The Gopi Diaries: Coming Home

By Sudha Murty

The Gopi Diaries is a series of three books for children about a dog called Gopi. Told in Gopi's voice, the first book, Coming Home, begins with Gopi going to his new home, and tells the story of how he settles down with his loving, human family. How Gopi sees the world around him and what he thinks of the people in his life give the story a truly unique flavour. Written in Sudha Murty's inimitable style, these are books children and adults will treasure as the simple stories talk of basic values even when told from a dog's perspective.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harper Children's
• Release date: Mar 29, 2020
• ISBN: 9789353578688

Sudha Murty

Sudha Murty was born in 1950 in Shiggaon, north Karnataka. She did her MTech in computer science and is the chairperson of the Murty Foundation. A prolific writer in English and Kannada, she has written more than 30 books including novels, travelogues, technical books, collections of short stories and non-fiction pieces, and bestselling books for children. Her books have been translated into all major Indian languages. She has received nine honorary doctorates. Sudha Murty is the recipient of the R.K. Narayan Award for Literature (2006), the Padma Shri (2006), the Attimabbe Award from the Government of Karnataka for excellence in Kannada literature (2011), the Lifetime Achievement Award by Crossword Book Award (2018), and the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence (2020).  

Book preview

A Whole New World

The day I opened my eyes I was

surrounded by many balls of white fur.

I glanced around and saw my brothers

and sisters. We were all trying to drink

milk from our mother. Though our sweet

mother licked us with affection, she also

got annoyed when all of us wanted milk

from her at the same time. I knew, of

course, that she loved all of us dearly and

I felt very safe with her hands around me.

Slowly, all my siblings began to move

about to explore our surroundings. And

I learnt that I had many relatives – my

mother, my father, chachas, mamas,

kakas, kakus, and other aunts, uncles

and cousins. Each of them was different

– some were big and some were small.

We were on a big farm. There was so

much grass everywhere. It felt so good.

I enjoyed walking, jumping, falling, and

rolling in the sunshine. My mother stayed

at a distance and kept a firm eye on all of

us. Whenever strangers approached, she

would shout out in a high-pitched growl

to warn them, ‘Be careful! Don’t touch my

children!’

One day, my mother was away on a walk

and we found ourselves in a big room

that we couldn’t get out of. That didn’t

bother us because there was plenty of

space for us to play with each other.

Within minutes, there was a commotion.

I pulled my brother’s tail and he pulled

my ears. My sister intervened and

giggled with joy.

Suddenly, the door opened and two

men came in. One was young and

handsome and the other was old and

gentle. Although they spoke a different

language, I understood everything.

The old man said, ‘Choose your puppy,

Rohan.’

The young man looked at all of us and

said, ‘It’s so hard to choose. They are all

equally lovable.’ He sighed, ‘But I can only

adopt one.’ He sat and rested his hand on

the

Reviews for The Gopi Diaries

[Monika Satote · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Gopi Diaries: Coming Home is the first book in the series of three books for kids about a cute pup called Gopi. He gets his new home in Rohan's house. There, he meets Ajji and Tachi Ajii and Ajja... and cute little girls that adore him a lot. This small book is written from Gopi's perspective, and it was too amusing to read. I have no experience with dogs, or for that matter, with any pet. So, I don't know what it goes into taking care of animals. But needless to say, love and care are vital.   


?An amazing children's book to know about animal's feelings, especially if you are getting a pet for your kid. Also, some great learnings in an easy and paw-dorable way. If you are a parent, give it a shot. Read it to your kid. And did I mention the cute and colourful illustrations by Sandhya Prabhat? Too good to skip.


?At the end of the book, I got to know that Gopi is a real-life pup in the Murthy family. So, the book is an account of Sudha Murthy's experiences with her dog, Gopi. 


Looking for something fun, warm and short to read? Pick it up :) Especially if you love or have dog(s) ?  Maybe, you will find it way more relatable. ?