Art is a Voice
by Kripa Publisher: Art1st “Can art be a tool for dissent? If art is used by the powerful for exploitation, can it also be used for protest and resistance?” Artist and illustrator Kripa couples eleven verses with vivid illustrations, interspersed with the works of eleven contemporary Indian artists. Art is a Voice introduces readers to […]
Zen
By Shabnam Minwalla Publisher: Duckbill Books Modern Mumbai – independent-minded Zen contemplates college, conflicted by feelings for the perplexing Yash. 1939 – Zen’s great-grandmother Zainab writes a diary detailing her life and events in the wider world. An absorbing page turner with well-developed characters from several generations giving insights into politics and religion past and […]
The Henna Start-up 🏆
By Andaleeb Wajid Publisher: Penguin Random House India When Abir discovers her mother has not been paid for her work, she and her friends work on a creative way to ensure this doesn’t happen again. In a first-person narrative set in tech city Bangalore, this novel addresses concerns around class and gender with lively dialogue […]
Unknown Heroes of India’s Freedom Struggle
By P. Sainath Publisher: Tullika P Sainath lights a beacon on the many stories of freedom fighters from the margins. The book was meticulously researched through in-person interviews of those who joined the Independence movement, even those whose methods diverged from Gandhi’s. This book has many brushes and voices – for each of the 16 […]
The People of the Indus 🏆
Authors: Nikhil Gulati with Jonathan Mark Kenoyer Illustrator: Nikhil Gulati Publisher: Penguin Random House Who were the people of the Indus? Why didn’t they build pyramids like the Egyptians? And ultimately what happened to them? Supported by extensive research from a leading Indus archaeologist, this graphic novel seeks answers to precisely these questions. It is […]
When Blackbirds Fly
Author: Hannah Lalhlanpuii Publisher: Duckbill Life is sweet growing up in Aizawl, with his family and friends, and all the narrator wants is a peaceful life. But the independence movement in Mizoram means that regardless of what he wants, he is drawn inexorably into a world where everyone has to choose where they stand … […]
The Enchanted Cottage
Author: Ruskin Bond Illustrator: Sucharita Sengupta Suri Publisher: HarperCollins India Odd things were happening to me in my little cottage near the forest … There was no terrifying dream that night, or the following night, but the cottage did have an almost tangible atmosphere about it — a feeling for the past, or rather, […]
Boy No. 32
Author: Venita Coelho Publisher: Scholastic About the book: An explosion brings down the orphanage that is home to Battees. Buried in the debris, he realises that something impossible has happened. Someone has got inside his head. It’s Goongi who cannot speak. Battees identifies the terrorist who blew up the orphanage and he obviously wants the […]
Ela | NBA Honour
NBA 2018 Honour Book | Young Adult Author: Sampurna Chattarji Publisher: Scholastic India About the book: Ela is a happy child with everything she could wish for, until her thirteenth birthday when she discovers she is an adopted kid. The story is about how she copes with this new knowledge. A Children’s Bookshelf Selection: Each […]
2
Author:  Paro Anand Publisher: Scholastic About the book: This slick and ground-breaking graphic novel tells the story of a young Indian boy, Ganga, and a Swedish girl, Helga, whose destinies get tied with one another in a strange and magical way. Two is a gem on its own, which shows the perspective of two different […]