As far back as I can remember, books were always around me. Both my parents and their families are readers. Whether I was home or with grandparents, stories and reading were just part of my daily life like brushing. As a child I remember visiting this book store called “Manney’s” (which unfortunately has shut down now) almost one Sunday a month. This gem of a place felt like home, away from home. The feeling of warmth and love was just undeniable and unshakable.
My books took me on a magical journey through enchanted forests, ocean voyages to Antarctica, jungles adventures, school dramas and even solving mysteries. I’ve been loved and saddened, thrilled and scared, frustrated and persistent, inspired and blown away by each and every one of the books I’ve read. I just cannot imagine how I would be as a person with my friends. Having moved around a lot and with some awkward social skills, books have been my passion and my safe haven.
So can you imagine my immense joy to have found a husband who shared my passion? And when we made an adorable baby 4 years ago, we hoped that with the double dose of the reading genes, we would have a reader too. We have been incredibly lucky in that and also to have the means to ship a lot of books from the US when we moved back. At 6 months old, we came back with around 150 books for ages 0-2 years. This collection, now at 300, has been our family time and we absolutely cannot do without our story sessions at night.
So fast forward 3 years and I have searched in vain to find a place I can go with my kid, get good books and read in peace. I don’t want to buy them or borrow them, just spend some quite quality time with my child reading. As fate would have it, I met Kuki and Pooja, co-owners of The Green Turtle, who share my passion and views and voila, we now have “Turn-a-page: A reading room for infants and toddlers”
What we offer you is space and books and a little bit of guidance, as and when needed. In my line of work, I have encountered lots of parents who are passionate about reading and yet hesitant with their children. We hope that our space will provide you that support and allow you to build this wonderful bond with your child through books. For parents who have associated books with academics and stress, we hope to show you what an adventure books can be. For parents who are tired of being asked to read the same book over and over again, we hope to show you how to make the same book fun every day or night. And for parents, who have not thought of books, come see how this new idea will expand the world for you and your child.
We want to cater exclusively to this young, fresh crop of brains to really mold this into a lifelong habit. Can you imagine a child who wants to read rather than watch TV or play video games? While we may not be able to stop the modern technology creeping into our daily lives, we can definitely try to leave this precious gift to our children- the love of reading and exploring new ideas in the world.
Aparna and I hope you join us on this magical, fantastical, brilliant journey to the moon and back through books. 
Till then,
Happy Parenting!
Puja
8/11/2015
The Yearling House 