Children

Children’s literature is an increasingly important segment in Indian publishing. Over the last decade it has grown by leaps and bounds. In partnership with WWF-India, the GLF-WWF Honour Books (Children) will recognise the best of Indian children’s literature on the environment, for budding naturalists of every age and taste.

With more than a decade of dedicated environment education in schools and the emphasis on the environment in the curriculum as well as the ‘natural’ instinct in children, we’re sure this set of books will find takers everywhere.

The Honour Books will be announced by our jury at our annual children’s event on 10 December! Don’t miss it, if you love books.

Longlist for Children's Literature

Making friends with Snakes (but from a distance) by Rohan Chakravarty | Publisher – Pratham Books

Naagin and Dhaman are here to make friends with you, but from a distance. After all, they are snakes. Here are some facts you’ve always wanted to know about these beautiful reptiles. Learn how to stay safe and let snakes slither safely away.

The Grass Seeker by Uddalak Gupta | Publisher – Pratham Books

As the weather turns warm, Room Singh takes his flock of goats and sheep and scales the Himalayas for fresh grass. With global warming a reality, this photo book traces the journey that a Gaddi shepherd has been making for the last 40 years.

The Grass Seeker
Bombay Ducks Bombay Docks

Bombay Ducks, Bombay Docks by Fleur D’Souza and Kripa B | Publisher – Pratham Books

It is raining and there is not much one can do outdoors. Come and listen to Aaji’s story about the Kolis, the original inhabitants of Bombay, their favourite fish Bombay Duck and the city’s magnificent docks.

Tracing Roots by Mallika Ravikumar | Publisher – Karadi Tales

Why does the coconut have eyes? How did a cobbler prove his wisdom with a tiny seed? How did a jackfruit tree help Birbal solve a robbery? Retelling of myths, legends, and folktales from different traditions that showcase the staggering wonder of the trees that surround us.

Tracing Roots
Travelling seeds

Travelling Seeds by Lavanya Karthik Publisher – Kalpavriksh

Flyer, floater, trickster, hitchhiker! Did you know that seeds can take on the most amazing roles in their quest to keep their species alive?

Saahi’s Quest by Yuvan Aves and Anusha Menon | Publisher – Kalpavriksh

Saahi is a Wandering Glider dragonfly. As soon as she grows wings, she takes off on a quest – to look for more Wandering Gliders. Along the way, she meets many tiny creatures and learns about how they live. But will she find more dragonflies like herself?

The Miracle on Sunderbaag Street by Nandita da Cunha and Priya Kuriyan | Publisher – Kalpavriksh

Young Zara sits alone every evening, in a dumpyard on Sunderbaag Street. One day, Miss Gappi plants an idea in Zara’s mind. This sets them off on a mission that changes Zara’s life… and the lives of many who live on Sunderbaag Street.

Can You? by Praba Ram, Sheila Preuitt | Publisher – Tulika

Can you taste with your toes? Or see with your ears? Or, at least, smell with your hair? No? Well, there are creatures around you that can!

A Cloud Called Bhura by Bijal V | Publisher – Talking Cub

A story about four friends, a city in need of help, a bunch of clueless groan-ups and a very angry, very brown and very dangerous cloud.

Adventures of the Humongoose Family by Zai Whitaker | Publisher – Tulika

Gundu and Keeri Humongoose are normal mongooses. They are hasty, they chatter with chirps or clicks, they eat rats… But then they do something that Do-First-Think-Later animals do not. They take a decision. To move out of the jungle. And so begins their adventure into the unknown… filled with danger from two-legged creatures.

The Gravepyres School for the Recently Deceased by Anita Roy | Publisher – Westland

As the latest transitioner at Gravepyres, Joseph Srinivas has a lot on his plate . . . practicing Cloudforming, studying Mathamythics, understanding Decomposition and learning how to ‘See’. But the only thing he really wants to learn is how to get home. Back to his parents and little sister.

When he stumbles upon the secret of the Eternal Spring and the majestic vultures who are the custodians of an ancient knowledge, Jose thinks he might have found a way out.

The Golden Eagle by Deepak Dalal | Publisher – Puffin

When Shikar, the squirrel, asks his favourite doves, Lovey and Dovey, to tell him a story, they recount their time at Stork-pur, a mysterious bird commune. A place no bird would ever want to visit. On a secret mission, the doves are taken hostage by a villainous stork whose dark plan is to rule the bird-world. Danger lurks in every corner of the caves the doves are imprisoned in, and they wonder whom they can trust? The talkative green pigeon, the mesmerizing whistling thrush or the magnificent golden eagle?

The Golden Eagle

The Torchbearers by Ami Majmudar | Publisher – Puffin

The Gods are on the brink of extinction and nature has been taken over by demons, who are exploiting it for wealth and power. Can three little children, the torchbearers, save the Gods and resurrect nature?

Budgie, Bridge and Big Djinn by Ranjit Lal | Publisher – Harper Collins

They form a formidable team: 14-year-old Budgie, outspoken to a fault; Bridge, a steady teenager with a rocky past; and Big Djinn, the ferocious Tibetan Mastiff-German Shepherd mixed breed. When faced with a terrifying, life-threatening situation, that endangers the very existence of their idyllic mountain home, they have to dig deep to find the courage and tenacity to deal with it … and face an enemy who will stop at nothing to get his own way.

Budgie, Bridge and Big Djinn
No Nonsense Nandhini

No Nonsense Nandhini by Aparna Karthikeyan | Publisher – Karadi Tales

Naresh has the world’s coolest mother – she wakes up at midnight, dons a miner’s lamp and goes to her field to harvest flowers. Will he be able to show everyone at school that she’s a hero?

10 Indian Champions Who Are Fighting To Save The Planet by Bijal and Radha | Publisher – Puffin

Stories of ten Indian conservationists working in diverse ways to save the world from human destructiveness, often facing seemingly insurmountable odds.

10 Indian Champions who are Fighting to Save the Planet
10 Indian Animals You May Never Again See in the Wild

10 Indian Animals you may never again see in the wild by Ranjit Lal | Publisher – Duckbill Books

Survival stories of ten of India’s rarest animals. A few have made truly heroic comebacks from the very brink of extinction. Others have not been so lucky and are spiralling to their almost inevitable doom.

Birds In My Garden and Beyond by Bulbul Sharma | Publisher – Speaking Tiger

A great big jamun tree and a fat cat dominate Bulbul Sharma’s garden in Delhi. But the true life of this lovely patch of green are the birds—sparrows, parakeets, sunbirds, doves, and many more—who come here to look for food and nectar, build nests, find friends, quarrel with one another, or simply sit and sing to each other.

Birds in my Garden and Beyond
A Tigress Called Machhli

A Tigress Called Machhli by Supriya Sehgal | Publisher – Hachette India

A crocodile who loves eating rice. A mule who won an award for bravery. A camera-friendly tigress who ruled Ranthambore. Swashbuckling monitor lizards. Rats believed to be the children of a goddess. Cuddly dogs who help nervous travellers. Five thousand punctual parrots… Soar, crawl, hop and scamper about with these and other intriguing creatures, along with their equally interesting human friends, as they take you on a most unusual journey across the country.

Unearthed: An Environmental History of Independent History by Meghaa Gupta | Publisher – Puffin

Protesting against dams, protecting tigers, hugging trees, saving seeds, making room for elephants, battling mountains of waste, fighting air pollution, coping with soaring temperatures – India and its people have shared a remarkable relationship with the environment. This book chronicles historical movements and significant green missions in the country, since 1947.

Unearthed

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