The vividly illustrated stories of Teejan Bai and Satyajit Ray in Lavanya Karthik’s Dreamers Series are inspiring for young kids. Karthik’s stories and artworks are perfectly synced with the high and low notes of Teejan Bai’s life and have captured the most significant shots of Satyajit Ray’s life. Both of them are acknowledged and appreciated for their unique talents.
Get your children hooked to the pages of Dreamers Series and let them get inspired to hone their skills. Here’s a glimpse of the younger selves of Teejan Bai and Satyajit Ray.
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The Girl Who Loved To Sing: Teejan Bai
The Girl Who Loved To Sing: Teejan Bai || Lavanya Karthik
Once again, Teejan sneaks out after her chores for lessons with her grandfather.
Brijlal gives her her first tanpura.
‘Become your characters! Become your story!’
‘Feel the music!
‘Feel the story!
‘Feel it come alive!’
Teejan sings!
‘Don’t just sing—become the song!
‘Become the characters in it!’
Teejan cannot eat, she cannot sleep! All she can think of is song.
She forgets her chores; she ignores her siblings, until one day,
Ma catches her singing . . .
Teejan runs away.
The Boy Who Played with Light: Satyajit Ray
The Boy Who Played with Light: Satyajit Ray || Lavanya Karthik
There was light in the new home we made.
In the eyes of the family that welcomed us.
In the stories that Ma told me every night.
In the notebooks I filled with drawings, just like Baba once did.
But . . .
The shadows were always there.
They loomed in corners, watching me.
They crouched under tables, muttering and hissing.
I tried to describe them to my family.
My cousins chuckled. ‘Manik will be a writer like his baba!’
The shadows lurked in doorways.
They followed me through the house.
I thought my drawings might help.
‘What an imagination!’ Ma smiled. ‘Manik will be an artist like his baba!’
I raced through the house, up the stairs, down the corridors. The shadows followed!
‘Manik!’ my aunt called out, through the haze of the afternoon heat. ‘Play quietly! We’re trying to sleep!’
I dodged!
I dived!
I ducked!
The shadows kept pace!
Until . . . An open door!
. . .
They were stories, waiting for me to notice them.
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Read The Girl Who Loved To Sing: Teejan Bai and The Boy Who Played with Light: Satyajit Ray from Lavanya Karthik’s ‘Dreamers Series’ to know what happens in the lives of these two great personalities and how did they become as the world knows them today.
One thing that’s really difficult to do in the humid heat of July even as an adult, is to not run outside the moment so much as a drizzle becomes imminent. How then are we to keep our little ones dry, safe and away from the virus that prowls outside the doors? The answer is rather simple. Give them one of our exciting July releases and a comfy spot near a window, on a porch or anywhere they can enjoy the weather as well as a thrilling literary adventure.
There are so many to choose from!
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My Little Book Series
My Little Book of Krishna||
Let’s dive into the vast and wonderful world of Hindu mythology!
Naughty little Krishna’s search for butter leads to an unexpected adventure.
With charming illustrations and simple language, this short tale about Krishna will entertain and delight.
This series of charmingly illustrated board books introduces kids to some of the best known and best loved gods from popular Hindu mythology, including Krishna, Ganesha, Lakshmi, Hanuman, Shiva and Durga. Dotted with interesting facts about each god as well as an interactive seek-and-find activity, this book offers a fun and enjoyable introduction to timeless myths and festivals for modern kids.
A must have to impart important life lessons from various gods and goddesses.
Age: 3+ years
My Little Book of Lakshmi||
Lovely Lakshmi comes to Earth once a year. Will she have a good time here?
With charming illustrations and simple language, this short tale about Lakshmi will entertain and delight.
The perfect way to familiarise babies with India’s rich cultural fabric, this book is a must have to impart important life lessons from various gods and goddesses. My Little Book of Lakshmi makes for a great gift for every preschooler for a holistic learning experience
Age: 3+ years
My Little Book of Ganesha||
Clever Ganesha’s got something on his mind, but what that is you’ll have to read on to find.
With charming illustrations and simple language, this short tale about Ganesha will entertain and delight.
Collect all books in the series!
Age: 3+ years
The Book of Cultures||Evi Triantafyllides and Nefeli Malekou
The Book of Cultures
Explore the cultures of the world!
Meet buddies from different parts of our planet and go on adventures near and far with 30 stories bursting with intrigue, curiosity and wonder! Travel from Japan to Peru and South Africa to Denmark, and learn about diverse cultures, customs, traditions and more in one handy, charmingly illustrated volume.
