Book Review: Malayalam Balasahitya Charitram by K. Sreekumar

by Sreejith Murali

Sreekumar, K (2021), Malayalam Balasahitya Charitram [Trans: History of Malayalam Children’s Literature] (2 Volumes), Kozhikode: Poorna Publications (First Edition), pp. 1312. 

Fig. 1: The cover page of the two-volume book.

This two-volume encyclopaedic collection of the history of children’s literature in Malayalam is an invaluable collection of materials related to the history and extent of this genre in Malayalam and children’s literature in India. Running longer than a thousand and three hundred pages, the voluminous edition is hardbound with numerous illustrations and informational snippets, which truly make it a collector’s item. Edited by Dr K. Sreekumar, who is himself a well-accomplished author of children’s literature in Malayalam, the book traces the long history of  modern children’s literature in Malayalam from its initial days in the early 19^th century, as printing technology enabled the creation of Malayalam printing blocks. Sreekumar is an author and editor of books for children, known for writing for early readers, a sub-genre that has not seen many publications in the language. His collection of edited illustrated story books for 3-6 year olds has been brought out by Poorna Publications annually for a few years. 

The passion and intrigue for children’s literature in Kerala is evident in the efforts of multiple organisations that fund awards for authors. Because of the nostalgia for the genre,  independent groups on social media digitally archive some of the rare children’s magazines and act as a platform to sell some of these the rare collections. Yet, as the editor states in the foreword, while many other genres of Malayalam literature have had their histories traced, the genre of children’s literature in the language was long overdue for a historical overview. For an uninitiated reader, the collection is an exciting introduction to the wondrous genre of children’s literature in the language and offers a peek into their own reading experiences as a child. For me, as someone with interest in the scholarship of children’s literature, it was a source for bibliographical references to the extensive list of authors and their works. 

Though vibrant with numerous corporate and independent publications engaged in its publishing, children’s literature is often considered a minor genre within the mainstream literary landscape in Kerala. The literary festivals, which are a main cultural draw in Kerala might have a session or two to discuss the genre among tens of others Kerala is also unique in that it has an independent body under the Department of Culture tasked with the production and distribution of children’s literature, the Kerala State Institute of Children’s Literature (KSICL). However,, there is no acknowledgement of authors who write for children on their own accord. Hence, this collection brings to focus the vast array of literature that has been historically produced and continues to be relevant within the literary landscape in Kerala. As the author notes, this adds to previous attempts by vernacular scholars in other languages to write a detailed history and contemporary evaluation of the genre including biographical notes on authors. Previously, Khagendranath Mitra, Chamanlal Mehta, Harikrishna Devsare and Madhavrao Dandekar  have written the first histories of children’s literature in Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi and Marathi respectively. 

The collection is divided into twelve sections which includes periodic division as well as thematic sections like children’s literature in textbooks, It begins with a foreword by the editor and a note by the noted Malayalam writer M.T. Vasudevan Nair (popularly known as MT). MT traces his own experience of reading children’s literature growing up in the 1930s and 1940s and about the broader history of how folk and mythical tales were known to be first stories for children. Other sections of the books include ones on Soviet Children’s Literature in translation, Awards for children’s literature authors, on illustrations, an extensive section on children’s magazines and short sections on some of the socio-political issues that emerged in the genre, etc. The first volume introduces the subject of children’s literature as a separate genre of literature in a wider context, and in the context of India, specifically in Malayalam. The volume is not divided along any thematic line, but to ease the reading experience. The volumes dedicate most of their pages to an encyclopaedia of writers arranged mostly according to their year of birth, this section most of the pages of the second volume (pp. 490-1031). 

Photographs of the writers are provided along with an extensive overview of their most prominent works. For the uninitiated as well as those who have an academic interest, this section would be a good reference to get acquainted with the extent of the genre across years and an introduction to the major works of the authors. The editor has been careful in keeping the writing more informational rather than analytical, starting with a brief biography of the authors and summaries of their major works. Authors who primarily write for children are highlighted along with others who have also written for children. On a positive side, authors who are regular columnists in children’s magazines, including writers of animated series, are also included. 

Fig. 2: Pages from section 8 on writers of children’s literature (Volume 1). Examples of poems or summaries of stories written by the authors are provided. 

Fig. 2: Pages from section 8 on writers of children’s literature (Volume 2). Children’s literature by authors who did not write primarily for children is also highlighted. 

