With a deep-rooted passion for storytelling and a lifelong connection with diaries, Mitali Banerjee Ruths has woven a magical narrative series for young readers called The Party Diaries. Part of Branches, which is Scholastic’s early chapter-book line, The Party Diaries is a delightful fusion of the worlds of party planning, endangered animals, South-Asian culture and childhood learning.
The Party Diaries centres on the life of plucky, entrepreneurial protagonist Priya Chakraborty. In each book, readers get an intimate glimpse into the thoughts and adventures of this young and imaginative party-planning enthusiast who is devoted to animal welfare. She meticulously plans each stage of various parties, and raises money to save endangered animals – all while keeping her mounting anxiety in check. And the path is never straightforward: at every turn, she encounters fresh challenges that mirror the unpredictability of real life, requiring her to adapt her plans and even accept help from others.
Ruths was raised in Texas and now lives with her family in Montreal, Quebec, where she practises pediatric medicine. Many of the details in the books reflect her own experiences growing up in a home where Indian, specifically Bengali, traditions, were revered. What Jhumpa Lahiri has done for adults, Ruths has done here for children. Through the depiction of Priya’s family, she has brought the importance, the love and the celebration of Bengali culture into contemporary children’s literature.
For Ruths, storytelling has been a lifelong passion. Regardless of whether it’s a book, a comic, a TV show or a movie, “I love the art and magic of storytelling,” she enthuses. “I was a kid who was always on the hunt for a good story, and so I knew fairly young that I wanted to be a writer . . . ever since the first or second grade probably.” As an adult doctor, she found solace and inspiration in listening to people’s stories, understanding how those narratives played a role in their healing and recovery. And becoming a mother cemented her connection to storytelling.
In fact, she confides, “becoming a mom, about thirteen years ago now, made me want to take this dream [of being a writer] really seriously. While I nurtured my kids, they nurtured me back. Seeing how my stories shaped my kids, I grew the courage and self-confidence to believe that I had important stories to make and share with the world. And I started writing! And now The Party Diaries are out in the world, which feels super magical to me.”
The two books in the series, Awesome Orange Birthday and Starry Henna Night, will be joined in October by a third, Top Secret Anniversary. With candy-coloured covers, easy-to-read text, and vibrant illustrations by Aaliya Jaleel, the series invites young readers to enjoy its stories independently. And teachers will find The Party Diaries a valuable resource for guided or shared reading. The layered themes promote conversation and lend themselves to culturally responsive pedagogy and environmental literacy. Additionally, abundant text features like glossaries, sidebars and speech bubbles offer support for building vocabulary and strengthening comprehension skills.
The books’ epistolary format holds a special place in Ruths’ heart. When she first learned to write in the first grade, she discovered the power of the diary as a means of navigating her emotions and experiences: “I love diaries for so many reasons – they feel so personal, and they capture certain moments of time in such a special and specific way.”
In a recent interview with SesayArts Magazine, Ruths shares her inspiration for the series and its characters, describes the relationship between the text and illustrations, and participates in a fun series of “quick takes” that will help readers of all ages get to know her better.
Sesayarts Magazine: The format of the Party Diaries series is like a delightful combination of picture book and chapter book with graphic-novel elements. Who conceived the format?
MBR: I started reading Scholastic Branches books with my kids. They’re awesome early chapter books to foster independent reading skills. The first one we came across was the bestselling Dragon Masters series by Tracey West. Then I explored other Scholastic Branches series and got inspired by The Owl Diaries by Rebecca Elliott and the Press Start series by Thomas Flintham.
Katie Carella, my editor at Scholastic, was the first to believe in The Party Diaries. She could see it. Then the Scholastic art team with Brian LaRossa and Maria Mercado helped establish the format of the first book in The Party Diaries. The look and feel. The design elements. And of course, the amazing illustrator Aaliya Jaleel makes each of The Party Diaries shine with her incredible artwork.
Sesayarts Magazine: Each story is layered, and you convey multiple themes within a relatively sparse text, which is not easy to do. Do you want to talk a little about your writing and editing process?
MBR: Thanks for saying that! It’s a really wonderful compliment, because I want the books to feel rich and real and meaningful for early readers, or readers of all ages really. I’m a writer-by-instinct, although I’m working on becoming a better outliner, which I think is important for a series writer working with a team. To keep myself focused, I write with pen-on-paper at my kitchen table. I set a timer on my phone and set my phone really far away from me, so I don’t get distracted. Then I write for about 90 minutes a day in the morning, around the same time every day after breakfast.
