India & Nepal - Juvenile Bibliography

By Wendy Lanehart & Inez Ramsey

Classical Indian dance from Indian Dance

[Folktales] [Nonfiction] [Fiction] [Biography]

Folktales, Myth, Legends

*Ness, Caroline & Neil Philip, comp. The Ocean of Story; Fairy Tales from India Illustrated by Jacqueline Mair. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1996. Grades 4-6

*Shepard, Aaron. The Gifts of Wali Dad; A Tale of India and Pakistan Illustrated by Daniel San Souci. Atheneum Books, 1995.

Wali Dad brings a young king and queen together.

*Barry, David. The Rajah's Rice; A Mathematical Folktale from India Illustrated by Donna Perrone. Scientific American Books for Young Readers, 1994.

Illustrates mathematical concept of what happens when the amount of rice grains is continually doubled. [A lot of rice!]

*Hodges, Margaret. The Golden Deer Illustrations by Daniel San Souci. Scribner, 1992. K-3

Retellings from the Jataka tales of the rebirths of Buddha.

Krishnaswami, Uma. The Broken Tusk: Stories of the Hindu God Ganesha. Linnet, 1996.

*Newton, Patricia. The Stonecutter; An Indian Folktale Putnam, 1990.

A stonecutter finds he his truly happy just being himself.

*Rose, Deborah Lee. The People Who Hugged the Trees; An Environmental Folk Tale Rinehart, 1990. Adapted from a story of Rajasthan, India.

Shepard, Aaron. Savitri: A Tale of Ancient India Illus. by Vera Rosenberry. Whitman, 1992.

From India's national epic, The Mahabharata. A princess outwits the god of death to save her husband.

Shrestha, Kavita Ram. From the Mango Tree and Other Folktales from Nepal. By Kavita Ram Shrestha and Sarah Lamstein. Libraries Unlimited. 1997. All levels.

Shrestha is a Nepalese. Includes 15 stories; bibliography.

*Siberell, Anne. A Journey to Paradise Holt, 1990. Grades K-2.

A gardener and his pet monkey take a trip to paradise.

*Singh, Rani. The Indian Storybook Heinemann, 1984. Grades 3-5.

Retelling of eight Indian folktales.

*Troughton, Joanna. The Wizard of Punchkin; A Folk Tale from India Bedrick Books, 1987. Grades 2-4

A brave boy saves his brothers by discovering the secret of the Wizard.

Vijayaraghavan, Vineet. Motherland. pa. Soho Press, 2002. Young adult title. 2002 Alex Award Winner.

A fifteen-year-old American teenager spends the summer with her relatives in southern India and gains new insight into her past, her family and her heritage. Reviews at Barnes & Noble.

*Young, Ed. Seven Blind Mice Philomel, 1992. K-2.

Retelling of "The Blind Men and the Elephant.

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Nonfiction

*Davidson, Bob. Hillary and Tenzing Climb Everest Dillon Press, 1993. Grades 4-6. 32p. color illus. & maps

China & Nepal.

*Fraser, Mary Ann. On Top of the World; the Conquest of Mount Everest Holt, 1991. Picture book, Grades 3-6

Story of Hillary and Norgay expedition to Mt. Everest.

*Hermes, Jules. The Children of India Carolrhoda Books, 1994. 47p.

Daily lives of Indian children with photos.

*Kramer, Sydelle. To the Top; Climbing the World's Highest Mountain Random House, 1993. Grades 2-4.

China & Nepal.

*Lewin, Ted. Sacred River Clarion, 1995..

(Text and illustrations create a luminous vision of the Ganges River at Benares, holy goal of Hindu pilgrims.)

*Lewin, Ted. Tiger Trek Macmillan, 1990.

Visit India's Khana and Ranthambore national parks.

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Fiction

*Bond, Ruskin. Cherry Tree Illus. by Allan Eitzen. Caroline House. 31p. Easy fiction.

Six-year-old Rakhi plants a cherry seed and watches it grow. Set in foothills of Himalayas (India).

*Godden, Rumer. Premlata and the Festival of Lights William Morrow, Greenwillow Books, 1997.

Premalata and her family celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Lights.

*Kipling, Rudyard. The Complete Just So Stories Illustrated by Isabelle Brent. Viking, 1993. 155p.

*Kipling, Rudyard. Just So Stories Illustrated by Rudyard Kipling. Knopf; Dist. by Random House, 1992. 218p.

Kipling's tales with his original fine illustrations.

*Kipling, Rudyard. Just So Stories Illustrated with woodcuts by David Frampton. 1st ed. HarperCollins, 1991. 122p.

Includes "How the Whale Got His Hump," "Elephant Child" and "The Butterfly That Stamped" among other tales.

Krishnaswami, Uma. Chachaji's Cup. Children's Book Press, 2003.

Why does Chackaji always insist on drinking his chai from the same chipped china teacup? A young boy learns the history of his family, uprooted during the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan.

Krishnaswami, Uma. Monsoon. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2003.

In a hot, dry city in northern India, a young girl waits for rain.

Krishnaswami, Uma. Shower of Gold: Girls and Women in the Stories of India. Linnet, 1999.

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Biography

Fisher, Leonard Everett. Gandhi Atheneum, 1995.

Good biography for younger readers.

Sherrow, Victoria. Mohandas Gandhi Millbrook, 1994. 166p.

Kamen, Gloria. Kipling, Storyteller of East & West 1st edu. Atheneum, 1985. 72p.

Picture biography.

Whelan, Gloria. Homeless Bird. HarperCollins, 2000. Ages 9-12

When thirteen-year-old Koly enters into an ill-fated arranged marriage, she must either suffer a destiny dictated by India's tradition or find the courage to oppose it. Reviews at Amazon

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