Sandhya Rao is one of the finest writers for children in India. Her books have won awards and accolades: My Friend the Sea won the Ambitious Children’s Book Project award at the Berlin Children and Youth Literature Festival, 2005. My Mother’s Sari was chosen as an Outstanding International Book, 2007, by the United States Board for Books for Young People (USBBY) and the Children’s Book Council. Rights to the book have been sold for USA, Canada, Australia and the U.K. In 1996, she joined Radhika Menon to create multilingual books for children at a time when independent children’s publishing in India was nascent. She has written over 20 books. Chennai-based Sandhya has an eclectic taste in books, music and films and loves listening to stories, especially real stories. She works at The Hindu
An endearing Marathi folktale about two sisters. Ekkesvali has one hair on her head. Dhonkesvali has two and thinks she's great. What happens when they meet an old woman who lives alone in a clearing right in the middle of the forest? This folktale takes on a special joyousness with Ranjan De's stylised representations and is full of interesting details...
A boy who doesn’t stop talking, furry cats and clacking needles... Shobha has a dream every night, but she always wakes up before they end. How do these dreams end? She really has to know. “Write them down,” says English Miss. And that’s what Shobha does. “The more she wrote, the more she wrote, and the more she wrote. She wrote and wrote.” The interplay...
The very first words Zakir hears from his famous father, Allarakha, are bols — rhythms played out on tablas! From then on, bols sing and dance in his head, on Amma’s cheeks, on the pots and pans in the kitchen… Sandhya Rao follows these beats, stringing together little vignettes from his life. From a childhood around music to the highs of a performer who...
Irfaan has a story in his head. So do Thanh, Suzanne, Wang and others. They write them down on white sand and yellow sand, pebbly and clayey sand... and then what happens to them? They are washed away by waves, churned in the oceans and left on other sands, where other children listen to them. Sandhya Rao lyrically evokes the ebb and flow of tales across...
The quiet villages of Sundarban are terrorised by a monster with wild eyes, sharp teeth, striped skin and pointed nails — Dokkhin Rai! Until finally, Bon Bibi, protector of the forests and people, asks him a simple question: Why do you do this? The answer to this question is central to the age-old theme of human-animal harmony. Set in the lush and...
Naani, Paati, Ajji, Aaji, Daadi, Mutthashi... So many names for Grandma, who is indeed grandmother to all around, with her songs and stories and watchful eye. In just a dozen lines of simple text that lilt with the rhythm of a song, the book captures all the warmth of a grandmother as experienced by a child. This unique bilingual book also has exciting...
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...
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!
An endearing Marathi folktale about two sisters. Ekkesvali has one hair on her head. Dhonkesvali has two and thinks she's great. What happens when they meet an old woman who lives alone in a clearing right in the middle of the forest? This folktale takes on a special joyousness with Ranjan De's stylised representations and is full of interesting details...
A boy who doesn’t stop talking, furry cats and clacking needles... Shobha has a dream every night, but she always wakes up before they end. How do these dreams end? She really has to know. “Write them down,” says English Miss. And that’s what Shobha does. “The more she wrote, the more she wrote, and the more she wrote. She wrote and wrote.” The interplay...
The very first words Zakir hears from his famous father, Allarakha, are bols — rhythms played out on tablas! From then on, bols sing and dance in his head, on Amma’s cheeks, on the pots and pans in the kitchen… Sandhya Rao follows these beats, stringing together little vignettes from his life. From a childhood around music to the highs of a performer who...
Irfaan has a story in his head. So do Thanh, Suzanne, Wang and others. They write them down on white sand and yellow sand, pebbly and clayey sand... and then what happens to them? They are washed away by waves, churned in the oceans and left on other sands, where other children listen to them. Sandhya Rao lyrically evokes the ebb and flow of tales across...
The faces in the mirror just won't go away. Not the frog, not the lion, not the monkey. They won't even get scared. Then Thangi has an idea! This beginner reader is part of the Thumb Thumb Books series, created around the common thumbprint and featuring Thumb Thumb Thangi and Thumb Thumb Thambi. Short sentences, bold type and vibrant visuals make entry...
Thambi finds a flower, he picks it up, smells it. Mmmmm! But there's someone sitting inside... oh! This beginner reader is part of the Thumb Thumb Books series, created around the common thumbprint and featuring Thumb Thumb Thangi and Thumb Thumb Thambi. Short sentences, bold type and vibrant visuals make entry into reading easy and exciting. At the end...
Shh, Thangi is sleeping. The caterpillar crawls, the cat yawns... then a plate clatters to the ground. Thangi wakes up. Oh no! This beginner reader is part of the Thumb Thumb Books series, created around the common thumbprint and featuring Thumb Thumb Thangi and Thumb Thumb Thambi. Short sentences, bold type and vibrant visuals make entry into reading...
One day, Thangi gets into the mood and begins to sing. Immediately the cats mewl, the dogs howl and the donkeys bray. But when the peacocks join in, what does Thangi do? This beginner reader is part of the Thumb Thumb Books series, created around the common thumbprint and featuring Thumb Thumb Thangi and Thumb Thumb Thambi. Short sentences, bold type and...
Who ate the dosas? Amma makes dosas but they keep disappearing! A story in which children have the last laugh! They will also experience the fun and excitement of making the pictures move. There are instructions on how they can do that at the end of the book. CBSE recommended
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: Outstanding...
Naani, Paati, Ajji, Aaji, Daadi, Mutthashi... So many names for Grandma, who is indeed grandmother to all around, with her songs and stories and watchful eye. In just a dozen lines of simple text that lilt with the rhythm of a song, the book captures all the warmth of a grandmother as experienced by a child. This unique bilingual book also has exciting...
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.
