“Exposing children to a range of children’s literature for independent reading, shared reading as well as read aloud is critical for children to develop sustained literacy skills as well as develop critical thinking, imagination and creativity.” Accordingly, the National Council of Educational Research and Training drew up a suggestive list of select children’s books as a guide to libraries, schools, NGOs, parents, State Boards and other organisations, which includes several English and Hindi titles from Tulika.
10, 9, 8, 7 – count the children as they come leaping, riding, zooming in on cycles, scooters, rickshas… A racy counting book with a different mode of transport on every spread! Children with completely different personalities brighten up the streets. NCERT recommended
Hiss! Boo! Muahahaha! Mala creeps up from behind and scares everyone. Then her mother gives her a pair of pretty silver anklets... The pictures of this charming and very popular story have the exuberance and freshness typical of Nancy Raj's work.
Thom! It lands on Kuttan’s toes. Dheem! He kicks and up it goes. The pages of this book resound with the rhythm of dance as Abu's big red ball bounces in tune with the delightful illustrations. Originally in Malayalam
One little child is staring at something. Another joins him, then another... until finally ten little children are staring at something. What do they see? The suspense builds up, page after page, through text and picture, to an amusing climax. This beginner counting book has illustrations as innovative as the concept, in black and white pen-and-wash on...
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.
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…
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...
An owl drops a purple feather in a forest. A little girl picks it up and begins a journey into magical lands... The story emerged out of a unique 3D character that Roma Singh crafted out of an old book. She made wild hair from its pages and cut out eyes like moons. Its playfulness demanded a story and Roma soon found one. The touch-and-feel visuals...
It is pouring rain. From her window, little Anju sees familiar scenes of a rainy day – cloudy skies, umbrellas, puddles… But her curious eyes pick up other surprises too, while her imagination plays with the raindrops sliding down her window pane. Soft watercolours drench the pages with the mood of a wet, wet day. 2018: Best of Indian Children's Writing:...
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...
“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...
A dusty path runs through a village where people and animals keep walking up and down, up and down. Others, on faster feet and wheels, shout “Out of the way, out of the way.” In a simple lyrical way, the author subverts commonly held views on environment and development by showing simultaneously the growth of a wide-spreading tree and a busy winding road,...
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 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...
Bhoomi the planet plays games with her friend, Moon, traces star patterns, and watches blazing comets whizz by. It's exciting to live in Space! This is one of five First Look Science books, perfect for a child’s first introduction to basic concepts about the world around because they were conceived visually. The stunning pictures convey the beauty,...
Boondi is a little drop of water who rolls and tumbles in the river. One hot day he feels himself being lifted up, up, up into the sky into a big, heavy cloud. What now? This is one of five First Look Science books, perfect for a child’s first introduction to basic concepts about the world around because they were conceived visually. The stunning pictures...
Dhooli, a tiny speck of dust, flits and floats in the air with her friends. She flies past clouds and birds and aeroplanes. She watches rainbows in the sky. What else does she do in the air? This is one of five First Look Science books, perfect for a child’s first introduction to basic concepts about the world around because they were conceived visually....
Gitti the rock is very old. After a long, long journey that started from the boiling hot centre of the earth, he now sits quietly on a mountain, watching the sun rise and set. What is his story? This is one of five First Look Science books, perfect for a child’s first introduction to basic concepts about the world around because they were conceived...
Super-seed Beeji is off on a super-ride! Zooming over icy lands and hot deserts, swooshing down a river… she's a tough little seed who loves adventure but is happy to be back on soft soil. A Beeji-eye view of different landforms. This is one of five First Look Science books, perfect for a child’s first introduction to basic concepts about the world...
Using a simple, direct approach this book presents a basic concept – it encourages children to recognise forms through lines and circles and observe them in the world around them. As the two forms come together to create various images, the narrative builds on the concept to tell a story. The pictures have been inspired by folk toys. 2003: Oppenheim Toy...
