After few visits & revisits into the world of books during the lockdown period, Mahathi’s favourite 15 are here for you to explore. This is for the #kbcKeepCalmAndReadOn Campaign.
By the way, this is 7-year-old Mahathi’s, freelancer mom penning down on her behalf. Most of the books shared are ideal for 7-10 year olds, unless specified differently.
The Lion’s Feast – Go for it if you want to have a hearty laughter!
A Karadi tales’ publication, this book penned by Lavanya Karthik and illustrated by Chetan Sharma is one book that you can bring alive while reading aloud with your kiddo. The character sketch is so apt that they start feeling like your next-door mama & mami if you happen to be in Chennai (Mylapore especially) and the illustrations will make you wonder from when did lions become so emotive. Can you imagine a lion being invited for a feast of dosa & sambar?? Lavanya did and this is super hilarious. What’s more interesting is team Karadi Tales gives you a chance to bring a twist towards the end by handing over the page to you. How cool!
This book is great to start with as a read aloud book for your kiddo and I’m sure as they turn toddler, they themselves will snatch this book for its eye-catchy illustrations. Guess what, I’m sure to pick this book up even after I turn 60 to just have fun reading out for li’l ones.
P.S. Make sure you have something ready to eat in hand as this book is going to get you salivating. Sumptuously funny. LOL!
The Girl who went to the Stars and other extraordinary lives – A must read for little boys too.
Written and illustrated by Ishita Jain and Naomi Kundu, this book by Penguin publications has a rich platter of personalities and their passion served. The illustrations are vivid and intriguing. The personalities chosen are across various fields and traits that it gives a fulfilling sensation after a read. Language is simple yet not compromising on the diction. Great book for kids of age 7 and above.
Anecdote: My little girl came to a page where it was about Rose Venkatesan, a transgender and I got little curious as in what would be her understanding and what sort of questions, she may end up asking. But trust me, the lucid language and lovely illustration made it an easy read and for a clear understanding that she simply ended saying that she was like a boy at small age and later became a girl. As simple as that. There was no prejudice there and a clear-cut acceptance was seen which made me wonder that may be complexities grow only as we mature. Kids are innocent and how easily they accept things as it is that it’s we who have to unlearn a lot to learn from them. I must say some books break the barriers and this one is of those kinds. This is going to stay with us forever.
Great stories for children by Ruskin Bond – This book is breezy and comforting.
A Rupa publications’ book, this easily transcends you to the landscapes and lifestyle in Mussoorie with its lively and unique characters. My daughter was literally hooked up with the inquisitive titles like “A special tree”, “When the trees walked”, “Monkey trouble” and so on. This book lets the kids relate to everyday characters, adventures and helps them create their own illustration and creative world. This I found to be a perfect fit for those kids who are transitioning from a picture book to plain story books with no illustrations at all. This is a heartwarming collection of stories.
This book is great for kids above 7 years of age.
The ABCs of Thanks and Please – a book when you want to get the basics right.
Written by Diane C. Ohanesian and illustrated by Margaret Chamberlain, this Scholastic publication book is a handy one to get the basics right for a budding toddler. Language is simple and the ABCs help them remember easily. It’s a needed nudge at any age for a kid to grow more caring and considerate. This book highlights on the little big things in a rhyming way.
Perfect book while raising toddlers.
Bhoomi’s Story -Space – Explore the space with added creativity.
A Tulika publications’ book written and illustrated by Anushka Kalro, Rajasee Ray, Sankhalina Nath and Shubhangi Goel, this book helps your kid explore earth and its friends in space in a way that they would explore a friend’s neighbourhood. This book is recommended by CBSE & NCERT and a best buy if you want to give your kid a first look on science. Even while being creative, Tulika has made sure they get the facts right and straight too by dedicated pages at the end of the book which is of added value.
I would recommend this for kids above 6 years of age.
I am Positive! I will Keep Trying! – A must have.
This book penned by David Parker, illustrated by Tammie Lyon and published by Scholastic has a simple and straightforward approach in putting the kid to be positive. Illustrations are expressive and gives the kids an instant connect. At an age when my daughter started learning new skills and got low saying she couldn’t do, this book came handy and made her give another try and feel confident, of course with a few hugs and kisses from our side too. Best thing about this book is it’s not preachy and the way it ends up with a question that makes kids to think and respond is kept subtle and precise for a perfect finish.
Your kid may find this book nice and helpful if the age is above 5 but then I’m sure that this book this is going to stay with your kid for a longer time.
Lettice – This book is a cute and vibrant one.
This cute (really cute!) picture book written and illustrated by Mandy Stanley and published by HarperCollins is surely going to make your kid dance to its tunes. The story is of a little rabbit Lettice who wants to be a ballerina and how she dances her way to become a star. Lettice pulls the kids into a creative world and makes them feel wonderful. I’m happy that I got my hands on this book in one of the “books by weight” market.
This book is a perfect goodnight read for kids of age 3 and above.
No Touch – Sadly we are in a place today that this one has become a must have in every kid’s bookshelf.
