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 23 of 44
Five and a Half Wishes
Bhuvan’s parents had just moved to Chikmagalur from Bangalore. They had been waiting for a long time to get away from the pollution, noise, traffic and fast paced life. They thought Bhuvan being only six years old would adjust with ease to life in a small town. But Bhuvan was far from pleased. He didn’t like the children in his school from the first day. His friends in Bangalore had been so smart. Here everybody wore unsmart clothes, spoke in Kannada and carried curd rice to school....
The Magical Land of Narnia
The Magical Land of Narnia [Illustration by Shinod AP] ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ series by C.S. Lewis Review by Sujit Thomas; Illustration by Shinod AP Most newspapers which carried articles about Harry Potter several months ago usually had only one thing to say, though in different words: “Harry Potter! The One and Only”, or “No Other Book in the World with Such Imagination”. But they are wrong. There HAS been a set of books just as magical as the Harry Potter series....
Veerappan's Folly
In the forests of South India lived an infamous rogue called Veerappan. There was no marksman who could shoot as well. His gang was known for its acts of cruelty. Mothers would frighten their kids with tales of Veerappan and how he kidnapped naughty children. The entire gang was high on the government’s wanted list, for Veerappan and his gang had killed 2000 elephants for their ivory and over 300 forest rangers. But, either through fear or otherwise, the villagers never informed on Veerappan....
The Big Leap
One day a newly married couple threw a party. Among those who attended, was a man who claimed to be a seasoned traveller. He was an interesting-looking man with a weatherbeaten face. So, by his appearance, he did look like a well-travelled person. But once he started talking, there was no stopping him. He bragged to anyone who would listen, about his exploits in countries across the world. He spoke of many wonderful and heroic feats he had accomplished....
Heading For Trouble!
Dadaji (grandfather) comes visiting during summer holidays. And stays on till Diwali, which makes it half a year of fun. I’ll tell you why. First, he arrives with bundles of gifts. Stuff that no one ever brings me. Homemade laddoos bumpy from fingers that shaped them, sticks of sugarcane that smell of his fields, papads rolled out in his courtyard. I never know which is more fun, opening the bundles or wolfing the stuff down!...
The Boy and the Wolf
A boy was standing on the roof of his house, looking down at the valley below. His house was the last of a row of houses. Beyond it stretched a dark and menacing jungle. Although he had been living in the valley all his life, the boy had never stepped inside the jungle. He had heard that it was full of wild animals that ate up any human they came across. He could see the forest from his window....
The Thirsty Crow
The Thirsty Crow [Illustrations by Shridevi] Kancharam had been flying for 10 hours without a halt. He had come to the western state of Gujarat to attend his childhood friend Bholuram’s wedding. He had stayed just for the wedding. As soon as it was over, he said good bye to his friend and left. Now he was flying back home. That was in Jaipur, Rajasthan. He was very, very tired. And thirsty, too....
The Candy
It was a hot Tuesday afternoon in the month of October. The geography lesson was interesting but Sharmila was getting restless waiting for the class to get over. The ice candy man had come some time ago and his day’s quota would soon get over. He visited the school every Tuesday and Thursday to sell his delicious candies that the children waited for eagerly, every week. It was always a struggle for the teachers to hold on to the students’ attention during the last period of school on those two days....
Learning to Act
There once lived a brilliant student. He was on a quest to acquire more and more knowledge. Then he heard of a great Zen teacher to whom he travelled long to meet. On arriving at the teacher’s feet, he said, “Master teach me.” The Zen master received the student with a smile. He inquired about him. He asked in detail all that the student had learnt till then. Learning to Act [Illustration by Anup Singh] Later, he asked his assistant to get tea for the two of them....
Of Daemons, Lords and Dust
The Golden Compass Written by Philip Pullman Published by Alfred A. Knopf. 11 year old Gayatri Jayal, a student of Modern School Vasant Vihar and a fierce fan of Lyra Belacqua, wrties her impression of this half-civilised, half-wild young girl, who looks set to take the world of children’s books by storm. In a world in which there are millions of different worlds within just an inch of space, lives a girl called Lyra Belacqua. She is supposedly an orphan, who grew up and still lives Jordan College, the grandest and richest college in Oxford....