Sameer lives in a house on Saraswati Street in a city called Mumbai, which is in Maharashtra, which is in India, which is in... A popular idea re-presented in a new and appealing way to show how everyone is a small part of this universe. Strong illustrations take children on a visual journey of expanding horizons, from Sameer's house to the star-filled...
An ant's curiosity leads to adventure in this chain story of repetition and cumulative images. The illustrations within illustrations drawn in stark white on brown are adapted from the art of the Warli storytellers. The stories are illustrated in a flowing river-like fashion, capturing the pattern of the cumulative tale visually as well.
Putul lives by the Ganga in a fishing village in Bengal. In the torrential monsoons one year, the mighty river swells over the banks and into the huts and two friendly dolphins come leaping in the water right through Putul's window. Worried that someone might kill them, Putul leads them back into the river. But the strong currents begin to sweep her away…...
A curious crow comes across the palace of the rich and elegant king of birds, Pavo Cristatus the peacock. Soon after, Pavo has a visitor — a cousin, Cavo Pristatus, from Africa who looks like a peacock, but is not quite one. Who is he? This cheerful tongue-in cheek story with flamboyant pictures combines the themes of the weak outwitting the strong and...
“There was once a mountain made of bare stone…” It stands cold and alone until one day a small bird appears and changes its life. This well-loved story by American writer Alice McLerran, shared all over the world in many languages, draws from universal truths that go beyond boundaries of language and culture. The illustrations are as lyrical, evoking the...
Gadagada gudugudu... the marble rolls from one child's hand to another in exchange each time for something exciting. The story moves in a straightforward childlike way as, one after the other, it reintroduces simple street games endlessly popular with children. Trundling alongside is the rhythmic refrain that fascinatingly echoes the circular movement of...
Pranav says he is drawing a picture. But his mother sees nothing on the page! What is Pranav drawing? The narrative and freewheeling illustrations follow the simple, spontaneous logic of a child's mind. CBSE recommended
Every day, Basava goes to the forest to collect firewood for his mother. But one day it grows dark and he can't find his way home. That is when Basava sees the glowing dots of fire that light up the forest... A gentle story with a touch of magic and dramatic illustrations.
Amminikutty Amma picks out the last peppercorn from her spice box to make some tasty onion chutney. But little Kurumolagu has no intention of being ground and eaten just yet. With a desperate Amminikutty Amma hot on his heels, he hops, jumps, skids, brakes, revs and races his way away. This “beautifully told and very charming story” was chosen for an...
Did you know that bees make a real song and dance over honey? And delicate butterflies can frighten fearsome birds? Superbly comic pictures exaggerate funny but true facts about the mad, mad world of creepy crawlies.
A fictional story of a boy caught in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami offers a way for children to come to terms with natural calamities. Warm photographs reinforce images of bonding. 2005: Ambitious Children’s Book Project, Berliner Kinder und Jugendbuchpreis, Germany (English)
Bahadur, the little elephant has forgotten how to sleep. Worried and very, very sleepy, he goes to his animal friends for help. But they all sleep in their own different ways – elephants don't sleep like that! What will Bahadur do? The snoozy-woozy first story in the ever popular series about Bahadur the baby elephant! CBSE recommended
Sometimes a circle, sometimes a slice and soon not there at all... This picture book in easy verse urges a child to look out of the window each night to watch the 'moon show' in the sky – its waxing and waning. Echoing the text, the illustrations are deliberately childlike and capture the grand sweep of the night sky.
Sonabai lives beside a tree that bears delicious red berries. Every day she picks the berries and makes sweets to sell in the market. She is very content... until Kolaba the fox sneaks into her life. Ranjan De's papercuts add to the mystery and fun of this well-loved Marathi folktale.
The famous storyteller, Gorannagaru, is in the village to recite the Ramayana. Bangaramma forces her husband, Penchilayya, to attend. Tired and sleepy, he goes quite unwillingly – and finds the stories sweet one night, salty another! Bangaramma is intrigued... A gentle folktale from Andhra Pradesh about the magic of stories, with pictures in the style of...
Big, burly Tarlochan is a champion wrestler, eager for a real challenge. So when he hears of Paramjit, reputed to be unbeatable, he sets off across the Sutlej river to take him on. The two begin their bout with gusto and become so absorbed in it that they literally get 'carried away'! The pictures for this folk fantasy from Punjab imbibe the spirit of its...
Moyna lives in a little tribal village. She cannot go to school because she has to tend goats, collect firewood, fetch water… But she is so full of questions that the postmaster calls her the ‘why-why girl'! In this inspiring and delightful story, her first picture book, acclaimed Jnanpith award-winning writer Mahasweta Devi tells us how she meets Moyna...
Bhikhubhai's mouth waters for some coconut... fresh, juicy, grated, with a dash of sugar. But there aren't any in the house and he must go to the market for one. The problem is that he'd rather not pay for it! This hilarious folktale from Gujarat has pictures based on the stylised painted paper scrolls used by Garoda storytellers in northern Gujarat.
Nazneen carefully cooks some fragrant marzwangan kurma for a special family dinner. But just when it is all ready, guests arrive — unwanted guests, who cleverly sniff out a good free meal. A warm, amusing folktale from Kashmir which captures life in a simple Kashmiri household. The illustrations use traditional Kashmiri embroidery motifs to provide...
Sunu-sunu the snail is playing with his friends, the ants. Suddenly there is a storm. He ‘hurries' home to his mother and tells her all he saw and heard. With repetitive sound words creating the mood, eloquent illustrations evoke a snail's-eye view of the storm in his world – the garden!
Kali hates school. And school hates him, he thinks, for he has no friends. His classmates find him strange. He wishes his father were an ‘ordinary' bus-conductor or postman instead of a snake-catcher, even if one of the most celebrated in the Irula tribe. He worries that others will see him eating fried termites (his favourite snack!) and laugh. And then...
Muchu the merchant has to work with numbers all the time – but without ‘zero’ it is so very difficult! Arising from an animation film, the story is a well-researched fictional take on how zero came to be used in mathematical calculations. It goes centuries back to Takshashila in northwestern India, where the concept is said to have originated. The people...
Kalia, a poor cobbler, lives with his wife in Patna. He makes beautiful shoes with fine curling points. One day, tired of being poor, he seeks the help of a holy man who appoints him a ghost, Bhootram, who will earn Kalia a lot of money. The only problem is that Bhootram must always be kept busy – or he will eat them up! What will they do? The...
In the beginning, the Bhilalas believed, there was only water. The harassed and wet subjects beg their lazy god to create land so that they can get dry and stay that way. The poor god is put to all sorts of trouble before this wish can be granted. With a fantasy element that reflects the unfettered nature of the oral tradition, this zany folktale from...
Loading...
