India

Gorgeous photographs express the mystery and excitement of India from A to Z – open air markets, bullocks pulling a wooden cart, hennaed hands, colorful umbrellas, a bride decked out in gold jewelry, traditional dance, families at home.
(Picture book)

The Festival of Lights, Divaali (Diwali), remembers Rama's victory over Ravana. In this retelling of the Ramayana, Rama, an incarnation of the god Vishnu, and his wife Sita are exiled to the forest. When Sita is kidnapped by the demon Ravana, Rama calls upon the monkey king, Hanuman, to rescue Sita. (Chapter book, illustrations)

For books about how the festival is celebrated with fireworks, offerings, special oil lamps and foods: an easy reader Diwali and Celebrate Diwali

Anana, a tea shop attendant, is entrusted with a magic conch. Accompanied by a sweeper girl, Nishi, they journey from Kolkata (Calcutta) to a hidden valley high in the Himalayas, hunted by the evil Surabhanu. A story of magic and myth is intertwined with illuminating descriptions of present-day India. (Chapter book)

The adventure continues in The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming.

Eight different stories from the rich traditions of India – a demon disrupts a heavenly marriage, the spirited peepul tree, a boy gives away everything, but is given even more in return, adventures of our favorite, that magical monkey Hanuman, and more. Plus fun facts about each state in India. Enchanting illustrations. (Illustrated chapter book)

A grandfather tells his grandchildren stories about India, how the sun uncurls like a fiery tiger, the monsoon rain makes mirrors on the ground, snow atop the Himalayas is a giant ice cream, and the shape of India is an elephant's ear. This is a lovely story to read out loud. (Picture book)

Dawn to dusk on the Ganges River in Benares –- the sun rises on the ghats, stone steps leading down to the river, pilgrims in colorful clothes make flower offerings and wade into the water, ashes from funeral pyres are sprinkled on the river, flowing to the sea. Gorgeous watercolor illustrations. (Picture book)

"Old and young, poor and rich, all across India, we wait for rain." Hot winds blow before the monsoon arrives, and everyone wonders if the rains will ever come, but then, "rivers gush along yesterday's roads, and I dance with the joy of earth's sudden sweet scent." (Picture book)

Two magic tree house adventures, set in India. Jack and Annie are whirled back in time to Moguls, where they meet Shah Jahan and search for an emerald shaped like a rose. In the second adventure, the kids swing in the trees with the monkeys, ride on the back of an elephant, and help an injured tiger in the jungle.(Easy reader)

Wonderful overview of the Taj Mahal – life in Mogul India, love story of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, how the Taj Mahal was built, details of exquisite inlay work and calligraphic designs in the tomb. Two page spread of the complex and rich historical illustrations. (Chapter book)

Find out what Mohandas Gandhi, the great Indian nationalist and spiritual leader who preached nonviolence and defied British rule, was doing at thirteen. Biography, good for older kids. (Chapter book)

Dazzling photo collages and kids' real-life experiences about going to school in India – on a mountaintop, under a mango tree, in a tent in the desert, plus different ways to get to school (besides rickshaw or bullock cart) and what kids eat for lunch. An extraordinary glimpse of kids in all parts of India today. (Picture book)

Colorful collages and fun facts about the people and places of India today, from art, sports (cricket), holidays (Diwali), Himalayas and the Indus Valley, dance (Odissi), clothes (saris), yoga, to zebu (humped cattle). (Picture book)

A typical day in an Indian village for six year old Geeta – breakfast (rice, lentils and vegetables), school and games at the break (puchi and ha do do), swimming in the village pond, evening meal with her extended family, and before she goes to bed, stories told by her grandmother. (Picture book)

"Before the world began, there was only a white sea of milk. Floating on the sea of milk was a single lotus flower." Fabulous Hindu cosmic stories, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, gods of light and darkness, beloved Ganesh, demon kings, divine princesses, and great floods. (Illustrated chapter book)

The Ramayana story appears everywhere you look in India – in dance, sculpture and painting. It's an epic filled with divine avatars, adventures of Rama and Sita, the magical monkey Hanuman, plus hordes of demons. This contemporary retelling, fabulously illustrated, is timeless. (Illustrated chapter book)