By Harry Hergash
Affirmation Stories from the Magic Window: I AM Positively Grand is a children’s book by a new author, I. Lolita Devi Singh, who was born in Guyana but immigrated to Canada at the age of seven with her parents and three siblings. Over the years she has returned to Guyana on several occasions to visit her grandparents, maintain contact with relatives, and immerse herself in the culture. She is a wife, a mother, and a grandmother, and her life and work experiences have been brought to bear in what is the first of a planned series of children’s books.
Lolita Devi Singh was educated in Canada and holds a degree from Ontario’s York University. Professionally, she has worked in the Ontario Public Service for 34+ years and has held a number of significant roles throughout the years. At the time of her early retirement she held an executive position as Director of Strategic Planning and Business Relationship Management, Ontario’s Ministry of Education, managing relationships across more than six government ministries. She is now a highly qualified Certified Positive Intelligence Coach and manages her own company, CoachingYouForward, dedicated to working with women who face challenges in their personal and professional lives to enable them to achieve their relationship goals and experience their true potential.
The book is well written and nicely presented. Each page as well as the cover is beautifully illustrated in colour with characters and scenery that grab your attention, and the message conveyed is universal. The characters, Tari and Devi and their Nani (grandmother) and Nana (grandfather), are of Indian origin but this in no way detracts from the book’s universal appeal. In fact, in a world where English language children’s books are generally filled with white faces and cultural norms, this may be a positive value of the book. Not only could it help improve the self esteem of children whose faces or cultures are almost non existent in the world of English language children’s books, it could help also to promote awareness and understanding in a multiethnic, multicultural society.
The story revolves around the children and their relationships with their Nani and Nana who are their caregivers while their parents are at work and who take them to and from school every day. The loving relationships with Nani and Nana make them “feel confident and happy no matter what happened that day”. And this sentiment is indeed felt as the story concludes “Walking into our school, the very next day, My sister and I are happy to learn and play. As our Nani and Nana kiss us goodbye, they joyfully say, ‘Here’s wishing you two, a positively grand day!’”.
In the words of the author, “This book is a celebration of love in honor of all that holds us together across intergenerational relationships. It is
intended to offer young children, parents, and grandparents a way how to access the power of daily positive affirmations and its effect on the quality
of relationships and the quality of life”.
This book is aptly suited for children in their formative years and it is now available on Amazon.