A magical, educational experience for young readers to discover the differences that make our planet so special, but also to uncover the similarities we often overlook. Fictional plots of kids from different countries capture the imagination of little readers and allow them to experience the world beyond themselves, developing compassion and empathy. Every story is accompanied by a 2-page snapshot of that country’s culture, filled with fun facts and engaging activities, such as puzzles, songs and recipes
Age: 4+ years
Spaceship to the Universe||Shruthi Rao, Anuradha Jagalur
Spaceship to the Universe
‘A great library is freedom. And that freedom must not be compromised. It must be available to all who need it, and that’s everyone, when they need it, and that’s always.’–Ursula le Guin
Libraries. We love them. Tyrants tremble before them. There are children in the world desperate for them, and people who are willing to put their own lives at risk to save them.
In this book, you’ll discover the oldest libraries, and the largest ones. You’ll find libraries in battlefields, in Antarctica and even in space. You’ll come across libraries in boats, on the backs of donkeys and elephants, and in telephone booths. And you will meet amazing people who will do almost anything to take libraries to people who need them
In this celebration of libraries, Shruthi Rao and Anuradha Jagalur bring together inspiring and fascinating stories to delight all those who love books and libraries.
Age: 10+ years
How the Earth Got Its Beauty||Sudha Murty
How the Earth Got Its Beauty|
After the huge success of How the Sea Became Salty and How the Onion Got Its Layers, Sudha Murty brings to you a brand new tale as part of her gorgeous chapter book series for young readers.
Excellent artwork that helps expand a child’s imagination, easy to read and understand.
A remarkable story narrated simply and endearingly for young readers.
Have you ever stopped to marvel at the earth’s beauty: at snow-capped mountains and oceans so deep; at colourful flowers and extraordinary animals? The tale of how such beauty came into existence is a curious one indeed.
India’s favourite storyteller brings alive this timeless tale with her inimitable wit and simplicity. Tricked out with enchanting illustrations, this gorgeous chapter book is the ideal introduction for beginners to the world of Sudha Murty.
Age: 5-8 years
The Great Big Lion||Chryseis Knight
The Great Big Lion
Drawn and written by a 3-year-old Mensa prodigy
Long, long ago, there was a Great Big Lion. Tom and Lily were fascinated by him. They loved to hear him ROAR! But one day, the lion vanished without a trace. And so, off went Tom and Lily to find and bring back their friend, the Great Big Lion.
Written by one of the youngest writers in the world, this board book will connect to your child and make them think about empathy, friendship, nature and conservation. Dive into this fun read that combines storytelling and learning through patterns and numbers.
Age: 1-4 years
Topi Rockets from Thumba||Menaka Raman
Topi Rockets from Thumba
A charmingly illustrated and colourful book to inculcate interest in STEM subjects for young readers.
Join Vikram Sarabhai and his scientists as they try to launch a sounding rocket in Kerala, with a little help from young Mary!
The year is 1963 and India is about to embark on an audacious adventure – launching its first ever rocket into space. After much searching, a team of scientists led by the visionary Dr Vikram Sarabhai zero in on Thumba, a tiny fishing village off the coast of Kerala as the place to launch the rocket and India’s dreams of space exploration.
Mary is all of 10 years old and bored of life in sleepy Thumba. Nothing ever happens here but fishing. That is, of course, until Dr Sarabhai and team arrive
Topi Rockets from Thumba is an imagined account of the weeks and months leading up to the launch of India’s first ever rocket, told through the eyes of the inquisitive Mary.
Age: 6+ years
Smash It, Butterfingers!||Khyrunnisa A.
Smash It, Butterfingers!
Look out! It’s Butterfingers again, and in smashing form!
There’s a lot going on in Green Park School. Ozymandias, a black cat, walks into classrooms and there’s a buzz about a badminton tournament that is to be played on Friday the thirteenth.
Sponsored by Brijesh K. Singh, an eccentric multimillionaire who loves badminton and hates superstitions, this tournament is good news for sports-crazy Amar Kishen, aka Butterfingers, and his friends.
Badminton practice begins, but can it be smooth sailing with talk of scams, superstitions and suspicions? Butterfingers sure has a lot on his hands!
Join Amar on his hilarious adventures as he defies luck with his madcap schemes. Let the game begin!
Age: 9 years
The Boy Who Played with Light||Lavanya Karthik
The Boy Who Played with Light
Before Satyajit Ray became a world-famous film maker, he was a little boy who saw many things in the shadows.
A delightfully illustrated short biography that will inspire young readers.
Age: 7+ years
The Girl Who Loved to Sing||Lavanya Karthik
The Girl Who Loved to Sing
Before Teejan Bai became a world-renowned singer, she was a little girl who had to fight for her freedom to sing.