The section on Soviet Children’s literature and its influence in later works covers the history of how the books were translated and published, including a note on two translators whose contributions to the translation efforts were critical in producing one of the first multicolored illustrations. It also has an exhaustive list of Soviet writers for children and works that were translated during this period. 

Another unique aspect of the genre that the collection covers is the literature published in Kerala’s textbooks. The tradition of publishing literature for a younger audience in textbooks is a legacy of the colonial era, especially starting with the missionary production of textbooks by protestant missionaries in the mid-19^th century. The editor covers both the pre-independence era of these textbooks as well as the literature included in Malayalam textbooks since the formation of the state, in addition to supplementary readers for different classes. There is also a significant section covering the contributions of illustrators for children. The editor also provides a list of children’s magazines, including a few which have been discontinued. 

A short section discusses the various issues that have come up in the genre.primarily among them was public discussion concerning the name of a prominent award for children’s literature after the deity of the erstwhile Travancore princely state. Another issue concerned a textbook chapter on a story that was meant to highlight a religion-less, caste-less childhood, but created a political furore in the state. 

Fig 4: Cover pages to children’s magazines. There is a rich history and collection of children’s magazines in Kerala with contents ranging from popular science to entertainment and prescriptive literature.

Though a comprehensive survey of children’s literature as a genre in Malayalam, there were some areas where the collection felt short or could have improved on its approach. While it is appreciated that the author has highlighted illustration in children’s literature, what is missing is a discussion on illustration styles accompanying texts and possibilities of illustrations telling their own story, either as complementary to the text or in itself. The section on authors and their biographies is voluminous and covers a wide range of authors, both historical and contemporary. In Malayalam, there are authors who write primarily for larger audiences, but have also written short stories, novellas and poems for children. The second group consists of authors who are primarily known as children’s book authors, some of whom have written 200+ books for children. They needed to be put in a separate section for their work to be highlighted more. It is their oeuvre that needed to be discussed in such a collection much more forcefully. The volumes could also have included a few academic essays which placed different genres of children’s literature within the literary and socio-political landscape of the state. For example, the genre of science writing for children has been an active sub-genre within children’s literature, which is enabled through popular literature and organisations popularising science. The author could have also surveyed how children’s literature responds to changes within the wider literature space in Kerala, especially related to feminist and anti-caste perspectives, which have forced mainstream literary culture in the state to reorient itself that recent articles have highlighted regarding different or alternative childhoods. The volume could have conversed with academic and other critical engagement that children’s literature in the Indian context has had in the past two to three decades, which is captured in a recent volume on the topic. 

Nevertheless, the collection is an effort to highlight the vast historical and literary extent of the genre of writing for children in Malayalam that covers aspects and regional particularities that national narratives do not capture. It is a worthwhile documentation of the vast number of authors who have contributed to the genre of children’s literature in Malayalam, often providing literary styles and modes of engagement that are unique to the language, yet with universal appeal.

Bibliography

D’ Cruz, R. (n.d.).  Children’s Literature in Kerala: Traces and Trajectories,  Sahapedia, Retrieved November 14, 2025, from  https://www.sahapedia.org/childrens-literature-kerala-traces-and-trajectories 

Easo, B. (n.d.). ‘Alternate’ Childhoods and ‘Different’ Tales, Sahapedia, Retrieved November 14, 2025, from https://www.sahapedia.org/alternate-childhoods-and-different-tales

Gangopadhyay, G. (n.d.). Children’s Books from Bengal: A Documentation. Retrieved November 14, 2025, from http://bengalichildrensbooks.in/about.php

KSICL (n.d.). Kerala State Institute of Children’s Literature. https://ksicl.org/ 

Poombatta Magazine (n.d.). Home [Facebook Group]. Facebook. Retrieved November 14, 2025, from https://www.facebook.com/groups/1976669665950850/

Menon, S. and Rao, S. (Eds.) (2024). Children’s Books: An Indian Story. Eklavya Foundation, https://eklavyapitara.in/products/childrens-books-an-indian-story 

Noorunnida, M. (n.d.). Children’s Magazines and Different Childhoods in Kerala, Sahapedia, Retrieved November 14, 2025 from https://www.sahapedia.org/childrens-magazines-and-different-childhoods-kerala 

Thomas, S. (2018). A Life without Religion: Textbooks, Morality, and Protesting across Religious Divides. In: Privileged Minorities Syrian Christianity, Gender, and Minority Rights in Postcolonial India. University of Washington Press, https://doi.org/10.1515/9780295743837-007 

Author Bio