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 27 of 44
Kappu has a Bath
Kappu maharaj sat in a tub Splashing water left, right and above Papa sat rubbing his legs While Mama poured water on the head. Together they wrapped Their baby in a towel One dried his hair And the other gave him a massage. Kappu has a Bath [Illustration by Shinod AP]
A Frog's Friendship
From ‘When the World was Young’, by Verrier Elwin. The book is a fascinating collection of folktales from the tribal peoples of India. Elwin was a pioneering anthropologist; he spent his entire life getting to know the ways of life of the tribal peoples. There was a time when the Frog had thick legs and he lived on land. He was so very different from the frogs that we see today, with their thin spindly legs and their watery homes....
The Crane's Walk
A family of crabs lived on the shores of a giant blue sea. They frolicked in the sands and ate mussels, clams and other small sea creatures. One day the mother crab saw a beautiful crane walking about in the sand, a straight graceful walk in its long reed-like legs. “How graceful that crane looks,” she thought to herself. Then she caught sight of her son waddling towards her and felt very irritated. “And how clumsy my son is....
The Tale of a Circus Bear
Bholu and Golu Written by Pankaj Bisht Illustrations by Tapas Guha Published by National Book Trust, New Delhi This is the story of a small circus bear called Bholu. Golu, the mahout’s son, becomes his friend and resolves to free him from the cruel life of a performing animal. With Bholu’s help he helps the little frightened bear run away from the circus to the forests where Bholu was born. Excerpts from the book: The Ringmaster’s Whip...
The Holiday
Hooty owl was puzzled. No one had come to the jungle school. “Maybe the little ones are late,” thought the teacher. “I’ll wait for a little while longer.” Hooty owl did not know that her students had decided to miss school. They had started out for school but then changed their minds. “I am NOT going to school. I hate it,” said Squeaky squirrel. “I’m feeling lazy and so I’m NOT going to school,” said Hoppy rabbit ....
Monkey Business
A temple was being built in a town. There were many different workmen busy with their work. The masons were building the walls. The sculptor was finishing the idols. And the carpenters were making wooden frames from logs of wood. In the afternoon, all the workmen used to sit together for lunch. One day while the workmen were eating, a group of monkeys came to the temple site. They started playing with the things the workmen had left behind....
The Lame Groom and his English Bride
Kamini loved her dolls. She had three of them. Two of them were Indian and she had named them Rukmani and Ranjani, so that they rhymed with her name. Her uncle had gifted her another doll that he had brought from London, who she had named Jenny. Kamini’s dolls were her babies. She brushed their teeth in the morning, washed them and dressed them up. When she had her breakfast she would have them sitting by her side....
Shebu and Moonmoon, the Long Haired Goat
Shebu and Moonmoon, the Long Haired Goat [Illustrations by Kusum Chamoli] “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....
Rip my Puppy
Rip my puppy is so smart He loves a bounce-y ball I love to see him run and jump And rush back at my call! I miss him so when I’m at school And Rip is far away He jumps with joy when I return And we rush off to play. Rip my Puppy [Illustration by Anup Singh] (C) Swapna Dutta
The Chair
Once the mountain kingdom of Nepal was ruled by a liberal and kind-hearted king. He liked discussing problems of the state with important people of his kingdom. This practice made him popular and successful. In one such meeting, he noticed that no one except himself had a comfortable seat. Being kind-hearted, he was concerned. He decided to get suitable seats made for all participants in the meeting. He ordered the carpenters in country to present suitable models....