A delightfully illustrated short biography that will inspire young readers.
We know that our current times are not the most optimistic. But now more than ever, we believe that books can act as a source of hope and joy, howsoever small, and keep us going.
We have an assorted selection of books for you this May! These will keep your young ones occupied as they spend the summers indoors, inside the safety of their cozy homes.
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All-Time Favourites for Children
Ruskin Bond
All-Time Favourites for Children || Ruskin Bond, Kashmira Sarode (Illustrator)
Ages: 9+ years
All Time Favourites for Children celebrates Ruskin Bond’s writing with stories that are perennially loved and can now be enjoyed in a single collectible volume. Curated and selected by India’s most loved writer, this collection brings some of the evocative episodes from Ruskin’s life, iconic Rusty, eccentric Uncle Ken, ubiquitous grandmother, and many other charming, endearing characters in a single volume while also introducing us to a smattering of new ones that are sure to be firm favourites with young readers.
Ninja Nani and the Freaky Food Festival
Lavanya Karthik
Ninja Nani and the Freaky Food Festival || Lavanya Karthik
Ages: 10 to 14 years
It’s time for the annual festival and a special guest is expected to arrive in Gadbadnagar, but has a certain President gone too far? Has Nani finally met her match in the meanest, scariest and awfullest demon ever to crawl out of the Dark Forest? Will the Mayor’s mustache ever run for office?
Wait, there’s more!
Fake Mystery Heroes! Haunted falooda! Giant dogs–
And what’s that again about goats? You’re going to have to read it for yourself.
Mirror, Mirror
Andaleeb Wajid
Mirror, Mirror || Andaleeb Wajid
Ages: 10 to 14 years
Five years earlier, a friend’s nasty comment makes Ananya start hating her body. She decides to change into a new person-one who effortlessly fits into all kinds of clothes, who shuns food unless it’s salad, and who can never be called ‘Miss Piggy’-and to cut everything from her ‘old’ life, including her best friend, Raghu, for being the witness to her humiliation.
Ananya is on her way to becoming the Ananya of her dreams, but she’s still a work in progress.
One day, her parents announce that they’re expecting a baby (at their age!). To make matters worse, Raghu reappears in her life …
Andaleeb Wajid’s latest novel for young adults is a touching and funny story about a young girl’s journey to acceptance and self-love.
What’s the Big Secret?
Sonali Shenoy
What’s the Big Secret? || Sonali Shenoy, Annushka Hardikar (Illustrator)
Ages: 9+ years
Eleven-year-old Aditya really wants to know about periods.
Ever since Rhea Didi began getting brown paper packages, there’s been something that no one is telling him. Mama turns red, Pa chokes on his coffee and Dadi has steam coming out of her ears! Thank goodness for his friends Naveen and Vinay-whom he can talk to.
But when Vinay brings an odd-looking napkin to school that soaks ink, Aditya is even more confused. Doesn’t his sister use a microtip pen?
All of this is only making little Aditya more determined to find out What is going on!
Dark Tales
Venita Coehlo
Dark Tales || Venita Coehlo
Ages: 9+ years
In this collection of eleven very dark and twisted tales, Venita Coelho lays bare the underbelly of contemporary India. Get ready to gasp and cringe in horror as you have the rug pulled out from under you! This is a book you won’t want to read after dark.
And That is Why
L. Somi Roy
And That is Why || L. Somi Roy, Sapha Yumnam (Illustrator)
Ages: 8+ years
Dear Reader, do you know
· why the deer does not eat rice?
· why man gets wrinkles and a stoop?
· why the cat buries its poop?
· why a doll is worshipped in a village called Kakching?
Discover twelve magical tales from Manipur, the mountain land in the north-east of India on the border with Myanmar. Passed down by learned scholars, balladeers and grandmothers over hundreds of years, these unknown myths and fables are enriched with beautifully rich paintings that will transport you to Manipur!
We have adored Adil ever since we got our hands on the book. We chatted with Lavanya Karthik, the author of When Adil Speaks, about her creative process, favourite books, and more!
How did Adil come into being?
LK: Adil was a little glimmer of an idea in my head for a long while. I wanted to explore the idea of communication in a picture book. I wanted to address the idea of diversity, as well as look at the little things that make us all the same – fear of not being accepted, shyness, wanting to be heard and seen. And I was fascinated by sign language. I realised I could do all of this in one book and, slowly and steadily, these ideas developed into ‘Adil’.
What was your creative process behind a children’s book on inclusivity?
When Adil Speaks||Lavanya Karthik
LK: While the central character is disabled, I did not want that to be the focus of the book. Rather, it is his personality that stands out – he is fun, popular, a great athlete. I wanted this book to be about communication, and finding ways to connect. And what better way to connect than through art!
