A little girl wants a story that never ends. Grandmother starts off a chain story typical of folktales the world over – an old man from Madikere comes to Bengaluru, the old man's wife, then her daughter, the daughter's doll, the doll's dog… And finally, in a clever twist, it fuses into another story and comes full circle – so it can never end! Bold,...
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...
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.
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.
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! Available in Mundari. For more...
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...
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...
An endlessly entertaining tale from Kerala with repetitive text and animated pictures. Eecha the practical fly and her friend Poocha the greedy cat make delicious rice soup. While Eecha flies off to fetch a jackfruit leaf with which to spoon out the soup, Poocha watches over the pot. But Poocha is hungry, so hungry…
"Come in for a haircut! You choose... We cut!" says the sign outside a hair cutting saloon, so a lion walks in to do just that. But where is everyone? And who are these other lions staring at him? Well, by the end of the story we know why lions DON’T have haircuts – in spite of the alluring array of mane makeovers the illustrator offers!
A hot summer day, an old man in dusty clothes who calls himself a maharaja, a little boy Munna who believes him, and a teashop full of people who don’t… With the familiar feel of a folktale, this delightful story keeps the reader guessing till the end! Going with the flavour, Deepa Balsavar chooses an illustrative style that’s “part folksy, part whimsy”,...
Lined up on a street are noisy motorbikes, honking cars, crowded buses, impatient autos... In their midst sits a queenly Maharani! At the heart of this funny little vignette is a cool-as-a-cucumber cow, an all too familiar character of an Indian streetscape. Nancy Raj’s full-of-life pictures bustle with detail and drama, capturing the bovine and the...
Everybody likes Adil Ali but nobody likes his shoes! They are old and worn, patched and sewn. So his friends decide to gift him a pair of shiny brown shoes for Eid. And then begins the problem – his old shoes won’t leave him! Rich in detail, Niloufer Wadia’s vivid water colour pictures make a bustling market come alive. Along with its sights and smells,...
Maoo the kitten looks up — and there… above Murali Mama’s jolly smile is something thunderous and black, thick and curly… his moustache! Terrified, Maoo runs away. It takes more encounters with some fuzzy, reedy, bushy moustaches and a few long, soft, pointy whiskers for his hairy woes to end. This lively tale gets livelier with Prabha Mallya’s...
The first chaang, the first elephant, once had big eyes, Which the animals thought looked beautiful and wise. Then, along came a bird, a wagtail, and… Told in verse, this folktale from the Tai Phake people of India’s northeast is gentle and funny. It is one among their many animal stories about why and how something came to be – why the sun comes out when...
Can you taste with your toes? Or see with your ears? Or, at least, smell with your hair? No? Well, there are creatures around you that can! Take a peek into an intriguing world to discover the different ways in which animals do things that are ‘normal’. And look out for the funny bits in the pictures.
Ducks, tigers, pangolins, penguins… This book introduces young readers to a variety of animals and the different ways in which they carry their young. Bold illustrations set against textured backgrounds portray the parent-child bond in a charming manner.
Drip, drip, drip! It's raining… What happens when seven animals have to share one small umbrella? Cheery pictures liven up this old folktale about sharing, retold with a twist.
On Monday Mani is a monkey, on Tuesday he's a crocodile, on Wednesday... A days-of-the-week book that gives a real ride to the imagination.
Guddu's mother wants to take a photo of him. But Guddu will not smile! A child's toys come to life in this fun bilingual story with animated illustrations that are picture perfect.
A black cat with bright green eyes becomes a white cat with bright green eyes. How does this happen? But this is only the beginning of the adventure. Stunning pictures play with the shape of the elegant cat.
The raja loves jalebis. He even dreams of them. Then the dream becomes a nightmare! The brief text of this mad little book is dramatically set off by illustrations that play with curls and colours.
