Little Malathi wants to run after hens and chicks, and catch the ripe yellow mangoes as they fall – but how can she, on a wheelchair? She grows up to show that she can do much, much more! Moments and experiences from the remarkable life of disabled athlete Malathi Holla, told simply and sensitively, bring out her determination and untiring spirit. The...
Words rollick and frolic in Kanna's head, yet he hardly speaks. One day, he is with his family at the cave temples when the lights go off. Everyone is frightened, except Kanna. Light or no light, it makes no difference because he can't see anyway. And as he confidently leads the way out, he finds himself talking… Words tumble out to unleash the playful...
Ari may be shy, but he knows he will make a wonderful lion in the class play. But he is neither noticed nor chosen. Then, suddenly in his room a roaring, growling, prowling creature comes to life! The flat illustrative style with its strong kitschy palette gets away from usual depictions of the ‘soft, sensitive' child, and captures the energy and fun of...
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...
A lonely king and queen hear a voice calling out to them. They look inside their home, in the garden and beyond, searching in vain, while all the time it grows louder... Written like a bedtime story and illustrated with gentle humour, this book leads the reader to discover what 'family' really means without mystifying the fact of adoption. Moreover, it...
Sabri draws wherever she can. On the floor of the hut with rough chalk, or with her one and only pencil on paper from old notebooks. She draws her world – the sun coming up from behind the hills, the chicken, the goats... Then one day in school she sees long colour pencils, and paint that comes out of bottles. After that it isn't enough for her to draw –...
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...
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...
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...
Most people are confused about how to react to those with disabilities. Their questions, misconceptions, doubts and fears are answered here – simply and straight from the heart – by a child with cerebral palsy. Sheila Dhir's childlike line drawings are just as simple and powerful as the short verses. As a differently-abled child's dialogue with society,...
A little girl spills, drops, breaks, trips on things. She is called Clumsy, Slowcoach, Careless... words that scare away all other words. But in her head, words become stories and stories, pictures – and with a box of paints and a brush, she sweeps herself away from the names people call her! Vivid watercolours lift her from her everyday milieu into a...
“We were late. We were running in the street. We had played in the river, and we had climbed trees...” Everything Amma had said NOT to do! Proiti Roy’s joyous pictures light up the bond between a boy and a dog. Woven into this story of everyday fun are sensory descriptions, and visual details like a walking stick in the boy’s hand or pocket, the dog...
Soda is a dog who feels like a dog. Bonda is a cat who feels like a...? Dog! A quirky tale about two friends, which makes us think about who we are and how we see ourselves. Expressions, colours and textures work in perfect balance with the seemingly simple text to create a joyful portrait of a friendship that goes beyond appearances. 2019: Publishing...
In a jungle far far away, the animals are getting ready for the storytelling festival. Lion, Monkey and Tortoise delight the audience with well-known stories from their family lore. “C-c-can I tell a story too?” asks Ostroo the ostrich. Others make fun of him because he stammers – but where there is a story, there’s always a way! From a seasoned...
“Let’s play house-house!” decide Sunehri and her friends. So they put together some old plates and bowls, empty packets of chips, plastic bottles, a broken helmet… things they’ve collected going about their work in the city on whose streets they live. The game loved by children everywhere takes on a poignant layer when played by those who have never known...
An everyday school story about friends and playing, bullying and sharing, takes a gentle turn. For it is told by Manna, and she has Down’s Syndrome. Award-winning writer Mini Shrinivasan bases her narrative on true events, and speaks in Manna’s voice to take us into her mind. That’s how we move closer to understanding her guileless, trusting responses...
Guthli is a happy child, everyone’s favourite. Then one day she is told not to wear her sister’s frilly frock, but her ‘own’ boy’s clothes. And things erupt. “Why do you keep saying I’m a boy when I’m a girl?” she asks her mother. In that simple question lies all the bewilderment that children like Guthli feel, who don’t seem to others what they know they...
The gular, or cluster fig, flower is very very beautiful, everyone says. But what does it look like? When does it bloom? There are many stories, and only the really lucky get to see it. As she goes about her day picking waste, Renchu is obsessed with just one thought – will she too see it? The author’s own wonder at discovering the secret of the gular...
The wheels of a cycle, a merry-go-round, a spinning top… Kayu lives in his own quiet world filled only with circles and the patterns they make. One day, he sees a cricket ball spin and curve and jump before it strikes the bat, and he is onto something – a magical bowling spell with two hat-tricks! Inspired by a child with autism, the story makes the...
Pouting and shouting – that’s what Anya has been doing ever since her baby brother came along. Because he is a “special child”, her mother says, and needs special care all the time. And Anya is fed up. Then along comes a butterfly – no, a butterbeing! – who takes her up into the clouds, where she sees how a bit of this and a bit of that is mixed together...