This book then evolved quite organically, as I imagined how the story of Adil and his friend would develop, and how they would figure out a way to ‘speak’ without words. Comics seemed the obvious choice; whenever I visit schools or conduct workshops, I find that kids – from the quietest ones to the noisiest, from municipal schools and elite private institutions – love drawing comics. They dive right in, drawing themselves as superheroes, confronting demons, making great speeches. filling up pages and pages with art and ideas. Then they would gather around, inspecting each other’s comics. What better way to make friends!
If you had to recommend a reading list on inclusivity for children (or adults!), which books would you add to it?
LK: This would really be a very, very long list! To narrow it down to a very short one,
Picture Books
I Didn’t Understand by Mini Shrinivasan
Guthli Has Wings by Kanak Shashi
My Travelin’ Eye by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw
Middle Grade
El Deafo by Cece Bell
Caleb and Kit by Beth Vrabel
Simply Nanju by Zainab Suleiman
YA
Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John
There Will be Lies by Nick Lake
Dear Rachel Maddow by Adrienne Kisner
Inclusivity and the idea of embracing difference is still a severely stunted conversation in the country. Do you think some level of sensitivity training should be mandatory, particularly for people working in educational institutions?
LK: I think we need to see inclusion as a basic human right and not as an act of benevolence. We need schools and playgrounds, systems and processes that can be accessed by everyone, and that acknowledge diversity, not enforce sameness. Sensitivity training is definitely important as a first step to enabling this.
It’s a new month, and we all know what that means. A whole new reading list with brand new books!! These fun new reads are a ride through friendship, inclusivity and even entrepreneurship. Fasten your seatbelts!
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When Adil Speaks, Words Dance
When Adil Speaks, Words Dance||Lavanya Karthik
by Lavanya Karthik
Everyone wants to be friends with Adil. But how do you make friends with someone when you can’t hear the music their words dance to?
‘When Adil Speaks’ is a heart-warming tale of friendship and inclusivity, and of how sometimes, it takes more than words to start a conversation. Written and illustrated by award-winning author Lavanya Karthik, this is a sweet yet an evocative story of two friends, and their willingness to understand each other better.
Bim And The Town Of Falling Fruit
by Arjun Talwar
Bim and the Town of Falling Fruit||Arjun Talwar
In Poondy, fruits are always falling on people’s heads-from the jackfruit, coconut and toddy trees-causing many injuries. So all the Poondizens wear fruit-helmets invented by the legendary Falwala. Bim loves Poondy, but one day, Miss Chitty, Bim’s mother, who drives a coffee-coloured taxi, decides to move away from Poondy. Bim’s last two weeks in his home town are full of strange and exciting adventures-from a bat attack to a bike theft- that can only happen here!
Become A Junior Entrepreneur
Become a Junior Entrepreneur||Vrunda Bansode
Vrunda Bansode
What do you want to be when you grow up? A doctor, an engineer, a chef, a musician, an IAS officer?
That’s a question adults never tire of asking kids.
It’s time to recognize a profession where people invent, innovate, sell, barter and build: entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs are bringing education online, connecting families at the touch of a button and changing the way we live. ‘Become a Junior Entrepreneur’ accompanies the reader through every stage of turning a nascent dream into a commercially viable start-up.
Unfair
Rasil Ahuja
Unfair||Rasil Ahuja
Auditions are on for the seventh-grade annual play. Lina sets her heart and
sights on the lead role, but the drama teacher seems to think Lina isn’t the
right shade for the part. Will Miss Deepa derail Lina’s dream?
Meher finds math far more interesting than Macbeth. When her BFF Lina suddenly becomes distraught and withdrawn, Meher wonders why Lina would shut her out.
Something’s just not adding up. Will this friendship fade or will Meher find a solution to this problem and score #friendshipgoals?
Grandparents’ Bag Of Stories
Grandparents’ Bag of Stories||Sudha Murty
Sudha Murty
From stitching masks, sharing household chores, preparing food for workers to losing themselves in timeless tales, the lockdown turns into a memorable time for the children as they enter the enchanting world of goddesses, kings, princesses, serpents, magical beanstalks, thieves, kingdoms and palaces, among others. Following the trail of the best-selling ‘Grandma’s Bag of Stories’, Sudha Murty brings to you this collection of immortal tales that she fondly created during the lockdown period for readers to seek comfort and find the magic in sharing and caring for others. Wonderfully woven in her inimitable style, this book is unputdownable and perfect for every child’s bookshelf!
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It’s time to add these wonderful reads to your young readers’ bookshelves!
