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Children have always been fascinated by creepy-crawlies, and the common cockroach is a familiar one for most children. This book gives an entertaining insight into its private life, its unique anatomy, its habits and habitats, strange facts like how long a cockroach can hold its breath and its amazing hardiness that has helped it to survive nearly unchanged for millions of years before humans appeared on Earth.
In this story, Reva and Prisha are two children sharing a home with two mothers, Runu and Pritam. A sensitive portrayal such as this one, capturing a glimpse into the lives of queer people by a queer author does not feel tokenistic at any point in the book and in fact underscores that life is a rainbow in its multifarious dimensions. The illustrations add a different dimension to bringing the characters alive, highlighting some unique sides to this family.
A story about an 11-year-old would-be pastry chef. Narrated in a lively tone, the play on words and font-sizes adds to the humour. Pinkoo Shergill would much rather make raspberry cheesecake, than practice shooting like a good Punjabi boy, much to the disappointment of his Papaji. So, will Pinkoo win the baking contest and justify his passion? Find out, as you delight in the witty language, taste all the sinful delights conjured up by Pinkoo and meet blabbermouth Tutu, annoying Nimrat and coach Aalu!
Monster Folktales from South Asia
This is a thrilling but thoughtful collection of monster folktales from all over South Asia. A giant ogre who eats people, a fire demon and a sea monster – all create havoc. The language is evocative and the illustrations are quite flamboyant as monsters leap out of the pages. The stories can be read aloud to younger children. As with most monster tales, these too end with victory over the monster, which can be external or internal. Is there anyone who has not fought monsters?
Using the familiar trope of a grandfather who loves to talk of the past, three stories centred around the tiger are narrated to the child, who is both the grandson and the reader. Two of the stories have a germ of historical fact, around which a tale is built. The third one is the old tiger myth of the Sunderbans retold. The royal, dignified, lone tiger, awe-inspiring, terrifying as well as fascinating, shines through all three stories.
Those two words are acronyms for two groups of extremely feisty and gutsy elderly people, not quite like the soft sweet cuddly grandmas and grandpas one sees in most children’s books. These elders don’t cook your favourite food or tell you stories about gods. They get out there and get things done. The little child caught in this storm is only looking for some peace and quiet in this retirement community, but that is not what he gets.
Big environmental issues like mining are not easy to make interesting for children. This book manages to do just that, because the reader identifies with the young protagonist who is not initially very aware or interested in such things, but when he is confronted with a stark reality he actually gets involved in a scheme for deflecting the impending environmental crisis in his home village and surroundings.
History Hunters: Chandragupta Maurya and the Greek Onslaught
History meets science fiction meets classic adventure story in this exciting time travel tale of a group of children and an unlikely pet finding themselves in a world 2000 years ago. Bringing the era of Alexander and the Mauryan rulers alive through the eyes of the children, it is an unusual and gripping journey through history, while also keeping the pace fast and tense, until the end.
