When rock bees build a bee colony in Gowri's balcony, her mother decides to ask Mr Ramaiah, an expert on bees, for help. They don't have to be killed, the bee master tells Gowri and her mother. Just moved to a safer place, safe for us and for them. The little girl watches fascinated… And as she learns about bees and the environment, we too are drawn into...
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...
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,...
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...
After pathbreaking innovations in wireless communication, pioneering scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose turned to the world of plants. In this first-of-its-kind comic book, the maverick scientist’s journey is imagined through the eyes of Mimosa Pudica – the ‘touch-me-not’ plant he used extensively in his research. Extracts from a well-known speech and an...
This river jumps out of a horse’s mouth, all set for adventure! Piercing through forbidding mountain ranges, he races down from Tibet through northeastern India. Changing form and name as he rushes along, this mighty ‘son of Brahma’ connects an incredible mix of people, places and ways of life. A set of four books that flow down with some of India’s...
Are there really diamonds hidden in Bhedaghat? What happens when crocodiles chase Kanmani during a boat ride in the Andamans? And what on earth is Raja the donkey doing in Ramoji Film City? Did you know the world's highest international cricket stadium is in Himachal? Or that dinosaurs roamed Gujarat 65 million years ago? Stories and fascinating facts...
Mayil is now perceptibly older, and wiser to a lot more things that make up teens. We see her as one of the Fake-inas friend-ing a cute senior on Facebook, as a superpowered Liyam Lonewolf, a Cinderella tripping over her ghagra at Pumpkin VS's party, and of course, as a further evolved Mayilwriter who wouldn't mind rapping too. In this second book of the...
How did art begin? Where did colour come from, before paints in tubes and bottles? Taking a long step back in history, this book explores how the world's first artists may have tried their hand on the very first canvases — the walls of rocks and caves. Arising more from artistic imagination than archaeology, this story of art unfolds with photographs of...
Boodabim floats in the sky, he swims in the ocean and he simply glows in stripes! Who is he? A cloud? A fish? A tiger? Boodabim can be anything he wants to be! Minimal text and rollicking illustrations make this a most endearing book for little ones.
One morning, a mother and child go in search of the sun. Their journey comes alive in a vast dotted landscape where lively birds, quick-footed animals and busy humans meet and share the forest, the river and the mountain… The book is a vibrant collaboration between a master Warli artist, a design student and the publishers, inspired by the incredible...
The stars give way to the sun, the clouds to rain, the egg to the little bird… Things change. This truth is brought to children in a charmingly simple way. Dramatic pictures flow into each other to give a sense of movement, of the idea of change.
After the much-admired Let's Plant Trees, the author is now chasing and playing with big monsoon clouds! This time, too, the message is clear and simple. Rainwater is free, pure and precious. Let us save it – in buckets and wells and coconut shells…
Karimuga is a rakshasa, a pleasant rakshasa. He is a beautiful rakshasa too. But that makes all other rakshasas jealous of him. Karimuga can't bear to see them unhappy... Sowmya Rajendran inverts our ideas about beauty, happiness and rakshasas with humour. Niveditha's quirky pictures add to it with little and big rakshasas romping through the pages in...
Paploo is a curious little fellow, full of questions and not afraid of asking – why this, why that, why not, why now. And that's how children should be, says the author, full of questions and free to come to their own conclusions. Pictures and words in verse are delightfully stood on their heads in this story that amuses even as it sets the reader...
Raw, green, sour and crunchy. Or ripe, golden, plump and soft. Summer time is mango time, a time children wait for – blazing sun, sticky mango juice ringing their mouths and dripping down their fingers. The sweet, simple story and luscious pictures evoke delicious flavours of hot days, warm friendships and the smell of mango in the air. 2013: Highly...
There’s once again a buzz in Birdywood – it is time for the great Games! Birds that fly and those that don’t are coming in from all over the world. Who flies fastest? Who dives deepest? While the best are tested, the rest have loads of fun! Amid much ruffling of feathers, tweeting and chirping, old records are smashed and new champions emerge, crowned by...
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...
Pappuram and Kojaram are kaavadiya bhaats, storytellers from Rajasthan. Each has his own favourite story about why Lord Ganesha is always worshipped first, before any other god or goddess. They open their kaavads, the beautifully painted storytelling boxes, and begin – only to realise at the end of it that the stories may be different, but are still...
Mr Moochvaala and his mechanical monsters are going to cut down Bargad chawl, and its residents are worried. They are in danger of losing their homes – their nooks and crannies, shelters and perches in the big banyan tree. It is left to Ali the monkey to find a way out. He swings, jumps and leaps into action, and comes up with a monkey trick that gives a...
The Kite Tree changes... Its leaves fall, they grow back, flowers appear and it begins to hum with life. But that's not all. It comes up with unexpected surprises! Keen eyes and a busy imagination capture these changes, stir anticipation and raise a flurry of questions. Quiet pictures reflect the tree’s many moods to evoke the movement of the seasons.
Who should get more rotis — Ookamma or Ookaiah? A folktale about a quarrelling old couple is woven into another story about the lives of children in a village, growing up, playing, going to a government school, watching adults squabble, feeling hunger, understanding friendship and, most importantly, sitting under a neem tree and listening to stories from...
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...
A majestic elephant protects the forests from timber traders, tree-cutters and poachers. The animal becomes such a legend that his photograph adorns the walls of local homes. But one day, the Forest Department receives strict orders to hunt the elephant down… After the gripping Black Panther, Aravind Krish Bala returns to the Western Ghats. This riveting...
