Hello! I’m Sunita
I'm the creator and the author of the very exciting series of books called “The Jai Jai’s”. So who am I? A daughter, sister, wife and, most amazingly a mum. I waited 10 years for my precious first son Syon, and then was blessed with Dhiyan 6 months ago. My boys are the best thing that ever happened to me... Being a mum is what I was born to do!!!!
So why the Jai Jai’s?.... When Syon was 3 he learnt the Gayatri Mantra (Hindu prayer)... Every evening after his bath we would go and “do Jai Jai” (its our word for pray)... I remember as a small child these are the words my mum and thousands of Hindu parents across the world use. Syon was always interested in our statues in the Mandir (temple), and started learning the names of the gods initially it was elephant Jai Jai and then the monkey Jai Jai ...later Ganesh and Hunuman. I started looking for children’s books and puzzles to encourage his interest and knowledge about our Hindu Gods and Goddess ( I really wanted my children to grow up knowing things about our Hindu religion and culture), and realised there was nothing out there for pre-school children that was simple, fun and engaging.....The books I found had a lot of text complicated story lines and quite serious pictures for older children... this was how the Jai Jai’s was born. So... I thought... hmmmmm ... I’ll just make my own. We use to lie in bed and Syon would love my made up stories about Ganesh and Hanuman.
I’ve been a practising Speech and Language Therapist for over 20 years, working for the NHS and my own private practice, Together Let’s Communicate. I used my knowledge and skills of Children’s language development to create the books so they had the appropriate story length to keep the children’s attention and simple language and story lines to develop their communication skills as well as learning the basics of the deity.
I was so lucky to find James Ballance who is the most amazing talented illustrator I know... a fab guy and a real passion for what we are trying to achieve. We created the characters to be more child friendly colourful and engaging for the children. James works as a teaching assistant, and has fantastic experience working with understanding children with special needs. Together I think we are a fab team! We’ve spent so much time creating the perfect characters so you and your children would love them as much as we do.
My first book Ganesh was published in December 2015, and Krishna was published in December 2016. I have written four other books which James is busily illustrating.
We hope when our Jai Jai books are in your little ones hands that they love the characters and learn the basics in a simple fun way. There’s nothing like a fab bedtime story... Priceless moments with your children.
