Jayshree Diwakar has been writing short fiction in Kannada for many years. Her work has appeared in almost all the leading journals in Karnataka. Her first collection of short stories, Thanthibeliya Onti Kaage, won the award for the best book of the year by the Karnataka Women Writers Association, Bengaluru. Jayashree has introduced Kannada readers to the short fiction of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Maria Dermout, Jamaica Kincaid and Olive Senior. She has also translated into Kannada many children’s books for Tulika.
When will it rain, Little Frog asks his mother. When black clouds appear in the sky, she replies. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday... every day Little Frog looks up at the sky and when he sees something dark, asks the crane, the fish, the stork if these are clouds. No, comes the reply – until finally, the rain comes down! Bold strokes and bright colours highlight...
A black cat with bright green eyes becomes a white cat with bright green eyes. How does this happen? But this is only the beginning of the adventure. Stunning pictures play with the shape of the elegant cat.
Dinaben is a Maldhari and her village is right in the middle of the Gir forest where the lions live. How does she live? What does she do? This book offers glimpses into the many aspects of life in the forest through simple text and photographs. CBSE recommended
Lai-Lai the baby elephant is curious and playful but, like all little children, stays close to his mother. The world of elephants is explored through stunning photographs by the award-winning wildlife filmmaker, drawing the child into the forest. The informative text has lovable elephant cartoons alongside. CBSE recommended
Who says the city belongs only to people? Meet Moti the elephant, Phad Phad the pigeon, Banno the buffalo, and many other two- and four-legged creatures that also live in the city. Photographs and cheerful illustrations combine with easy text to give children a fresh perspective on everyday birds and animals.
Malli's uncle and his family from the city have come to her village. She wants to take some gifts for them but has only one rupee. However, as she sets off on her way, her little basket slowly fills up… This story is about the joy of simple surprises. The exuberant illustrations carry the feel of rural Tamil Nadu with bright colours and strong lines.
This is an entertaining, interactive activity book about how little Priya spends her day. Well-known storyteller Cathy Spagnoli imbues the story with the sights and sounds of small-town Tamil Nadu as she uses one sheet of newspaper to make all the objects described in the book, including two hills, a coconut tree and a string of jasmines. Children can...
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'...
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...
Little Nonnu's world revolves around her goat, Appaka. Soft as cotton, Appaka loves to munch on jackfruit leaves and play with Nonnu and her friends. One day, Nonnu returns home from school to find Appaka missing! What will she do without her best friend? Set in Kerala, the story is full of evocative glimpses of a child's everyday life. The uplifting...
When her friend's cat, Kaapi, gets lost, Dip Dip goes off to look for it – on the road, inside dustbins, behind houses, under bushes, everywhere. And when Kaapi finally climbs up a tree and can't come down, the only thing to do is…? Exuberant illustrations from an award-winning illustrator delightfully capture the spirited little girl for whom being on a...
There was a time when happiness began to leak out of the world. Everything dried up. No colour, no food, no smiles – only hunger, sadness and quarrels. One old woman decided that something had to be done, and she heard from the wind about a magical fish that lived in a green-green lake... Told by a Gond storyteller and illustrated by a Gond artist, this...
Little Satya lives by the River Ganga in Banaras and longs to row her own boat, just like her father. But he says she's not old enough or strong enough. But Satya can't wait… One day, she makes a little paper boat and that night, she dreams and drifts into a watery world. As the story unfolds, the finely detailed illustrations and their colours heighten...
It is hard not to notice Nabiya in English story classes. She listens so hard that she hardly blinks! Slowly, she begins to explore stories, delight in their words, pictures and funny moments. This story about a spirited young girl, who likes football as much as she likes storybooks that she is determined to learn to read. Using a collage of colours,...
Bulbuli lives in a bamboo house in a bamboo grove, and is busy in her little bamboo world from the time she wakes up to the time she goes to sleep. Just following Bulbuli around, this story told in a rhythmic, cumulative style spotlights bamboo to make a simple green statement. Words and pictures communicate a very real sense of the versatility of bamboo...
The monsoon has failed in Yellaiah's village, and everything is dry and dusty. One day, Yella finds a kite. It is a wish-fulfilling kite, says Rajamma the fruit-seller. Soon, all his friends are making wishes – for bangles, a school bag, a full meal... Set in rural Andhra, this is a moving story about dreams and fears, matched by tender pictures that...
Little Siri slips away from home one day and goes around asking whomsoever she meets to smile. Find out why in the pages of this bright and cheerful book that evokes a world of colour and things to discover. CBSE & NCERT recommended
The quiet villages of Sundarban are terrorised by a monster with wild eyes, sharp teeth, striped skin and pointed nails — Dokkhin Rai! Until finally, Bon Bibi, protector of the forests and people, asks him a simple question: Why do you do this? The answer to this question is central to the age-old theme of human-animal harmony. Set in the lush and...
A thrilling book based on a true story of an encounter with the endangered cat in the Western Ghats of India. Perched on a treetop at a waterhole in a reserve forest in Kerala, the author and his friend, Natarajan, an Irula tribesman, were waiting to sight a tiger. This was when Natarajan told him the story of his first encounter with a black panther in...
How did the Warlis first begin to paint their walls with shining, white images? The paintings of the Warli people of Maharashtra are famous worldwide for their simplicity as much as liveliness. Beginning with the story of little Shirvi who wants to give her parents a happy surprise, author Shamim Padamsee takes a whimsical journey into how the art may...
With great imagination, Brahma the creator has fashioned all things on earth, even the greedy caterpillar. One day, however, it chomps its way through his colourful garden and Brahma gets very angry. But then, it was Brahma himself who gave the caterpillar its huge hunger, wasn’t it? So what was the caterpillar to do? And now, what will Brahma do? An...
Ismat the shoemaker decides to buy his family special gifts for Eid. He is persuaded by the shopkeeper to buy a pair of trousers for himself. However, there is only one last pair and it's too long. But long trousers can always be shortened, can't they? Eid arrives, and with it comes a shock and a surprise. This crisp adaptation of a delightful Turkish...
The story is set against the background of the 1947 Partition. But friendship between children knows no barbed wire fencing: all children play games, enjoy ice-cream and feel the loss of friends. This book is about every child's right to friendship and a home. Based on memories of her father, animator Nina Sabnani first made this as a film for the Big...
This zippy zestful grand-ant has travelled the world, and how! This smart ‘travel quiz' comes in crisp, cheery verse that jogs the mind even as it swings the imagination. Clues come through words and pictures, taking children on a whirlwind journey from New Zealand to Japan, China, Nepal... But how does grand-ant travel?