It takes about two or three months to finish one of The Party Diaries, and by “finish” I mean, finish a good first draft to send to my editor. Then she kicks off the editing process, sending back thoughtful comments and questions to help make every book the best it can be before it goes out into the world.
Sesayarts Magazine: Tell us about the relationship between your text and Aaliya Jaleel’s illustrations. How do they help to tell the story?
Aaliya adds so many details and facial expressions and takes my jumble of art notes and turns them into these fabulous illustrations. You know, there’s that saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Each of The Party Diaries are less than 2500 words. That’s not a lot of words, so every illustration helps convey some of what doesn’t get written—like character, setting, action, expression, and details. They help showcase the cultural elements tucked into the book and help the reader experience what Priya feels throughout the story.
Sesayarts Magazine: Are the characters in The Party Diaries inspired by real people or experiences? For example, how much of you is in Priya or her ma?
MBR: For sure, I was a lot like Priya when I was younger and even now, I love DIY, I worry a lot about lots of things, like the planet and everyday problems. I also care about my family, friends, and community. And of course, The Party Diaries was inspired by my parents and all the supportive aunties I had growing up. And I have a sister-in-law named Melissa, actually. Just like Priya’s best friend, the real-life Melissa is an excellent DIY crafter, amazing party planner, and amazing friend.
Sesayarts Magazine: There are two books out already and another forthcoming in October. What has the response to them been so far? Have any responses especially surprised you?
MBR: I’m so excited. It doesn’t feel real, to have these books out in the world for people to find. The response has been so warm! I’ve gotten lots of thoughtful and positive comments. It makes me feel so good, hearing how kids relate to The Party Diaries!
Quick Takes with Mitali Banerjee Ruths
- What is your favourite children’s book(s) or author(s)?
I love The Baby-Sitters Club by Ann M. Martin, and I love Nancy Farmer. But I also love reading nonfiction books because I love learning fun facts about lots of different things, like volcanoes and animals and ancient civilizations.
- What is your favourite Bengali food?
I love my mom’s aloo parathas. All throughout college and med school and pediatrics internship in Houston, Ma would come downtown from the suburbs to drop off big foil packets of parathas. It was my go-to comfort food while I studied. I ate so many parathas between the ages of 18 and 26. On a cellular level, my body was probably made mostly out of aloo paratha!
My favorite special Bengali party food is “mangshor jhol”. My mom used chicken for the “mangsho” but the secret sauce or “jhol” was largely improv every time Ma made it. I have her recipe, but it’s not the same when I try to make it.
- What is an aspect of Bengali culture or tradition that you can do without?
I’m grateful that my parents broke from the culture of treating sons and daughters differently. They thought every child was a gift, regardless of gender, and they encouraged my sister and me to pursue our careers and ambitions. They didn’t want either of us to have any limits.
- What endangered animal is particularly important to you?
I have many favorites, but the one that stands out is the giraffe. Even as a kid, I was fascinated – those long dinosaur necks, long black tongues, strange horns called ossicones, and the unique giraffe pattern on their fur. I think giraffes are so elegant and awkward at the same time, and I feel that’s sort of like me. Well, I want to be elegant, but mostly, I’m awkward.
- Let’s pretend that The Party Diaries becomes a TV series… Who would you cast?
Oooh! This is a very fun question. It would be surreal to have THE PARTY DIARIES become a TV series. I think Priya and Melissa would be played by new talent. This would be their breakout roles. It would be fun to give opportunities to yet-to-be-discovered talent coming up in the industry.
But how fun would it be if Priyanka Chopra Jonas was Priya’s mom, and Lilly Singh was Layla Aunty, and Mindy Kaling was Padma Aunty. Who would be Susan Aunty? Drew Barrymore? And could we somehow get Richa Moorjani and Poorna Jagannathan from Never Have I Ever or Simone Ashley and Charithra Chandran from Bridgerton involved in this project?
As I’m writing this—I realize how much incredible desi talent we have in Hollywood now. There are so many talented and even aspiring actors who could bring The Party Diaries to life on screen!
The Party Diaries is available widely at all book sellers and through scholastic.com.
©Arpita Ghosal, Sesayarts Magazine, 2023
