Multicultural children’s literature from across the world – stories, poems, folktales and books in English for kids, and stories in Hindi and poems in Hindi too. Original literature in English for kids from around the globe and book reviews and recommended reading lists for children.
433 items in this section. Displaying page 10 of 44
The Girl who Taught the World to Weave
This is a story of the time when humans first walked the earth. And in those days they did not wear clothes, for they did not know how to weave cloth. One day, the god Matai decided to teach the art of weaving to one person. The god taught a girl called Hambrumai. And what were the designs the girl wove? She sat by the river side and saw the ripples and circles made by water....
The Honest Thief
There was once a cunning thief, Bhairav, who always planned his moves carefully. One day he decided to rob the holy men who came to the local temple from far off lands for the temple’s annual festival. He calculated that all these people came from distant towns, so they must be carrying lots of money. So Bhairav dressed up like a holy man and went to attend the festival. At the temple, he slowly made friends with one particular person who appeared to be wealthy....
Don't Throw the Seeds Away...
It makes you healthy, It gives you energy, An apple or a guava An orange or a papaya Eat a fruit everyday But don’t throw the seeds away. Here’s a simple thing you can do You could tell all your friends too! Plant the seed in the soil (It doesn’t take much time or toil) Pour a little water there A young shoot will soon appear. In time it’ll become a big tree – Which gives so much to you and me!...
Double it up!
Raju and Savitri lived in Tanjore in the state of Tamil Nadu. Raju worked in the rice fields of a local landlord or zamindar for six months a year. In turn, he received four sacks of rice as salary. He would then sell three of them in the local market and keep one sack for himself for food. At the local market he would exchange the rice for vegetables, flour, and groceries. Savitri would do the cooking and washing and look after the home....
The Price of Pride
This is one story from the book “The Best Thirteen: A collection of the best stories from 13 languages of India”. You know that a pearl can be so valuable that it is said to be without price. Pearls are formed inside oysters who live on the ocean-bed inside their shells. This is the story of one such oyster. This oyster was very pleased with himself because he believed that he was the most important creature in the world....
Stripes Tiger and the Boy
“Once upon a time… Stories start like that don’t they? Our story, too, starts like that as my grandma didn’t know when it happened." Once upon a time, there lived a boy called Rahul in a village. One day, he was walking down a path when he came upon a large tiger trapped in a wooden cage. The villagers had caught him for stealing lambs. “Hey mister!” cried the tiger as soon as he saw Rahul, “I am so thirsty....
Flying Turtle
There was a large pond in the middle of a jungle. All kinds of animals came to drink water from it. A small turtle had been living by the pond for many years. And he had become good friends with two cranes who lived there too. They used to play together, and tell each other stories. The cranes would fly to far away lands and when they returned to the pond, they would tell the turtle stories about all that they saw....
How the Dragon Came to be
Long ago, there lived in China a young boy called Chi Yu. Chi Yu lived with his mother in a tiny house at the edge of the village. There were beautiful green meadows all around and tall hills. Every year after the rains, the fields looked greener and more beautiful than ever before. Each morning as the sun peeped into his window, Chi Yu jumped out of bed. He ran to the fields to cut the fresh grass that had grown at night....
The Potter
The summer sun smiles a scorching smile The smile sends shivers through the stoutest hearts A summer smile is reason to sweat But the potter’s back with his cool lifeline! Earthen pots of every size Are piled under a tarpaulin sky Waiting to find new homes And soothe thirsty throats! Their water has a magical taste – The sweet smell of wet earth Or soil that comes alive after The first seasonal shower! The Potter [Illustration by Shinod AP] Some pots are small, like a baby’s song...
The Ungrateful Friend
This happened a long long time ago. In a small village in southern Orissa, there lived an old woodcutter. One day, when he was going to the forest to cut wood, he met the tiger. The woodcutter stopped in his tracks on seeing the king of the jungle. But, strangely enough, the tiger did not roar on seeing the woodcutter. He remained silent. The woodcutter was baffled. How was he to know that the tiger was blind?...