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 6 of 44
A Train Adventure of Wild Animals
An empty goods train was speeding through a jungle. Up front, in the engine, was the driver and at the back, in the last compartment, was the guard. Apart from them, the entire train was empty. A goods train carries goods. Like logs of wood, or boxes of chocolate – ummm, even cars and jeeps. But this train had been carrying coal. It had brought coal from a mine in Dhanbad in Bihar for a thermal power station in Delhi called “Badarpur”....
Tail-cut Fox!
Every morning the fox strutted through the forest pretending to be king of the jungle. He would bully an animal here, chase another there and show a third one his fangs. He was an utter nuisance. One morning while chasing a hare, he got caught in a trap. Actually, it was his tail that got trapped. He pulled and pulled and huffed and puffed, but couldn’t get free. The tail stayed in the trap. Now the fox was very proud of his bushy tail, which he always kept in a good condition....
How Monkeys Got their Red Bottoms
Once upon a time there was a group of twelve boys and girls who lived in a village called Dancing. After dinner everyday they would light a fire and dance. One evening a monkey came and sat in a corner. He was wearing a smart safari suit with a stylish hat. He had a banjo in his hand, with which he played melodious music. He played so well that no one realised that he was a monkey....
A Baby Lion Learns To Roar
Once upon a time, in a faraway jungle, there lived a Papa Lion with his son, a cute and cuddly Little baby Lion. Papa Lion loved him very much. But he was also very worried. The baby Lion had still not learnt to roar. For that matter he could not even growl. One day Papa Lion decided to appoint a tutor to teach his son how to roar. He asked Jackknife, the Jackal, to be his son’s tutor....
Waiting for the Rain
I hope it rains at least today,” Velu thought, as he opened his eyes. Velu was a farmer. The sun was beginning to rise, glowing crimson like fire. Velu scanned the sky. There was not a cloud. “It doesn’t look encouraging,” he muttered to himself and got up. Rain or no rain, a farmer wakes up early. Velu worked hard. His piece of land never failed him. Season after season he cultivated it, harvesting jowar one season and dal the next....
The Three Pals
Oops, Oh and OK were pals. One day, Oops got visitors – uncle Silly and cousin Funny. Uncle Silly said, “What about some ice creams?” Oops said “Oops!” Oh said “oh!” and uncle Silly thought they didn’t want ice cream. He said. “We won’t go”. Cousin Funny said “I’ll screammmmm!!!” so they all went for ice creams. His name should be Punny not Funny, no? Oops, Oh and OK dropped ice cream all over their shorts and T-shirts....
The Man who Saved the Moon
A kind-hearted man, looking down into a well, saw the reflection of the moon in the water. “Oh! My God! The moon has fallen into the well,” he muttered mournfully and hurried to fetch a hook tied to the end of a long rope. Quickly, he let the hook fall deep into the well, holding fast to the rope. The hook hit the water and, reaching the bottom of the well, caught fast to a stone....
My Dream (A Vision Of Peace)
Where the mountains touch the sky Where poets DREAM, where eagles fly A secret place above the crowd Just beneath a silver-lined cloud. Lift your eyes to a snowy peak And see the soon-to-be we seek Whisper DREAMS and let them rise To the mountains old and wise. Climbers climb, it’s time to try Where the mountains touch the sky Take me there. Oh take me now… Someway, Someday, Somewhere, Somehow! My Dream (A Vision Of Peace) [Illustration by Shinod AP] Where the ocean meets the sky...
The Tiger and the Dried Persimmons
There was once a small and sleepy village, surrounded by mountains on all sides. A tiger lived on the mountain behind the village. Whenever he climbed to the top of the mountain and roared, the people in the village trembled with fright. On a winter night, when all the world seemed to be covered with snow, the tiger climbed down. He had not eaten for several days and was very, very, very hungry. The Tiger and the Dried Persimmons [Illustrations: Kusum Chamoli] As he was desperately looking for food, he came near the window of a house....
The Elephants who Showed Off
A long long time ago, elephants had small, shiny and beautiful noses. Vain that they were, they would always turn their noses up in the air when they passed by any other animal. They were plain show-offs. Naturally, the other animals did not like this very much. Finally, one clever monkey decided to do something about it. He went up to the wise hermit who lived on the mountain and asked him if there was some way to make the elephants’ noses long and ugly....