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 26 of 44
A Teacher Remembers
Excerpts from the book: Divaswapna, An Educator’s Reverie Written by Gijubhai Badheka; Translated by Chittaranjan Pathak Published by National Book Trust, New Delhi I waited eagerly for the school to begin. I was eager to take my class and start my work; eager to put my new plan into practice; eager to bring about peace and order in the class; eager to make classroom teaching interesting and win over my pupils. I felt my pulse throbbing....
A Roaring Shame
Once upon a jungle In a land not far away There was an awful bungle In a den where lions lay. There were two mighty lions… I’ve made a mistake there… One was a mighty lioness, Now, that’s being right and fair. These two awesome beasties Were parents fond and proud Of a litter of loitering lion cubs That called out clear and loud. A Roaring Shame [Illustration by Paramita Kar] The lion cubs, they grew on,...
An Unpleasant Smell
A prosperous money-lender or seth bought a house located right next door to the house of a tanner. From morning till evening the tanner converted hide into leather by treating it with tannin. From day one the money-lender was put off by the unpleasant smells of the tannery. So, he visited the tanner’s house and offered to buy his house. “I would love to sell the house if you buy it seth,” said the tanner. He had no intention of doing any such thing but he liked to play pranks....
Of Rat Snakes and Boys who are Different
Kali and the Rat Snake Written by Zai Whitaker Illustrations by Srividya Natarajan Published by Tulika, Chennai An excerpt from the book: Kali’s father was one of the most famous snake-catchers among the Irula tribe. He had caught over a hundred cobras just this monsoon and bought many good things for the family. The snake cooperative paid Rs 150 for each poisonous snake. They took out the poison from snakes to make anti-venom serum. When Kali went snake-catching with his father, his legs worked like machines....
Excerpts from Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon
Gay-Neck’s birth happened exactly as I have described. About the twentieth day after the laying of the egg, I noticed that the mother was not sitting on it any more. She pecked the father and drove him away every time he flew down from the roof of the house and volunteered to sit on the egg. Then he cooed, which meant, “Why do you send me away?” She, the mother, just pecked him the more, meaning, “Please go....
The Rumour
“Bajai,” as we called grandmother, was the best storyteller in the whole world, says Madhu Gurung. She lived in the foothills of Mussoorie in a tiny village called Johri Gaun. And she always started her stories with a saying, “To the listener a garland of gold, to the storyteller a garland of all forest flowers and this tale that I tell you today will be heard in heaven.” Here Madhu Gurung presents one of the many stories that she heard from Bajai in her childhood....
How Stars Came into Being
This is a story about a long, long time ago. There was once an old man who smoked tobacco. He smoked tobacco in terracotta or clay pipes, called pikka. This old man had three sons. When the three sons grew up, he got them married one after the other. How Stars Came into Being [Illustrations by Sudheer Nath] It happened once, that the eldest son went to his wife’s parents’ house to attend a marriage....
Bashir Leaves Home
Bashir was leaving home. No one in the family understood him anyway. And he was sure no one would miss him. Not his Ammi or Abbu, nor his bhaijaan Khalid. Only his dog Chand would think of him, so to save him the pain, Bashir was taking Chand along with him. In this big wide world, there must be some place where a heart broken seven year old boy and his dog could live in peace....
How Iron was Found
Long ago, there lived a craftsman called Intupwa. Intupwa was an unhappy man because he tried, and failed, to cut wood with sharp stones. Then one day he dreamt of something better called iron. So he began his search for it. “Where can I find iron?” Intupwa asked the trees. “If we tell you, you’ll make an axe and cut us down,” the trees replied. How Iron was Found [Illustration by Sudheer Nath] “Where can I find iron?...
Know-it-alls and Find-it-outs
Once upon a time, there was an island called the ‘Land of the Sun’. People of all shapes, sizes and appearances lived there. Everybody knew everybody and they were like one big happy family. But slowly, as time passed, the children grew bigger and had more children who grew bigger and had more children. Things reached a stage where there were so many people in the island that not everybody knew everybody else. People started doing their own things,...