It is common for Nani to somersault around the room and backflip without a flinch. Her ninja senses jingle when there is danger in Gadbadnagar and the air then wibbles and wobbles around her. Nani steps out every night, catches robbers, helps people trapped in lifts and burning buildings, and saves stray pups and little birdies. Is it hard to believe?
Here’s an excerpt from the book where Nani gives a glimpse of her superpowers to young Deepu.
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Ninja Nani and the Freaky Food Festival || Lavanya Karthik
‘So what happened? Where did you go? How?’ If Deepu’s questions had had feet, they would have tripped over themselves trying to get out of his head.
The door slammed as Papa rushed out of the house to get to his doctor.
Upstairs, another door slammed. Then they heard the SKREECH-THUD! of Mummy pulling her chair out and plonking herself in it. The muffled sounds of her talking on the phone followed.
Nani turned to Deepu. ‘I could tell you, or . . .’ She smiled and raised her hands. The air around her fingers fizzled! Little electric sparks danced.
Deepu gasped. ‘Is this . . .?’ he whispered.
Nani pressed her fingers gently to either side of Deepu’s forehead. Deepu’s brain sparked and frizzled! More jutsu!
‘The Ninja ThoughtMeld!’ Deepu shut his eyes tight, as images jumped and crashed and fizzed about inside his head. Morimori used it on his show all the time!
‘Who knows?’ said Nani’s voice, inside his head. ‘It’s this trick I picked up last week.’
‘Am I hearing your thoughts?’
‘You are! Pretty neat, huh? But wait, it gets better!’
She was right.
Deepu couldn’t just hear her thoughts, he could see them as well.
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To know how Nani, Deepu’s own Superhero, fights the monsters and saves everyone from gadbad, read Ninja Nani and the Freaky Food Festival.
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!
