Today’s post comes to you from Rasil Kaur Ahuja When the Sun Sets “You read a lot of baby books,” a well-wisher commented recently. “This one,” she added, pointing to a book that was shortlisted for the 2025 Neev Book Award, “doesn’t even have words!” How to explain the power of a story spoken in … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: When the Sun Sets
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Baloo’s Big Win
Today’s post comes to you from Suji DeHart. Baloo’s Big Win: How Palwankar Baloo Broke the Caste Barrier in Cricket by Mamta Nainy, illustrated by Saumya Oberoi (Puffin / India Puffin, 2024) - picture-book biography for ages 6+ Baloo’s Big Win by Mamta Nainy, is more than just sports history or an Indian biography; it’s a … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Baloo’s Big Win
#INTYALITMONTH: Indian YA
Written by Karthika Gopalakrishnan Young adult fiction in India has been taking on new forms, pushing the envelope, and expanding the boundaries of all that this genre of homegrown fiction has to offer its readers. Here are three works that are contemporary examples of the path that this genre has journeyed: Art is a Voice … Continue reading #INTYALITMONTH: Indian YA
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: My Momo-La is A Museum
Memory, borders, and identity come together in this book about the power of stories to connect us and to share a lived heritage. This picture book begins with a girl whose grandmother, her Momo-la, is visiting—acollector of things and a teller of stories. She takes her granddaughter to visit particular storehouses of memory: The Museum … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: My Momo-La is A Museum
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Henna Start-Up
This is a young adult novel that tells the story of Abir Maqsood, a college-going student in Bangalore, who balances her family's expectations of her with her own desires of the direction that she would like her life to take.Abir's entrepreneurial side comes to the fore when she decides to build an app to help … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Henna Start-Up
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Girls on Wheels
Class and communal differences fade into the background as a shared passion for sport steps into the spotlight in this picture book. Girls on Wheels, in author Srividhya Venkat’s words, is “a work of fiction inspired by the skateboarding revolution in India.” The story is centered around 3 girls—Damini, Sana, and Anila—who are all headed … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Girls on Wheels
#WORLDKIDLIT WEDNESDAY: Baby and Dubdub
Relatable characters, conversational storytelling, and the madcap humor that everyday situations may sometimes lead to—these are the core elements of a story that Khyrunnisa tends to pull out from her writer's hat. Baby and Dubdub is no different. It tells the tale of a boy named Rohan, who wants a pet dog more than anything … Continue reading #WORLDKIDLIT WEDNESDAY: Baby and Dubdub
#IntlYALitMonth Review Essay: The Queen Series
The following extended review essay was written by Ritwika Roy. At first glance, the three books in Devika Rangachari’s Queen Series – Queen of Ice (2014), Queen of Earth (2020) and Queen of Fire (2021) – might seem like a relative of the hit Korean drama Queen of Tears. In Queen of Tears, Hong Haein, … Continue reading #IntlYALitMonth Review Essay: The Queen Series
#WORLDKIDLITWEEKEND: Following My Paint Brush
Dulari Devi didn’t know how to read the printed word, but she always had a rich visual lexicon built into her consciousness, a legacy that stemmed from being part of a rural community in Bihar that created stunning wall murals in the Mithila art style, also known as Madhubani painting. Her story is one of … Continue reading #WORLDKIDLITWEEKEND: Following My Paint Brush
#WORLDKIDLITWEDNESDAY: Alone in the Forest
Stunningly illustrated in Bhajju Shyam's trademark Gond Art style, this book narrates the story of Musa, a young tribal boy, who leaves home for the forest one morning, little knowing that this will be the day when he's pushed to face his fears. When his mother falls sick, Musa offers to collect the firewood for … Continue reading #WORLDKIDLITWEDNESDAY: Alone in the Forest
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 