Slices of history, flavours of places, explorations of art, perspectives on people, events and the environment… an array of non-fiction served up in exciting ways, put together by established and new writers, activists, thinkers, environmentalists, artists, archaeologists, teachers…
Did you know that hermit crabs play a kind of musical chairs on the beach, swapping the shells on their backs? Or that an oyster cleans up about 200 litres of water a day? With his naturalist’s mind, photographer’s eye and stunning photos, Yuvan Aves zooms onto the sands or pans out to the ocean to give us little details as well as the larger picture of...
What does it take for a person to alter the course of a nation? Spotlighting 25 such change-making individuals, the book looks at the times in which they lived, the challenges they dealt with, and the paths they forged. Quick introductions position personalities as game changers, chatty stories sketch their profiles, crisp timelines fill in the gaps,...
Flashing swords, firing guns, charging on horseback, planning strategies and talking peace… These women did it all, and how! Sweeping aside the myth that it takes a man to fight and rule and protect, they led from the front, went fearlessly into battle, fought against injustice, and took care of their people. Some were royalty, some ordinary – but all had...
A is for Archimedes, B is for Bose, C is for Curie, and off we go… on an alphabetical journey from the past to the present, coming face-to-face with the wonders of scientific discovery and invention. In John Reilly’s lively verse, set to the rhythm of familiar rhymes, we meet 26 scientists who have changed our world. With jaunty illustrations by...
Superhero action carved on rocks... A headless statue... Royal inscriptions on pillars... Glass fragments from a lost city... These may sound like clips from a fantasy thriller, but are in fact objects unearthed at archaeological sites — and the stories they throw up are just as exciting! This visually vibrant book has an interdisciplinary approach that...
What do ancient fragments of cloth found in Egypt have to do with modern-day Gujarat? The answer starts with A — and sets us off through the alphabet, building with blocks of a very different kind! A for Ajrakh, B for Bagh, C for Chhipa… Each letter sparks off an aspect of block printing on textile, so that by Z for Zafran what we get is a fascinating...
Aren’t sex and gender the same thing? Either male or female, right? Of course men and women are equal – but who calls the shots at home? Does what you wear ‘invite trouble’? Do women need to be ‘controlled for their own good’? Why is being different from the majority such a problem? With gender issues hitting news hotspots, there are more and more...
From oppressive loneliness, Sonabai Rajawar 'makes' her way into a world of beauty and joy! This sensitive telling of her story follows her artistic journey from her first creations in clay, experiments with colours and light, play with pattern and design, to being embraced by the art world. Rich photographs make for a fascinating introduction to the life...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Do paintings tell stories? When K. G. Subramanyan was a child, he was fascinated by temple murals that looked like a beautiful pattern of colours from a distance, but up close became a panel of many stories. He grew up to become a storyteller-artist. The book shows children how they too can tell stories through colours, shapes and textures. At the end of...
Well researched and attractively designed, this is the first book for young children on India's participation in the Olympic Games. Anecdotes, timelines, milestones and trailblazers follow the growth of the biggest and most spectacular sporting event in the world, from its origins in Greece to modern times. Stories about little known, differently abled...
The first comprehensive book for slightly older readers that traces the Olympic movement in India. Exploring the seven Olympic and Paralympic values through the lives of Indian sportspeople, it also includes a brief history of the Games from ancient times, hilarious comic strips, timelines, news reports, trailblazers and perspectives.
Through the window, a resplendent coral tree comes to life. One morning there is a burst of orange-crimson, and already the tree's many admirers have arrived: babblers, a langur, a rat snake... Evoking moods as varied as the creatures that inhabit the tree, the text pulsates with the energy and warmth of activity. Photographs beautifully capture the tree...
A one-of-a-kind book about Indian dinosaurs! Combining fact and fiction, it shows that dinosaurs didn't roam only in other, faraway places. They were very much part of the Indian landscape, millions of years ago. Join Sankar and Sandhya on their adventure as they find out about Indosuchus matleyi, Indosuchus raptorius, Rajasaurus narmadiensis and much...
"Before I used to stitch just to make patterns. But now I think about what I want to say through my stitches." Like many others, Raniben has moved beyond beautiful needlework to narrative art, embroidering her own stories. This book has one such story – about how she and her family left their village in Pakistan, crossed the harsh desert to start life...
Small and significant aspects of life in Ura, a village nestling in a valley in central Bhutan, are captured through letters exchanged between ten-year-old Dorji who lives there, and Toto, a boy in Bengaluru, India. Photographs bring to life the small, mountainous country of Bhutan, sandwiched between India and China. Little items of information are...
The story of a sensitive and talented girl who grows up to be one of India's foremost painters. It reads like a diary, and in fact includes actual lines from her childhood diaries. The seemingly random musings come together like deft strokes to sketch an intimate picture of her early years. Also featured are paintings she did when she was young and...
What happens when Valsa helps her Aunty Prima restore an old Ravi Varma painting? She finds out all about the artist and makes a friend from his paintings.
When M.F. Husain loses his shoes, Jai offers to help find them. The two zoom in and out of his paintings, passing milestones in the artist's life
Biswajit unwittingly discovers Jamini Roy's unique style of painting as he is drawn into a mystery to do with forging original works.
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...
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Non-Fiction Picture Books 
Looking At Art 
Fact+Fiction