English 4+ Family Weaving Gift Giving Indian Culture & Identity Mamta Nainy & Sandhya Prabhat summary Our narrator and her sister Sadaf watch their mother as she weaves beautiful and intricate saris for their father to sell at their market stall. Wanting her to have the nice things she makes for others, the pair decide…
Category: Indian Culture and Traditions
Castaway Mountain: Love and Loss Among the Wastepickers of Mumbai
English & Marathi YA & Up Indian Culture & Identity Waste Non-fiction Saumya Roy summary Castaway Mountain is an extremely detailed book that follows 4 families living on the outskirts of Mumbai, making a scant living by picking through the refuse that’s trucked in infinitely from the city. It’s a fascinating combination of a look…
The Samosa Rebellion
English MG Politics Oppression Racism Internment Rebellion SEL Activism Government Surveillance Immigration Shanthi Sekaran summary Did I pick up this book expecting a great read? Sure did. Did I expect it to blow my mind in the way that it did? Absolutely not. I love it when that happens. 12 year old narrator Muki lives…
Dancing in Thatha’s Footsteps
English & Tamil 4+ Dance Gender Stereotypes Intergenerational Stories Family Srividhya Venkat & Kavita Ramchandran summary Ya’ll know gender stereotypes are real high up on my list of things that are the bane of my existence and fuel my ever-burning feminist rage that sits deep inside my soul. Dancing in Thatha’s Footsteps follows Varun and…
A Gift for Amma: Market Day in India
English 4-8 years Own Voices Chennai, India Family Gifts Meera Sriram & Mariona Cabassa Summary: This book is so bright and cheery, it’s a joy to read! The narrator is a young girl on her way to the colorful market nearby to buy a present for her Amma, and there are so many choices! Wandering…
Ritu Weds Chandni
Written & Illustrated by: Ameya Narvankar For Ages: 4 years and up Language: English & Hindi (with glossary in back) Topics Covered: LGBTQ Rights, Marriage Equality, Family, Love, Protest, Homophobia, Violence. Summary: This book…this book is so meaningful to the LGBTQ community, and specifically the South Asian LGBTQ community. Our main character Ayesha’s cousin Ritu…
The Lion Queens of India
Written & Photographed By: Jan Reynolds For Ages: 4-8 years Language: English Topics Covered: Nature, Activism, Sustainability, India. Summary: This book is really great, and I love that it’s all real photos inside! The book follows one ranger in particular, Rashila, as she goes about her day checking on lions in the Gir wildlife sanctuary….
Shubh Diwali!
Written by: Chitra Soundar Illustrated by: Charlene Chua For ages: 3-5 years Language: English & some Hindi (more is in the Diwali information after the story) Topics Covered: Culture & Traditions, Celebration, Global Community, Hindu, Religion, India, Indian Culture, POC-Centric Narratives. Summary: Shubh Diwali is a short rhyming book introducing Diwali and the celebrations that accompany the 5 day festival. The plot follows…
Sadiq Wants to Stitch
Written By: Mamta Nainy Illustrated by: Niloufer Wadia For Ages: 4-8 years Language: English Topics Covered: Gender Roles, Stereotypes, Indian Cultures, Bakarwal, Kashmir, India, Family. Summary: Sadiq is a young boy who lives with his Ammi in the Kashmir valley. They are part of the nomadic Bakarwal community, known for herding goats and sheep as…
The Boy Who Dreamed of Infinity
Written By: Amy Alznauer Illustrated by: Daniel Miyares For ages: 5-9 years Language: English, some Tamil Topics Covered: History, Historical Figures, Mathematics, Own Voices, STEM, India, Trailblazers. Summary: This story tells the early life of mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, who changed mathematics and science globally in the early 1900’s. Ramanujan was a child known for asking big and abstract…