The Ickabog—the word derives from Ichabod, meaning 'no glory' or 'the glory has departed'—is JK Rowling's latest book for tweens. The idea came to Rowling while she was still writing Harry Potter. She wrote the first half between Potter books, hoping to publish it after the final novel of the series—Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows—was out.

But she never did. At least not till the COVID-19 pandemic happened and millions of children were stuck at home, unable to attend school or meet their friends. She put up the story online for free, and asked kids from across the world to send in their illustrations for the book. Interestingly, eight Indian children are among the 34 from five countries [UK, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia] who made it to the pages of the title, released on November 10. Aged seven to 12, their illustrations are what make this book unique. Their raw artwork will not appeal to children and adults too. We like that the book weaves the present day dog-eat-dog global scenario into lessons in morality.