Katha

8+ years

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Author: Aparajita Datta and Nima Manjrekar
Art by Maya Ramaswamy
ISBN 81-89020-15-3 [hb]
ISBN 81-89020-16-1 [pb]
Size: 10” x 8”
Pages: 36
Price: Rs 150 [hb], Rs 95 [pb]
2005

Walk the Rainforest with Niwupah

Join Niwupah the Hornbill on a tour of his rainforest home where the sights we see and the sounds we hear, the scents we smell and the creatures we meet, are like nothing we’ve ever imagined! Find out more about this strange and wonderful bird, too!

Aparajita Datta is a wildlife biologist at the Nature Conservation Foundation in Mysore. She has spent many years in the rainforests of Arunachal Pradesh, studying hornbills for her doctoral thesis. She has also been involved in wildlife surveys that resulted in finds of mammal species not known in India before. She is currently involved in efforts to address wildlife conservation needs in Arunachal by working with local tribal communities. She is increasingly interested in conservation education.

Nima Manjrekar, also a wildlife biologist based in Mysore, has studied the endangered mountain goat, the ibex, in the cold high mountains of Spiti in Himachal Pradesh. She has been involved in editing a book on mammals of South Asia, and in publishing guide books to wildlife areas of Karnataka. She also records forest sounds for wildlife films.

Maya Ramaswamy has recently brought together her two greatest passions: painting and wildlife. A creative artist with a talent for cartooning, she loves watching wildlife and visits the forests whenever she can get away from Bangalore.

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Author Partap Sharma
Art by Vandana Bist
ISBN 81-89020-41-2 [hb]
ISBN 81-89020-43-9 [pb]
ISBN 81-89020-65-X [hindi]
Size: 11” x 8.5”
Pages: 40
Price: Rs 150 [hb], Rs 120 [pb], Rs 95 [hindi]
2005

Surangini

Kalu, the poor weaver, loves the beautiful Surangini, but only the wealthiest of eligible young men can ask for her hand in marriage. Unless, Kalu with his deft hands, quick wit and unselfish love can produce something like a miracle …
An enchanting story about what we all value and seek in life – love, trust, friendship and peace. This is an abridged version of the original book, The Surangini Tales by Partap Sharma.

Partap Sharma has written four books for children, including this one. The others are Dog Detective Ranjha, Top Dog and The Little Master of the Elephant. His books are published and read in many countries. He also writes novels and plays and has directed a few documentary films. As an actor, he has played the lead in six feature films including the award winning Hindi film, “Phir Bhi,” for which his performance received a National Award. His voice is familiar to audiences as one of India's leading commentators. He says, “I love writing for children because it gives me the greatest freedom. Here you will find hope alive. You can re-order the world.”

Vandana Bist has a degree in Fine Arts from the Delhi College of Art with specialization in illustration. Her artworks have been published in various children’s magazines and books. Starting with her first book.
A Ticket to Home and Other Stories, her works have been exhibited in Japan and Bratislava. She received the Chitrakala Award 1998 for her illustrations in The Princess with the Longest Hair, published by Katha. The book also fetched her the Encouragement Prize at the Noma Concours for Picture Book Illustrations. Vandana is also a writer and has won the Katha Award for Creative Fiction in 1994.

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Author: Geeta Dharmarajan
Art by Sonali Biswas
ISBN 81-89020-18-8 [hb]
ISBN 81-89020-19-6 [pb]
ISBN 81-89020-20-X [hindi]
Size: 10” x 8”
Pages: 32
Price: Rs 120 [hb], Rs 95 [pb], Rs 80 [hindi]
2005

The Magical Web Bridge

A dreamer and a doer. Creative. Sensitive. Imaginative. That’s the baya! Fabulously illustrated by Sonali Biswas, this story by an award-winning writer for children, vividly captures the spirit and joy of friendship and teamwork. A must read for bedtime, laptime or ... any time! Enjoy!

Geeta Dharmarajan loves writing stories and fantasies for children. She conceived and edited a children’s magazine called Tamasha. Geeta was earlier one of the editors of Target, a magazine for children, and The Pennsylvania Gazette, the magazine of the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania. She has 17 books and over 400 published pieces to her credit. She started Katha in 1988 and has been its principal team leader since then.

Sonali Biswas is a freelance illustrator based in Delhi. She is the recipient of The Chitra Katha Award 2003 for Outstanding Illustrations for The Lonely Unicorn, a story-counting book published by Katha. She has also received the runner-up award from Noma Concours for Children’s Book Illustrations in 2000 and an honourable mention at the Biennial of Asian Illustrators, Japan in 2002.

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Retold by Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih
Art by Maya Ramaswamy
ISBN 81-89020-31-5 (English)
ISBN 81-89020-79-X (Hindi)
Size: 8.25” x 6”
Pages: 32
Price: Rs 75
2005

U Sier Lapalang
A Khasi tale

Lapalang is a young deer in love with adventure. And one day he sets off, in search of something different. Not heeding his mother’s words, not listening to the voice inside him. Beware! Beware of the land of the humans ...

The sad and unforgettable story of U Sier Lapalang is told and retold in the cloud land of Meghalaya. Katha is proud to bring this classic to you and your family in a beautifully worded translation.

Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih writes in both Khasi and English. He has also translated many Khasi folk stories into English and vice versa. His poetry has been widely published and anthologized in two volumes, Moments (1992) and The Sieve (1992). He has also published three other books in Khasi. Presently, he is working as a Publication Officer in North East Hill University.

Maya Ramaswamy has brought together her two greatest passions: painting and wildlife. A creative artist with a talent for cartooning, she loves watching wildlife and visits the forests whenever she can get away from Bangalore where she lives. Her earlier book with Katha was Walk the Rainforest with Niwupah.

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The Magical Web Bridge:
A must-have, this one. Recommended for non-sleepy times of the day, to ensure the proper impact of Sonali’s visual tapestry, the big bonus of this book. Also, a definite plus is the well-laid out info at the back. The illustrator won the encouragement prize at the 12th Noma Concours for Picture Illustration. That says it all.

— Parenting

Walk the Rainforest With Niwupah:
This is a book that's a bit like a tour guide trying to show you all of Jaipur's sights in an afternoon. It's all crammed in and rather hurried but terribly interesting and beautiful to look at. The book Walk the Rainforest with Niwupah does exactly what the title says — it takes the reader on a quick trip through the rainforest, pointing out the sights and sounds along the way.

Authors Aparajita Datta and Nima Manjrekar, both wildlife specialists, have simplified the complex ecosystem of the rainforest making it easy to understand and fun to read. Aparajita has spent years in the rainforests of the Northeast, studying and helping to conserve its rich wildlife and she has tried to bring these experiences to the book.

A Great Indian Hornbill named Niwupah acts as the tour guide, squawking out facts about dung beetles, Hoolock gibbons, flying squirrels, barbets, woodpeckers and other creatures of the forest.
Maya Ramaswamy's artwork — colourfully detailed pictures of animals, insects and plants — really lifts the book from just one full of information to a real walk through a glorious place full of life and energy.
This 32-page tour ends with a quick message on the threats facing the forest and the need for conservation. Though it doesn't really give one an idea of the urgency of the issues facing the survival of the forests, Walk the Rainforest is a good introduction to the world of wildlife.

— The Hindu

Surangini:
A book that is sure to keep you glued to its pages.

—The Hindustan Times