive my ability to laugh was vital to my own survival.
as an immigrant who left India at age 19 on my own and was then forced to create my own family of friends and discover a new sense of home, I am drawn to stories in which a protagonist is displaced and searching to understand what family and home mean, while also fighting for survival.
What are you currently working on?
I’m always working on multiple projects! Right now: a novel in verse, a prequel to The Bridge Home, and a novel for older readers.
Tell us about a few published or forthcoming kidlit books that you’d recommend.
Here are some that come to mind this minute and that were (or will be) released this year: LEGACY by Nikki Grimes, FINDING JUNIE KIM by Ellen Oh, YOUR HEART, MY SKY by Margarita Engle, LUCK OF THE TITANIC by Stacey Lee, A BIRD WILL SOAR by Alison Green Myers. There are also a few 2021 releases on my To Be Read list I look forward to reading: BOY, EVERYWHERE by A. M. Dassu, BEA IS FOR BLENDED by Lindsey Stoddard, EVERYWHERE BLUE by Joanne Rossmaler Fritz, FLIGHT OF THE PENGUIN by Ann Braden. I’m not giving myself another minute to think, because if I did, I would surely want to mention a whole lot of other books and this list would be endless.
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Dr. Padma VenkatramanDr. Padma Venkatraman (she/her) is an American author who immigrated on her own from India when she was 19 years old. She is the author of THE BRIDGE HOME which garnered 8 stars, was honored as one of the best books of 2019 by Kirkus, NYPL, Chicago Library and numerous others, and was a 2019 Global Read Aloud book. THE BRIDGE HOME is also an ALA Notable book, the winner of a Walter Award (from We Need Diverse Books), a Golden Kite Award from SCBWI, a South Asia Book Award, a Nerdy Book Award and a Crystal Kite Award. Padma’s previous novels are A TIME TO DANCE, ISLAND’S END and CLIMBING THE STAIRS, all of which have won acclaim, awards and numerous honors. Padma has spoken at Harvard and other universities; provided commencement speeches at schools; participated on panels at venues such as the PEN World Voices Festival; and been the keynote speaker at national and international conferences and literary festivals. Her next novel, BORN BEHIND BARS, will be released on September 7, 2021 from Nancy Paulsen Books, Penguin Random House. Before becoming a full-time author, Padma led diversity efforts at the University of Rhode Island’s graduate school, taught and directed a small school in England and conducted oceanographic research (sometimes serving as chief scientist on vessels on which she was the only BIPOC / female). Visit Padma at www.padmavenkatraman.com or follow her on Twitter @padmatv or Instagram @venkatraman.padma.
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Thushanthi PonweeraThushanthi Ponweera is a blog volunteer for We Need Diverse Books and a WNDB 2021 picture book mentee with author David LaRochelle. She was born and raised in Colombo, Sri Lanka where she lives with her husband and two children. She grew up reading and falling in love with stories about children and places that were foreign to her. She believes that someday children from around the world will read and fall in love with stories about children in Sri Lanka. She hopes to write those stories. You can find her on Twitter @thushponweera and on Instagram @bythush.
QUOTED: "an optimistic and earnest tale of the power of hope and the gift of family in all forms."
Born behind Bars. By Padma Venkatraman. Sept. 2021. 272p. Penguin/Nancy Paulsen, $17.99 (9780593112472). Gr. 4-7.
