Bumoni’s big backyard, just outside the Kaziranga National Park, is bursting with banana trees. Then one night a herd of wild elephants crosses the river, discovers the trees, and gorges on them. Bumoni’s family is very upset – how do they keep the elephants away? Bumoni has an idea! But then, what will the elephants eat now? Spare but dramatic pictures...
Dhum Dhum Dhum… dhup dhup dhup… Dungi dances to a dhinchak beat in this foot-tapping story that will make young readers move and groove, clap and tap! Big sheep, small sheep, bored sheep, happy sheep… eye-catching visuals bring to life the dance and drama in a woolly world. 2018: Best of Indian Children's Writing: Contemporary
Gulab’s classmates call her ‘Stinky Gulab’, and it’s not because she smells. Her father is a manual scavenger, made to clean drains and gutters with his bare hands, even today! “Why do you do it?!” asks Gulab angrily. With determination and a little help from science, she takes the first bold step towards change. Addressing a deep-rooted social evil, the...
Kutak-katak… zoing-zoing… bzzzt-bzzzt… zzzk-zzzk… Salim goes from village to village sharpening knives. But who needs knives sharpened every day? Some days he hardly makes enough money for a good meal. Now, with Eid coming, he decides to try his luck on the other side of the jungle – and runs into a customer he hadn’t bargained for in his ‘wildest'...
Little Malathi wants to run after hens and chicks, and catch the ripe yellow mangoes as they fall – but how can she, on a wheelchair? She grows up to show that she can do much, much more! Moments and experiences from the remarkable life of disabled athlete Malathi Holla, told simply and sensitively, bring out her determination and untiring spirit. The...
One day, when Prime Minister Nehru opened his overstuffed mail bag, out tumbled hundreds of colourfully decorated letters — from children in Japan! “We have never seen a live elephant,” they said. “Could you kindly send us one from India?” This exuberant picture book takes readers across land and sea to tell how Indira, Ambika, Murugan and others became...
Kuk... Kuk… The poor rooster can't KUKAROOKOO because his throat is so parched. There is not a drop of water left in the village pond. The only hope is to find a badwa who can ask the gods to send rain. What does the badwa tell them to do? Go home and paint! The adventure-filled origin myth about Bhil art revolves around the thirst for rain and water...
Whose colour is GREEN? asked the little boy.“It’s mine!” preened the parrot. “It’s mine! It’s mine!” babbled the bitter gourd.Whose colour is RED, YELLOW, BLUE…? The little boy doesn’t stop, and award-winning illustrator Nancy Raj creates for little readers a wild, whimsical world of colours! As bright hues jump and dance across the pages in this little...
Ma buys the perfect present for her little Tokai from a pavement hawker – a toy bird that repeats everything it hears. The problem starts when Ma can't make it stop! There is mayhem in the middle of busy, busy Dalhousie Square, with a stalled bus and an angry policeman. Will Tokai get his present after all? Bright, bold pictures set off this hilarious...
Squiggles and swirls, loops and curls, diamonds and dots... and a small surprise! The little girl watches as her mother traces the cool, moist patterns on her palm. Then comes the waiting. The henna must dry, nothing must touch it – and she can be patient no longer! The art of drawing with henna takes on a little girl’s infectious thrill as decorative...
Words rollick and frolic in Kanna's head, yet he hardly speaks. One day, he is with his family at the cave temples when the lights go off. Everyone is frightened, except Kanna. Light or no light, it makes no difference because he can't see anyway. And as he confidently leads the way out, he finds himself talking… Words tumble out to unleash the playful...
Tiger cub Sultan and his Ammi have a special friend they call Junglee Bina, who loves the jungle, and wanders there on her own for hours, taking photographs. It is these stunning photos that show us Sultan's life in the Ranthambore forest, even as he tells us the story of a warm relationship between a woman and the wild. Images drawn from folk toys meld...
The very first words Zakir hears from his famous father, Allarakha, are bols — rhythms played out on tablas! From then on, bols sing and dance in his head, on Amma’s cheeks, on the pots and pans in the kitchen… Sandhya Rao follows these beats, stringing together little vignettes from his life. From a childhood around music to the highs of a performer who...
“What will happen if I add up all the numbers in the world?” “Is there a last number?” A toddler captivated by patterns... A little boy filling his slate with numbers, rubbing them out with his elbow and starting again... A teenager solving complex maths problems... A young man matching the best minds in Cambridge... Bringing the story of brilliant...
Why do I have to sit separately in a corner of the classroom? Why can't I drink water from the tap like other children? Why do the teachers never touch my books? The ‘whys' shout louder in little Bhim's head as he grows up, trailed constantly by the monster of untouchability. They catapult him into a lifetime of struggle for equality. And they shape the...
Ammi weaves the most beautiful sarees, but never gets to wear any of them. Her two little daughters decide to do something about it – break their piggy bank! But is there enough in it to buy Ammi her very own saree? This gentle story goes into the home of a weaver’s family, and lets warmth and affection add colour to their lives. Engaging visual details...
The wheels of a cycle, a merry-go-round, a spinning top… Kayu lives in his own quiet world filled only with circles and the patterns they make. One day, he sees a cricket ball spin and curve and jump before it strikes the bat, and he is onto something – a magical bowling spell with two hat-tricks! Inspired by a child with autism, the story makes the...
The gular, or cluster fig, flower is very very beautiful, everyone says. But what does it look like? When does it bloom? There are many stories, and only the really lucky get to see it. As she goes about her day picking waste, Renchu is obsessed with just one thought – will she too see it? The author’s own wonder at discovering the secret of the gular...
Can you taste with your toes? Or see with your ears? Or, at least, smell with your hair? No? Well, there are creatures around you that can! Take a peek into an intriguing world to discover the different ways in which animals do things that are ‘normal’. And look out for the funny bits in the pictures.
After his big-big sneeze, Gajapati Kulapati is back with a SPLASH! Like the very popular first book, sounds, rhythm, and repetition make this too a perfect read aloud for little ones.
All the children in Lila’s class are beginning to lose their teeth and have exciting stories to tell. One buried it in the ground for the mouse to take, another got a shiny coin from the tooth fairy. Lila waits impatiently for her tooth to wiggle… Action-filled pictures bring out her eager wait in a story that every child with jiggly teeth will love!...
Nikoo loves to paint. One day he reads an adventure story about the big blue sea and, as usual, picks up his paintbrush. Suddenly, he falls into his own painting! Watercolour illustrations swirl us into Nikoo's imaginary world.
Trisha is counting the number of beautiful peacocks on her mother’s saree when one curious peacock jumps off to explore the world. Trisha follows on his tail. What we get is a high-speed chase through a bustling market, onto an umbrella, onto a tree... and find out where else! Detailed pictures create vibrant scenarios where children will have fun...
SPLASH! Ira does happy backflips in the calm waters of Odisha’s Chilika Lake. But she and the other friendly Irrawady dolphins must be mindful of the hidden dangers that lurk all around. The author, a well-known wildlife filmmaker and conservationist, spent many weeks observing these dolphins while making a film on Chilika Lake. Brilliant photographs...
