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 5 of 44
My Garden
There’s a garden in my house A garden full of flowers I love to be there all the time And spend just hours and hours There are roses, every kind And lilies in the pool Sunflowers looking trim and bright And jasmines white and cool. There’s a lawn of velvet grass So soft and oh so green Like a carpet beneath my feet The nicest I have seen. My Garden [Illustration by Sudheer Nath] There are bulbuls, parrots too...
Kindness to Animals
Little children, never give Pain to things that feel and live; Let the gentle robin come For the crumbs you save at home; As his meat you throw along He’ll repay you with a song. Never hurt the timid hare Peeping from her green grass lair, Let her come and sport and play On the lawn at close of day. Kindness to Animals [Illustration by Aneesh Jaisinghani] The little lark goes soaring high...
The Three Butterflies
Neeli, Peeli and Lali were three brothers. And they were butterflies. The most handsome butterflies in all the land, and best friends, too. Their mother, Rangberangi, had taught them all they knew. She told them many things, “But”, she said, “the most important thing of all to remember is that you must always depend on and support each other. Together, you will be stronger than the Sun, Wind and Rain combined even though you fly on delicate gossamer wings....
The Wedding Chain
Mother always wore her wedding chain. She wore it indoors and outdoors, she even wore it in the bath. She never ever took it off. It was a gift to her from father. His eyes shone with tender love when he had brought her to his home after their marriage, and put it around her neck. It had been made-to-order to a special design that father gave to the goldsmith. The chain had bits of twisted gold interspersed with five black beads, followed by another bit of twisted gold chain....
The lazy monk — a tale from the Panchatantra
Note: This folktale has been adapted from the Panchatantra story originally titled “The lazy brahmin”.Panchatantra is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit.
Tenali Rama and the Brinjal
Clown, jester, poet…Tenali Rama, minister in the court of the ruler of Vijaynagar, Krishnadeva Rai (reign: 1509-30), was a lot of things. Stories, about Tenali Rama and his practical jokes on everyone around him including distinguished fellow poets and the emperor himself, abound in south India. His fame spread beyond Vijaynagar (present-day Andhra Pradesh), to areas that come in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka today. Tenali Rama was also a great scholar of several languages that included Marathi, Tamil and Kannada....
It All Began with Drip Drip
A tiger was caught in a storm, he had wandered into the fields looking for something to eat. He huddled close to the wall of Naini’s hut for shelter. Naini was an ill-tempered old woman who lived on the outskirts of the village. She was feeling especially ill-tempered that day, because her roof leaked badly. “This drip-drip!” she muttered, pushing her tin trunks and bed from place to place to keep them dry. “Is there no escape?...
The Magic Painting
Once upon a time there was a person who loved to paint. His name was Ankit. One day he made a painting. He loved it so much that he made it his masterpiece. That night when he slept, an angel came and blessed his painting that it should come alive. He was always lonely. He always wanted a companion to talk to and share his work and secrets. Next morning when he woke up he heard some sounds near his painting....
Granny’s Fabulous Kitchen
This story is from the book The Adventures of Rusty. Rusty is a 12-year-old boy, and as you read on, you might think that he is very much a part of you! The book has two sections, and Granny’s Fabulous Kitchen is the beginning of the first section. As kitchens went, it wasn’t all that big. It wasn’t as big as the bedroom or the living-room, but it was big enough, and there was a pantry next to it....
The Harpist and the Princess
A Burmese folk tale Once upon a time in the beautiful city of Mandalay lived a young orphan boy. His name was Thi Hah. He was very poor and often had to go without food. He had one passion in life, and that was playing the harp. The Burmese harp resembles a long tailed boat with a thick bottom and its end tapers to a fine delicate end very like the sails of a boat....