Welcome readers, to Day 1 of our book club read-along for OwlCrate Jr's July book, Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom! Grab those sketchbooks and let's dive in!
Just a reminder that this will be a SPOILER discussion for Chapters 1 - 6 of Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom, so make sure you read these chapters before continuing.
Discussion questions are listed below, and anyone who participates in the comments will be entered to win a free OwlCrate Jr box! We’ll be selecting four winners this time around, so make sure you join in for every discussion!
The story so far...
Kiki Kallira was anxious. At the amusement park with her friends she all of a sudden couldn’t remember if she locked the front door, and by extension, if a burglar (or goose) had gone in and attacked (or eaten) her mother. Deciding to cut her fun day short rather than worry, Kiki went home, where she had indeed locked the door and not a single goose was in sight.
Helping herself to one of her mom’s blank sketchbooks, Kiki starts sketching a new fantasy world that is a combination of her own whimsy and the story of Mahishasura, a tale from Indian folklore. When she’s deep into her sketching there seems to be an earthquake...seems to be. In England. Weird.
Months later, earthquake forgotten, Kiki is drawing more of her story when she is called down by her mother to FaceTime with her Granny and Gramps in India, where they are celebrating the festival of Dussehra.
Later, back in her bedroom Kiki’s sketchbook feels like it shocks her as she’s drawing a battle scene. Shrugging it off, she gets ready for bed and puts her sketchbook on her desk, only to be awakened to her desk in flames and a demon in her room! That’s not normal!
Sadly, it turns out the Asura (and the fire) are not a dream. The Asura flees the house, so —dealing with the fire first— Kiki chases after him, as she seems to be the one responsible for his appearance in London She catches up to him at a bus stop, but before she can figure out what to do, a girl with a sword dashes past and takes on the Asura! The girl is Ashwini, who in real life was Kiki’s late great-grandmother’s sister, but in Kiki's stories is the leader of a group of rebel kids trying to take the city of Mysore back from the Asuras. Just what is going on?
Ashwini explains that while Kiki was creating her world in her sketchbook, Mahishasura had been changing it into a real world, and the Asura had found a crack between the two! The story of Mahishasura isn’t just a story, it’s real, and ever since the goddess Chamundeshwari banished him to the Nowhere Place, he has been biding his time to get back into the real world, using the power of stories to become stronger. Because it is Dussehra and the festival involves telling his story, he had enough power to create a small tear in the story that allowed Ashwini and the Asura to come out of the sketchbook. To stop Mahishasura from getting stronger and continuing to ravage the world Kiki created, she has to go with Ashwini into her own story. It takes some convincing, but after a gentle shove, Kiki falls through her sketchbook into her Mysore. And promptly faints.
Upon waking Kiki is greeted by Ashwini and a grumpy boy named Lej on a large balcony. In awe, Kiki sees the world of Mysore that she drew in her sketchbook truly brought to life. It’s actually real! Ashwini points out the gandaberunda, a two headed eagle statue that will be the key to stopping Mahishasura. Of the statues four eyes, one is gold, and Kiki (and only Kiki because she is the one that created this world and therefore has power over it) must break the gold eye. Once this is done Kiki’s Mysore will turn back into what she meant it to be originally, just a story in a sketchbook, and Mahishasura will be sent back to the Nowhere Place.
Needing to get out of the open to avoid being seen by the Asuras, the three head into a market, but sadly it’s too late. They have been spotted and are quickly surrounded by Asuras and Mahishasura himself. Eek. Ashwini attacks out of the blue and Lej grabs Kiki's arm and they run.
What an opening to a story! I can't wait to see what happens to Kiki and friends next!
Questions:
- Why do you think it is the gandaberunda's golden eye that is the key to sending Mahishasura back to the Nowhere Place?
- Where do you think Ashwini and the Asura's have gone when they disappeared in the cloud of dust?
- If you could draw a world to life, what would it look like?
- Did you like the first section of the book?
See you again on Saturday as we discuss Chapters 7 - 13!
