The great Mor Khan is coming from the city to choose actors for his new film. The birds of the jungle are in a flutter. How do they bag a role? The smart city crow steps in to help – and also settle scores with Vulture. In this zippy take on filmdom, the bird-loving author cleverly casts actual bird species and builds the story around their looks. Rich...
When living happily together becomes difficult, the creatures of the world decide that the largest group among them should rule the world. In the race for numbers, it looks as though one shy creature is going to make the difference. Based loosely on an Australian Aboriginal tale and with elements of Indian and Aboriginal art, this story demonstrates a...
When he takes his sheep and goats to the mountains, Gulla is always careful – of bears and leopards, the terrible Banbudhiya, and the men with guns. But one day, rushing to save a little hangul from wild dogs, he goes deep into the forest. This story from Kashmir, where the hangul is a protected animal, carries many shades of the region – the quiet life...
Where is Crocodile? This warm story explores the thoughts, feelings and imagined fears shared by friends when one of them suddenly goes missing. Delicate and complex emotions are handled with simplicity, while the pictures capture mood, motion and confusion with a light touch and a lot of heart. The book came out of a workshop in which writers and...
A warm afternoon, a fruit-laden tamarind tree, four boys in search of something to do… Join them as they pick the fruit and climb the tree. Loving attention to little details about the self, other and environment make magical a child's experience of the everyday. A dynamic tranquility pervades the story, drawing the reading child into a contemplative...
In Budapest, Aditi and friends meet a naughty little creature who keeps changing into whatever anyone thinks she is. But it is this changeling who finally comes to the rescue when Beautiful is in trouble.
On a visit to Prague, the naughty granddaughter of Princess Libusha casts a spell on Monkeyji. And the only one who can help is Shemeek, the sleeping white horse of Wysherad. But to reach him Aditi and her gang must first deal with a rude sparrow and a dragon who wants to fight. A popular Czech legend is woven into this unusual adventure. Can a problem...
Kapila Aunty is teaching the little chameleons how to change colour, one at a time. But Kamini gets excited and goes red, purple, green, yellow . . . she just can’t stop! The flashy-splashy third story in the ever popular series about Bahadur the baby elephant!
The sari Mother wears every day is sometimes a train, sometimes a river, or a swing, or a hiding place… Children have a way of seeing things differently! The pictures too break away from conventional depictions of both saris and children, combining photographs and acrylic in dramatic, original ways, with spare text that weaves and winds. 2007:...
When the clouds begin to rumble, out tumbles the naughty wind Jhakkad. Oooo... he blows looking for mischief. The rich, evocative illustrations sweep the reader through this one stormy night.
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...
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...
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...
Kunzang is a strange child of nature, with hair as wild and red as the rhododendrons she lives among. People say that one look from her crimson eyes can make wishes come true. She rides untroubled on her graceful kiang through Sikkim's Yumthang valley. But then, along comes the powerful king, Bhu-pen, who sees the kiang and wants it... A lyrical story...
Who was this man who so mesmerised the world, born over a century ago but whose words and wisdom are still so current, so compelling? Films, plays, books, media images and news stories bring Mahatma Gandhi regularly into our homes. His birthday, 2 October, is the International Day for Non-violence. But how do we relate this familiar yet distant icon to a...
Pictures cut and pasted, comments thrown in, random thoughts, quibbles and scribbles... The scrapbook format offers unusual perspectives on a most amazing man. Did you know that Gandhi loved comics? That he would make 'pudding' with powdered chapatis? Now these are some quirky bits that aren't in the book. Add them in, or anything else you like – for in...
Most of the time Selvi's little village of peanut farmers lies forgotten. But once a year it springs to life – when the archaeologists come to excavate the river-bed for tools of prehistoric ancestors. These ancestors were hominids who lived more than half a million years ago, and their stone tools are what the villagers call chakka kal, meaning 'shining...
Goldie the dragon is missing! Following a clue, the friends head to Cumae in Italy where they meet the Sybil who knows everything, and the tantrum-throwing Vesuvian Giant.
Lost in a flood in around 2500 BCE, Vanuvati is a doll with an enigmatic smile. She is discovered in 713 CE by Mariam, the sister of an Arab horse trader, only to disappear again. Centuries pass before three children in Gujarat uncover the figurine. Then, strange things start happening – flashing lights and sounds of digging at dead of night, and a...
What could Caesar's general have in common with multiplication and weights? Or a Russian waiter with factorials? Or a temple in Hanoi with transposition? A Chinese emperor with Benjamin Franklin? This collection of stories from different countries sets the brain ticking, encourages problem-solving skills, and has a high quotient of fun! Each story is...
This omnibus of stories and storytelling traditions from 43 countries across Asia provides an overview of methods and the multitude of stylistic variations. The book then embarks on a journey through fast-changing landscapes of unique, yet unifying cultural experience, presented through the distinctive voices of people. An excellent resource that invites...
Shanmugam the gentle lion does three things in a day. He eats, he sleeps, and he snores — khorhrhrh..... phshhew..... khorhrhrh..... phshhew..... One day, a tawny, brawny, nasty new lion comes to take over the jungle. The animals are afraid. They go to their king, Shanmugam — but he is, of course, sleeping! The roary-snory second story in the ever popular...
