It’s the sort of news that would make a journalist who keeps close tabs on the publishing industry, tempted to do a little celebratory jig. Last week, two publishing houses (Rupa & Co, Scholastic India) announced their entry into the children’s book segment with separate imprints, Red Turtle and Nova, respectively, targeted at this vibrant genre. Flipping through their catalogues, one couldn’t help but be thrilled (and relieved) at their focus on Indian stories, Indian writers and Indian artworks. A pleasant development, this.

It’s a far cry from the days, when as kids growing up in the 1980s, one had to make do with Enid Blyton and her ilk, who painted us candy-flossy imagery of faraway lands, where spring-time picnics meant ham sandwiches and jam tarts, even as teenage sleuths crisscrossed medieval castles and mansions, and where Anglicised names like Julian, Evelyn and Beth popped up regularly as our make-believe friends from Surrey and Scotland.