Our journey with Pratham books

Anshumalika Rai and Nimesh Ved
Books that talk about growing native rice varieties, books on vegetable markets, and of course books on grasses, rolling on them. The world of children books is changing quick and for the better. The authors discuss a few books.

The underdog’s tale

Chintan Girish Modi
A little boy trying to make his place in an unfamiliar setting, fighting bullies, and trying to catch up — this is 9 year-old Gopi’s. This tale of an outsider has a lesson or two for readers.

The coolest grandma in the world

Chintan Girish Modi
She rides a motorcycle, loves to dress up, and is a disastrous cook. Biji is not your conventional grandmother, she is someone who teaches you humility, perseverance, and acceptance. English teachers will have good use for Biji’s in the kitchen in their primary classrooms.

Learning English through the classics

Chintan Girish Modi
Ruskin Bond, a well-known name across generations, comes up with a book to build English skills. The book is a collection of short-stories, poems and novel extracts. Is the collection curated in a manner that is relevant and useful for today’s students? Do the activities suggested in the book help the reader learn English?

Tales about trees

Geetha Iyer
This book by Katie Bagli talks about 23 tree species. It tells stories about these species and, of course, has information on them. It brings out, with simplicity, how trees are connected with other species – how they are ecosystems in themselves.

The Hum Hindustani Project: A gentle engagement with nationhood

Simran Luthra
This podcast, conceptualized and executed by Samina Mishra, has children recite poetry. It also tells us about experiences of children. The podcast brings in idealism, hope and nature to our lives. It also questions how we engage with our country and makes us question whether a separate kind of engagement from the one we currently have is possible.

Just Imagine

Chintan Girish Modi
Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk made him a wellknown name in the education circles. After his passing away, his daughter, who describes her father’s work as ‘a love letter to human potential’, has brought out this book. It is meant to be a concise introduction to Sir Ken Robinson’s key ideas and propositions, developed over a lifetime.

Caring for the animals

Katie Bagli
The fact that human survival depends on the survival of the ecosystem has not yet fully sunk in. We must strive from all possible directions to help each other understand the importance of the conservation of the environment. In an effort to help his peers, and hopefully the adults, comprehend the gravity of the situation, a young school student brings us this story.

A meditative experience

Simran Luthra
When you think of stories for children, they are usually fantasies or adventures. Then there are the educational books. While it is wonderful to transport children to fantastical worlds, it is also necessary to introduce them to reality; along with magic, they must also come face to face with the ordinary. It is this need that Priyadarshini’s books Unsung Sheroes and Heroes and The Postwoman and Other Stories fulfill.

Hanging on so that we can hang in!

Sheela Ramakrishnan
Inclusive education has been around for a while now, but are those of us who practice it true to the spirit of this concept? Kanwal Singh, while sharing her own experiences, urges her readers to reflect on what inclusive education truly means and how we can achieve it.