Enid Blyton, Disney, and Kahani Magazine

Scholastic editor Sandhya Nankani is guest-blogging at the always stimulating Sepia Mutiny site this month, and tells us about Disney's plans to diversify and update Enid Blyton's beloved Famous Five characters.

Among other innovations, the Mouse Factory is inventing a hip anglo-Indian character named Jyoti who is the daughter of the original hero of the books. Mutineers' comments reveal the impact that Brit Kid Lit, and especially Ms. Blyton (who wrote 800 books in 40 years!), had on South Asia and mixed feelings about this new venture.

Sandhya ends her post with a quote about Kahani magazine, a children’s literary magazine illuminating the richness and diversity that South Asian cultures bring to North America:
I feel so lucky that we have publications like the South Asian children’s literary magazine Kahani which ... just won the highly respected 2008 Parents’ Choice Award for magazines for the second year in a row. That’s a huge deal. This is a prestigious award from the Parents’ Choice Foundation which has been reviewing mainstream children’s media since 1978.
Full disclosure: I'm on the editorial advisory board of Kahani, have been an ardent fan since the magazine launched, and believe that libraries everywhere should order a subscription immediately.