Long days, warm nights and the incessant buzzing sound of your kids going ‘I’m booooorrreeddd’. Reduce their whine times dramatically by taking proactive steps to keep them out of your hair with their noses buried in these summer reads.
Take a trip across South Asia from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan to ancient lands of the folklore and mythology as well as a trip into the future. A cozy nook is all that you need. Ready, set and fly into your imagination.
The year is 2054 and the country of Koyanagar is obsessing over finding eligible grooms for its daughters. Only neither of the two protagonists Sudasa and Kiran are interested in domestic pursuits. Told in both verse and prose, this unique novel puts a spin on age old traditions.
Swing back into time when Bhimrao Ambedkar, faced discrimination as a Dalit at a young age. Read his remarkable journey to an illustrious education, his fight against social and caste-based discrimination. This beautiful graphic novel is both a visual and fast-paced read about one of the greatest leaders of India.
Abby and Sadeed are penpals who correspond back and forth between the prairies of Illinois and the mountains of central Asia. These letters traverse cultural and religious divides and have children from both these different worlds learning about new aspects of their communities, the world and themselves.
Pandupur’s children weave a web of stories that crisscross the tony parts of town all the way to the railway station, taking short cuts through forests, bazaars and playgrounds of the their entire town. Laugh and learn through these stories teeming with life and surprising friendships.
What happens when two best friends take a family trip to India? Will Rohit convince his parents not to leave him behind in Mumbai? And will his friend Dylan be able to prove himself as a photographer? Find out in this adventure which includes close encounters of the animal kind!
The story of Rama and his quest to rescue his wife Sita from Ravana is illustrated in Pixar Sanjay Patel’s whimsical style. This epic tale has powerful deities, love-struck monsters, flying monkey gods, demon armies with an unmistakable modern touch.
Recently adapted for the stage by the Bay Area Children's Theater, take a Rickshaw ride into the world of Naima, a young Bangladeshi girl who uses her painting talents to help her family work their way out of poverty. More books by Mitali Perkins here.
What if some creepy crawlies transformed into kids? Find out as Rishabh the rat and Shashee the spider learn to navigate school, homework and the worst of all - baths! Then there is the evil money lender to deal with. Find out if they along with a platoon of friendly cockroaches, mosquitoes and other children succeed in their adventures!
What’s a girl to do if all that her parents can hope for her is to get a good husband? Sadika’s coming of age story critically and comically examines South Asian culture and families. This novel of manners travels through both time and space to tell a common yet universal tale.
Dini is obsessed with Bollywood and get excited when her family plans to move to India! Yay! But they move to a teeny tiny sleepy town. Boo! Still this plot twist leads Dini to rose petal milk shakes, mischievous monkeys and maybe even her favourite Bollywood star. Read more books with awesome titles from the brilliant Uma Krishnaswami here.
If you’ve ever wanted to pass on the classic tale with a modern twist to your kids look no further than this book! King Vikram searches for a corpse and finds one that the vampire Betal has decided to take residence in. He’ll only accompany the King if he listens to his tall, silly, crazy tales!
Another modern retelling of the classic tale of how saint Vyasa enlists the help of Ganesha to write the epic Mahabharata. Told in an age-appropriate format that introduces young readers to the age-old story.
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I’m a huge fan of Andrew Clements! Thanks for sharing so many other authors I now need to check out. Stopping by from the Kid Lit Blog Hop.
This is a fabulous list! Some that are new to me, as well as old favorites. Love Sanjay Patel’s work! Thanks for sharing this with #diversekidlit!
Very interesting reviews. The Grand Plan to fix everything looks like a tittle I will add into my reading list this Summer.
Thank you for sharing!