Columns, short stories, novels, plays, a long-running cartoon strip, Suki… Manjula Padmanabhan traverses all these genres with ease. She has illustrated 24 books for children. For Tulika, she has created the popular I am Different! Same and Different, We are different and World Tour Mystery. Manjula grew up in Europe, Southeast Asia and India. She still travels a lot and likes to pretend that she lives everywhere and nowhere at once.
Teeny-tiny ANTs Are busy Always working Never dizzy! Then there are flitty-witty Bats, inky-winky Crows, heehaw Donkeys and a sprightly animal-rhyme for every letter. With bright-bold cutout pictures, this is just the sort of exciting alphabet book to start off teeny-tiny readers, while older ones relish its rhythms! 2022: Tata Trust's Parag Honour List
There are many chickens, ants, pots and snails that are different. The verses say how many – but which, and how? Manjula Padmanabhan takes spotting odd ones out to the next merry level of stimulation and challenge, while remaining true to her pet theme of identity and plurality. The brilliantly rendered pictures and designs point to ways of perceiving...
Hop on for a whistle-stop trip with a lively family to 12 monuments, sites and wonders of the world. But there's also some detective work to be done. Hints in the diaries of the travellers and clues in the pictures invite readers to guess where the family has just been. Spectacular pictures capture the uniqueness of each man-made wonder and draw readers...
In each group of creatures on a page, one matching pair does not look like the others there. With chirpy rhymes and cheerful pictures, this puzzle book invites the reader to find similar and different creatures — a sometimes easy, sometimes challenging task! In her set of three books in the series, the well-known artist and writer, a puzzle lover herself,...
One naughty little cat with an orange tail and pointy ears is lost! Minnie goes looking for her Pooni, and steps onto a busy city street filled with people to talk to and things to look at. Writer-artist-cartoonist Manjula Padmanabhan’s humour-filled pictures with delightful details invite us to join in the search – for the cat who is always just one step...
A unique puzzle book that invites readers to look at different shapes and find one that is different. “Can you find me?” asks the text accompanying 16 different arrays in 16 different languages. Unfamiliar sounds and alternative styles of writing create wonderful opportunities for discussion. This rare multilingual book is not only for children, but for...
On a trip to the Taj Mahal, Minnie secretly brings Pooni along though animals aren’t allowed in. But wait – the naughty cat slips off on her own adventure! After Where’s That Cat? Manjula Padmanabhan takes us on another Pooni chase, the drama this time set against the magnificent backdrop of the Taj Mahal. Enjoy a lively tour!
“Tell me please: What is The Night?” asks a little girl of the earthworm, the owl, the firefly… Glowing out from the pages, their answers merge into a tapestry of the more mysterious sides of night-time and the curious habits of creatures that come to life in darkness. A breathtaking ‘nature facts’ book, in which striking visuals and punny verse...
Minnie can’t find her little cat anywhere! Where is Pooni hiding? A charming find-it board book for toddlers, from the creator of the other bestselling Pooni books, ‘Where’s That Cat?’ and ‘Pooni at the Taj Mahal’. Bright bold pictures make it easy for very little ones to follow the cat around.
In this alphabet symphony, imagination is unfettered and there's no need to play by the rules, except to get away from the ‘sullen, surly, sombre' use of language From A to zany Z, the 26 letters freely frolic in nonsense verse along with witty and refined illustrations. Funny and perceptive at once, this book is an invitation to a joyous, liberating and...
Three days to go before a killer asteroid will end life on Earth! Everyone is in a panic. Everyone, that is, but Vanita, who has things to do. Such as saving the planet. She has a plan drawn up to the minutest detail. All pure science. With just a little help from fridge magnets, a little puppy – and a special ‘shrinking’ gift that she has. Manjula...
