B.1. Writers have not ruled countries, invented things, won battles or had amazing adventures. Yet they are famous and important because they create tales that entertain people. After all, it is well-known that—
Writer | Creation |
Rabindranath Tagore | Gitanjali |
Rudyard Kipling | The Jungle Book |
Enid Blyton | Five on a Treasure Island |
Ruskin Bond | The Adventures of Rusty |
Arthur Conan Doyle | The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes |
Charles Dickens | Oliver Twist |
R. K. Narayan | Swami and Friends |
Lewis Carroll | Alice in Wonderland |
B.2. My Reading Record
- My favourite book is:
Malgudi Days - The character(s) I like the most in the book is/are:
Swaminathan - Other books/stories that I have liked are:
Panchatantra - When I go to the library, I like to take out books about:
Moral education - My favourite author is:
Vishnu Sharma - My favourite fairy tale is:
Lost in Heaven - If I could write a book, I would call it:
My Experiences for all
B.4. Tick (✔) the correct option to complete the sentences.
(i) Benny completed reading a book in—
three days.
half a day.
two hours.
Answer – half a day.
(ii) Benny got books only—
at Christmas time.
on his birthday.
when he demanded them.
Answer – at Christmas time.
(iii) Benny had the habit of—
stealing things.
lending things.
borrowing things.
Answer – borrowing things.
(iv) When children asked for their books back, Benny—
returned them.
avoided them.
pretended that he had not got them.
Answer – pretended that he had not got them.
(v) All the borrowed books wanted to—
return to their owners.
stay with Benny.
praise Benny’s passion for reading books.
Answer – return to their owners.
(vi) The funny dream that Benny narrated to his mother was about—
his reading a funny book.
his writing a book.
books walking downstairs and running away.
Answer – books walking downstairs and running away.
(vii) Books made Benny feel ashamed and so he—
did not talk to his friends.
returned all borrowed things.
cried loudly.
Answer – returned all borrowed things.
(viii) Benny promised to borrow books—
again and again.
only from relatives.
only if he returned them quickly.
Answer – only if he returned them quickly.
B.5. Answer the following questions briefly.
(i) What was Benny’s favourite hobby?
Answer – Reading books was Benny’s favourite hobby.
(ii) What kind of book did Benny want?
Answer – He wanted a book that goes on forever, a very long book to give him enough reading.
(iii) How many books did he have?
Answer – He had about eight books of his own.
(iv) Why could Benny not bear to return books?
Answer – Because his bookcase was gradually filling up with borrowed books, and he didn’t want to give any of them back.
(v) Whose voices did Benny hear one night?
Answer – He heard the voices of the borrowed books.
(vi) What horrid thing had Benny done with one of the books?
Answer – He had turned some of the pages down to mark his place, which is a bad way to treat books.
(vii) How did the books leave the house?
Answer – The books pushed open the door, walked over Benny’s toes, tumbled down the stairs, and went out through the open window.
(viii) Why were the children surprised when Benny returned them their things?
Answer – They thought Benny meant to keep the things and never return them.
B.6. Life Skills
Imagine Benny had borrowed a book from you and has not returned it back. How would you convince him to return your book and all the other things that he has borrowed from other people?
Answer – If Benny borrowed a book from me and did not return it, I would talk to him kindly and explain how important it is to return things on time. I would tell him that others also want their belongings back and borrowing without returning is unfair. I would remind him that returning borrowed items shows respect and honesty. If needed, I would ask a teacher or parent to help us solve the problem.
B.7. Value Based Question
‘Books are our best friends. The values that we get from them are timeless and priceless.’ Do you agree with this statement? Discuss in class what values do we get from books.
Answer – Yes, I agree that books are our best friends. They teach us many valuable lessons such as honesty, kindness, patience, and courage. Books help us understand different people, cultures, and situations. They inspire imagination and creativity. The values learned from books stay with us for life and help us grow as good human beings.
B.8. Find words from the story which mean the same as the following:
(i) created a false impression — pretended
(ii) angry — cross
(iii) strange — peculiar
(iv) horrible — horrid
(v) hurry in a disorderly manner — helter-skelter
(vi) strange, odd — queer
B.9. Imagine you are Benny. Write a diary entry describing your unbelievable experience of hearing the books talk, leave the house and reach their owners’ houses.
Dear Diary,
Last night, something unbelievable happened. I heard voices coming from the room where I keep all my borrowed books and toys. At first, I thought I was dreaming, but it was real! The books were talking to each other. They were upset because I hadn’t returned them to their owners. Then, the books pushed open the door, walked past me, and tumbled down the stairs. They found the open window and left the house! When I woke up, I thought it was a dream, but it wasn’t. All the borrowed books had gone back to their owners. I felt very ashamed and scared. I decided to return all the things I borrowed and to never keep them for too long again. I’ve learned that borrowing means returning on time. I hope this never happens again!
— Benny
B.10. Benny’s friend decides to become a member of a Public Library to satisfy her passion of reading books. Given below are the steps of joining the library, selecting a book and getting it issued. Arrange them in the correct order by writing the number in the boxes provided.
- Secure membership form.
- Submit form and membership fee.
- Fill details.
- Collect library card.
- Refer to catalogue.
- Select book.
- Hand over book and library card to librarian.
- Get due return date stamped in the book.