Tag Archives: For Beginners

The book’s cover and the first few pages are predominantly black, setting the background just right for the narrative’s introductory theme—the dark night.

The book’s cover and the first few pages are predominantly black, setting the background just right for the narrative’s introductory theme—the dark night

A touching tale about a little girl and her yaks, Tenzin’s Yaks is a story set in mountainous Ladakh

The author Viky Arya has written and illustrated a sweet little book! It is about an adventurous ant named Chintu who leaves his ant family to follow a sweet smell that gets stronger as he gets closer.

The story begins with a fight between Paati and Appa. The children, Selvan and Savi, are not pleased with the conflict. The issue of their struggle is that they are concerned about failed rice crop due to the use of lab-created seed. Appa believes that the lab-created seed is the high-yielding variety, and the production would be high. Paati, on the other hand, is not convinced.

Jalebis epitomize the ordinariness in this poem and the pleasure of that ordinariness. Eulogizing the ordinary, which Sushil Shukla often does in his poems (Bhains ki Shaan Mein) and at times, making visible the unseen and the unnoticed (Kabhi Batooni Lagti Hain, unpublished), the poem presents a slice of the mundane as an event.

This bilingual book is a delightful reading for 3-6 years old children. It caters to their imagination. It unfolds the story of a feast hosted by King Lion, where the expectations of the attending animals take an unexpected turn.
What I like about the book is the King Lion’s friendly behaviour with all the animals.

This is a charming bilingual book designed to introduce the concept of seasons to early readers. Written in the form of verses, a format often appreciated and connected with by children, the book engages young readers.

Originally published in French, written and illustrated by Eric Battut, the story is about the homesickness and nostalgia felt by the residents of a cityside Zoo. When the animals confide in the Doctor who is visiting them for their annual health check-up, he realizes the uselessness of his medicines and prescriptions in the face of the deep despair all his patients feel.

A young boy comes home from school one day to face the loss of his Dadu. Aayan has many memories of his dear grandfather that he cherishes. He thinks of his Dadu with fondness and sadness. However, that is not all that troubles him.

The story by Katie Bagli is about the breeding behaviour of whistling ducks woven in the form of a fictional tale. A style quite suitable for the intended readers. This is a book about animals that talks about them in an environment most of us are familiar with and in which we see most of our wildlife—our homes, neighbourhoods and their edges adjoining natural habitats.

I looked again at the transparent spokes of the wheel and this time I saw the sand slipping along the spoke, one grain at a time, and suddenly I realized that these four spokes were actually two hourglasses, with a narrowed section in the middle.

The original Hindi title won a prize in the Category Concept Booksin the Competition for Children’s Books in Hindi organized by CBT.

Chalo Nahaane Chalein won the Second Prize in the Read-Aloud Category in the Competition for Children’s Books in Hindi organized by CBT.

Man ki Gaadi published under the new title Dhruv ki Gaadi won the Second Prize in the Category Social Emotional Learning in the Competition for Children’s Books in Hindi organized by CBT.

The Donkey, The Ghouls and the Magic Shawl won the Second Prize in the Category Get Ready for a Magical Time in the Competition for Children’s Books organized by CBT.

The Shark that couldn’t Bite by Cheryl Rao won a prize in the category Read-Aloud Books/Picture Books in the Competition for Children’s Books organized by CBT.

Aayi Aur Mein is the story of a girl whose mother has been hospitalized for a while and what her thoughts and emotions are on the day of her home coming. The girl and her dog Nimki are eagerly looking out of the window waiting for that moment.

A group of young boys also comes there daily as darkness creeps in. They practice their Rap songs ignoring Zara’s presence; so she is able to sit there by herself. But this doesn’t last since, one evening she finds her old school crafts teacher opening the gate and coming in to sit on the bench. Zara is not pleased at this because she is a talkative lady who keeps up a steady chatter.

A simple but interesting story that children are sure to enjoy.