A Scholastic publication book written by K. Krishna and illustrated by Ayesha Sadr and Ishaan Dasgupta; this book has handled the topic very maturely. Making the plot easy and comfortable with a detective character involved, this takes a clear stand on good touch and bad touch in a way kids will understand. This book is also a must read for parents and great conversation starter on an uncomfy but essential topic.
The dedication that reads “To those who have suffered…and in the hope this book helps prevent any more” strikes hard.
Wish I don’t have to say this, but yes this needs a read as early as possible.
Recommended age: 3-6 years
I planted a seed – Let’s you soar through imagination while nudging on a bigger aspect subtly towards the end.
This Tulika publication book written by Avanti Mehta and vividly illustrated by Manjari Chakravarti, lets the kid grow an imagination through the journey of seed. The work with oil pastels is splendid pouring vibrancy throughout and the narrative flows quite easily. A quick read with an unusual ending. The last page is something for the adults to understand too. Brilliant work in a lucid style.
This book is fun to read for kids of age 5 and above.
Big Bear Little Brother – A comfort book.
Written by Carl Norac and illustrated by Kristin Oftedal, this Macmillan publication is a heart-warming story of a special friendship between two unusual characters. The illustration is an instant hook, mesmerizing and endearing, along with the carefully chosen words that are beyond beautiful. This book is a perfect finish for the day as a bedtime story, ending up giving you a cozy feel.
I would recommend this as a read aloud for toddlers and for kids above 6 years.
100 events that made Indian History – Finding facts can be fun.
A Penguin Random House publication, this book written by Anita Roy and illustrated by Arun Pottirayil captures the memorable events that shaped Modern India with its captivating content and colourful illustrations. Spanning around different areas of Indian History, I personally felt as perfect find to introduce my daughter to Indian History. This one also makes for a great coffee table book.
Recommended reading for kids above 7 years of age and not to forget, adults may find it interesting too.
Ramayana in rhyme – Epic retold in an epic way.
This book, an epic retold by teen sisters Ananya Mittal and Kairavi Bharat Ram and illustrated by Vadana Bist & Suvidha Mistry; this Scholastic Publication is like a contemporary take on the epic narration. Having heard versions of Ramayana with many stories in it, this version of a rhyme of the epic gave my daughter an interest into poetry, especially while reading it aloud to hear it rhyme. What more that interests Mahathi is the pictures of the teen sisters in the introduction page – she keeps looking them at awe. I guess when kids see young writers, they get inspired to be one.
Recommended reading for kids above 7 years of age.
Camilla, the cupcake fairy – It’s magical!
A vibrant book from Make Believe Ideas publications, authored by Tim Bugbird and illustrated by Lara Ede, this will surely hook your kids with its sparkling colours and the magic behind. What happens when Camilla gets her first ever magic wand as her birthday gift and how she gets to make her perfect cupcake will take your kid into a fun filled journey of adventure, imagination and magic, making it for a wonderful read, anytime, anywhere. A huge thumbs up for the rhyming text and the choice of font. This book is beautiful. This book is Mahathi’s first favourite and it’s from this that she got hooked onto sketching little girls with varied expressions. She can read this umpteen times.
Perfect for ages above 3.
Mathemagic – Fun and factual way of introducing Maths to your kid.
This hardbound book from Childcraft Publication makes it look fun right from its cover. A fun filled approach to Maths with puzzles, games and colourful illustrations, this book has a systematic approach which makes it easy for understanding. Even bigger concepts are laid simple with practical, day to day examples which makes for a perfect read and doing Maths with your curious kid. A best buy.
Perfect for kids of ages above 7.
Friend ; Tails
This is going to be on two books Friend and Tails from the same publication, National Book Trust, India. Got our hands on these books at a book fair and these books come at a much much affordable rates but that doesn’t mean they have compromised over the content. The content is creative, crisp and illustrations beautiful enough to make me wonder how could it just come at such minimal rates. One can actually stock these up for quick reads, easy takes and gifting options. I must add, don’t judge the book by its cover or even price.
Friend, originally by Pracheta Gupta, translated by Sayan Chaudhuri and illustrated by Debabrata Ghosh is a beautiful story of a friendship between a cloud and river and their commitment to friendship. It’s simply beautiful.
Tails written by Hydrose Aaluwa and illustrated by Atanu Roy, stands out with its witty illustrations and well-tailored narrative that’s all about tails. An easy read, perfect for starters.
Well, so these are few of Mahathi’s favourites though this misses out on the Berenstain Bears series, titles from Diary of a Wimpy Kid, famed Amar Chitra Katha comic series, Panchatantra and many other books that we borrow from Library. Will post that some other day. Till then, Happy Reading!
[Note from Team Kids Book Café: For your convenience, affiliate links (MARKED IN PINK) to some of the books have been added to enable you to buy the books from AMAZON, should you wish to! A very small amount of money comes to kidsbookcafe.com when you purchase a book via the amazon affiliate link provided (at no extra cost to you!). Do let us know if you need information about other children’s books by writing to asha@kidsbookcafe.com.]
