Multicultural children’s literature from across the world – stories, poems, folktales and books in English for kids, and stories in Hindi and poems in Hindi too. Original literature in English for kids from around the globe and book reviews and recommended reading lists for children.
432 items in this section. Displaying page 14 of 44
A Lucky Hunter
There was once a hunter who, on the seventh birthday of his son, decided to go hunting to get something nice for the feast. But as he reached for the gun on the wall, it slipped from the pegs, hit the stone mortar below and alas, its barrel was bent like the letter L. “Father, that’s a bad sign,” cried the boy, “please don’t go hunting today.” “You are silly!” said the father. “That’s a good sign....
Chinese Sparrows
Once there was a merchant who happened to acquire six sparrows from China. “They’ll make a fine gift for my lord,” thought the merchant. But knowing the lord to be very superstitious and always concerned about omens, he suspected that His Lordship might not like the number ‘six’. In order to make the number a lucky ‘seven’, he added one Japanese sparrow, and presented them in a beautiful cage. The lord was greatly pleased to have such a rare gift....
The Friends
Two friends, Hemant and Vikas, planned to go hiking in the woods. They packed their knapsacks, lugged them over their shoulders and started out. One evening, while walking through the dense forest, they heard a bear growl. They were very scared and started to run away, but “Twick, twick”, they could hear the twigs breaking with each step the bear took towards them. Desperate, Hemant saw a low branch hanging from a tree. He quickly caught hold of the life-saving branch and climbed on top of the tree as soon as possible....
The Wise Doves
Once upon a time, there lived many doves in the jungle. One day they went out in search of food. They flew long distances but did not get anything to eat. All of them were now completely exhausted. A young dove asked the King Dove, “Your majesty, please permit us to take some rest.” The king replied, “Have courage, my dear young fellow. We shall definitely get something to eat very soon.” The Wise Doves [Illustrations by Amarjeet Malik] The young dove started flapping his wings with force and soon left everyone behind....
Birju and the Flying Horse
In a far off city, there lived a boy called Birju. He longed to run and play like other children. But he had a lame leg. He found it difficult to even walk properly. Birju’s father worked as a gardener in a rich man’s garden, close to the hut in which they lived. His mother washed dishes in other people’s houses. One day, his father came home looking very pleased. “Look, Birju,” he said, “Look what I’ve got!...
Opposite
If everything was opposite Why, less would be more. The poor will be rich And the rich will be poor. Aeroplanes fly underground Ships sail up in the sky. Two will be single One will be a pair. The tortoise, runs fast The hare, runs slow. The green light means stop The red light means go. If things were opposite I would be you And you would be me. Opposite [Illustrations by Amarjeet Malik]
Ruff and Kabir
Ruff was everyone’s favourite. Three feet tall and four feet long, sparkling eyes, moist nose, a lovely shade of brown and so cuddly. He was the loveliest German Shepherd anyone had seen. Ruff went to the park every evening with Tanya and her Grandpa. And all the children would be waiting for him there. “Ruff’s come!” they would all shout and rush to hug and pat him. Ruff loved the attention he got. Very willingly he would take toddler Kanishka on his back for a joy ride....
The Story of Appu
There was a small village called Pearl Island. But neither were pearls collected in the village nor was it an island. Perhaps the village was named so because it was far away and isolated and difficult to reach. The nearest town was miles away – a two-mile trek to Gudem, an overnight boat journey to Palem, an hour’s horse-cart ride to Gortipadu, and then three hours by bus. By rail, the journey from the city was four hundred miles long....
The Jester and the Straw Roof
Maharaja Krishna Chandra was the king of Bengal during the middle ages. It was customary for kings in those days to patronise talented people. So every king had his own court poets, artists, singers, town planners, architects and what have you. And plenty of ministers to advise him on different matters. And every king had a court jester. The jester was a very important person for his ability to make people laugh and feel happy. The king had a lot of serious work to do, lots of difficult problems to solve and deal carefully with rival kings!...
The Story of Big Ears
Retold from “When the World was Young’, by pioneering anthropologist, Verrier Elwin. It is a fascinating collection of folktales from the tribal peoples of India. This happened a long, long time ago. Humans had big ears then. And they would flap in the wind. The Story of Big Ears [Illustrations by Nitin Vishwakarma] Their ears were so big that they found a use for them. Sometimes they would lie down upon one ear, using it as a mattress....