Brought to Book – by Madhumita Gupta
Class: 6th Standard | Subject: English | Type: Supplementary Reader | Syllabus: SCERT New Syllabus (Term III)
About the Author
Madhumita Gupta is the author of this imaginative short story that creatively personifies school books and stationery to teach children the importance of taking care of their belongings.
Summary of the Story
The story revolves around a boy named Mahesh, who is otherwise a good student ranking within the top five in his class, but is extremely lazy when it comes to taking care of his school books and belongings. The story is set as a courtroom drama where Mahesh's own books, notebooks, pencil box, and school bag come alive and put him on trial. Justice Mathematics presides over the court, and one by one, each of Mahesh's belongings takes the witness stand to complain about how badly he has treated them.
Ms. English testifies first, describing how Mahesh never covered her properly and left her stained with ink and grease, with dog-eared pages and chewed corners. Mr. Geography follows, lamenting that his maps were filled in with paint instead of pencil, and envying his counterpart belonging to a careful student named Shobitha. Mr. Pencil Box complains of never being cleaned and of being chewed by Mahesh. Mr. School Bag describes being treated like a sack of cement, never packed properly, with everything crammed in at the last moment. Master Notebook reveals that Mahesh threw him against the wall in frustration when he could not solve a tough Mathematics problem.