Nine-year-old Kabir has only known a life limited by Indian prison walls. His mother, incarcerated for a crime she didn't commit, gave birth in confinement and has raised him with the help of other inmates--his "Aunties"--and an encouraging teacher. Kabir longs for life beyond that narrow, grim world, but when he suddenly finds himself cast out by the new prison warden, he has no idea how to navigate the noisy, bustling city around him. After nearly being sold into servitude by an unscrupulous guardian, Kabir goes on the run. Rani, a more experienced homeless child, generously takes him under her (and her parrot's) wing. Remaining hopeful through it all, an indefatigable Kabir decides to seek out his father's relatives, despite scant details to go on. Rani is willing to humor him, and the pair sets off to find his kin and figure out a way to free Kabir's mother. Through Kabir's observant eyes, Venkatraman (The Bridge Home, 2019) thoughtfully and gently explores a troubled justice system, interstate conflicts over increasingly common water shortages, and a frustrating caste system. It's a difficult world, but there are plenty of kindnesses and minor miracles to soften the rough edges. An optimistic and earnest tale of the power of hope and the gift of family in all forms. --Emily Graham
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
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Graham, Emily. "Born behind Bars." Booklist, vol. 118, no. 1, 1 Sept. 2021, p. 74. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A675268166/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e3dea1fc. Accessed 17 Mar. 2022.
QUOTED: "This compelling novel develops at a brisk pace, advanced by evocative details and short chapters full of action."
Venkatraman, Padma BORN BEHIND BARS Nancy Paulsen Books (Children's None) $17.99 9, 7 ISBN: 978-0-593-11247-2
A young boy is forced to leave the Chennai jail that is the only home he’s ever known.
When Kabir is deemed too old to stay and is sent out into the world all alone, separated from his wrongfully imprisoned mother, he decides to search for the family of the father he has never met to try to save his mother from her unjustly long sentence. Armed with faith, instinctive wits, and the ability to run fast, Kabir escapes danger and meets Rani, a teenage girl from the marginalized Kurava, or Roma, people who is traveling with her parrot. She teaches Kabir, who has a Hindu mother and a Muslim father, about caste dynamics and survival on the streets. She accompanies him to Bengaluru, where Kabir eventually meets his paternal grandparents. Along the way, their experiences reveal the invisibility of low-caste people in Indian society, tensions between neighboring states over water supplies, and the unexpected kindness of helpful strangers. Kabir’s longing for freedom and justice underscores bittersweet twists and turns that resolve in an upbeat conclusion, celebrating his namesake, a saint who sought to unify Muslims and Hindus. Kabir engages readers by voicing his thoughts, vulnerability, and optimism: While his early physical environment was confined within prison walls, his imagination was nourished by stories and songs. This compelling novel develops at a brisk pace, advanced by evocative details and short chapters full of action.
A gritty story filled with hope and idealism. (author's note) (Fiction. 8-12)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Venkatraman, Padma: BORN BEHIND BARS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 July 2021, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A668237837/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=781e2543. Accessed 17 Mar. 2022.
QUOTED: "Venkatraman takes these complex topics and makes them heartfelt and resonant."
VENKATRAMAN, Padma. Born Behind Bars. 272p. Penguin/Nancy Paulsen. Sept. 2021. Tr $ 17.99. ISBN 9780593112472.
Gr 5 Up--Social norms and caste systems are explored in depth in Venkatraman's latest. Kadir is a boy born behind bars. Accused of stealing from the people she worked for, Kadir's mother was thrown in jail without a trial. In jail she learned she was pregnant; for the last nine years, Kadir has known only life in prison. Suddenly, Kadir is deemed too old to stay and is thrust out into a world that he has never known. On the hunt to find his father and free his mother, Kadir has to tackle countless obstacles to stay alive on the streets of Chennai, India. This novel is for readers who are seeking realistic fiction that tug at the heartstrings. The story is authentic, and the emotion behind Kadir and his mother's relationship will induce tears. This is a true window book for many readers unaware of caste systems and the struggles within them. Venkatraman takes these complex topics and makes them heartfelt and resonant. VERDICT A well-rounded story of a boy and his struggle to survive alone in the world. A suggested read for lovers of timely tales of children surviving all odds, and a suggested purchase for middle school libraries where realistic fiction and adventure circulate well.--Elizabeth Pelayo, St. Charles East H.S., IL
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
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Pelayo, Elizabeth. "VENKATRAMAN, Padma. Born Behind Bars." School Library Journal, vol. 67, no. 11, Nov. 2021, pp. 72+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A683721485/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=c6b55f0b. Accessed 17 Mar. 2022.