The Battle for No. 19


Book Description

Eight school girls from the hills on a tour of Agra, drive into Delhi the day Indira Gandhi is assassinated. They run into a violent crazed mob that pulls their driver out and slays him.







Siril and the Spaceflower


Book Description

Siril the ant is not his practical, rational self at all. He gazes at the sky all night, mumbles to himself, doesn't answer when spoken to... Beautiful is puzzled and upset. Is he in love? She is even more startled when she discovers that he intends to build a spaceship and fly to one of Jupiter's moons, in response to a sad cry for help! In spite of Beautiful's misgivings, the adventurers do zoom into space with the help of anti-gravity pads, the scientific genius of the Techno Sage, and some very useful mind power from the other sages. But can they really help a moon correct its path? A sci-fi fan herself, Suniti Namjoshi takes the genre way beyond its usual orbit, combining the thrill and beauty of the world beyond with gentle sentiment and unusual insights.




The Small Tigers of Shergarh


Book Description

Orphaned in a car accident, fourteen-year-old Shikha and five-year-old Sunny reach Shergarh House, on the edge of the Shergarh Tiger Reserve, to live with their uncle Binoy, an eccentric painter. In the company of Aslambhai (a retired forest guard) and his mischievous grandson Ali, the children enter a new world; that of the sights and sounds of the jungle. Encouraged by Field Director Mr Rana's daughter, Dipti, and watched over by her family, the children begin to enjoy their forays into the reserve and get inexorably drawn into the lives of the reserve's magnificent tigers; macho 'doofus'shahenshah, ferocious Sheba and even terrifying Shaitan. But then, Veena aunty, a.k.a. 'Snail Snot', turns up, a 'social worker'who is set to inveigle herself into Binoy chacha's life and who wants to discredit the reserve in whatever way she can as part of her 'Good Work'. Accompanied by her unpleasant cousin, the slimeball Randhir, and his equally dubious friends, she is determined to send the children to separate boarding schools by whatever means possible. As the two hatch their diabolical plans, the children's lives seem ready to fall apart, again. But will the doughty Shikha allow that to happen? Will Sunny, struck dumb by the shock of the car crash, stop clinging to his sister and speak again? Will the two children, who run away into the reserve pursued by Veena, Randhir and his cronies, survive the perils of the forest? Can 'the small tigers of Shergarh'turn the tables on the villains and live up to their name?




Beautiful and the Cyberspace Runaway


Book Description

Holiday plans for Aditi and the others go off track when a runaway computer programme, the irrepressible Mistress i, decides to take refuge with them. Hot on her heels is the scientist who created her, who threatens to put them in jail for kidnapping. And in the midst of all the commotion, Beautiful the elephant is determined to learn to be everything she thinks she isn't rational, sensible, logical and equable. From their peaceful home in Maharashtra, India, Aditi and her friends are catapulted into a strange encounter with cyberspace. In her astonishingly simple way, Suniti Namjoshi explores the connection between the two worlds cyber and real and throws up some interesting thoughts: Does a computer have a soul? And is 'getting updated' the equivalent of 'growing up'?







Just a Train Ride Away


Book Description

Santosh travels alone from Mumbai, where he lives with his mother, to Kolkata, on holiday. But he has secret plans to look for his father whom he barely remembers. The train ride brings him into contact with people quite outside his sheltered world - an eventful prelude to another, deeper, journey. With a refreshingly light and honest touch, Just a Train Ride Away explores the emotional dilemma of young boy who craves the space for both parents in his life and faces the bitter-sweet reality of estrangement and belonging. A short, quick-read, coming of age novel.




Gardy in the City of Lions


Book Description

Is Gardy the lost lion cub prince who, legend says, will return to save the City of Lions? He isn't quite sure but rushes there all the same in response to an urgent email, along with the other adventurers. They find that the city is indeed under threat from its very own haughty, crotchety, bickering guardians, Sir Leon and The Old Woman Under the Sea. The first book in the third set of the series sees the friends in a different part of the world Singapore, the 'city of lions'. And this time their challenge is far from straightforward. How do they make the two venerable guardians see that they themselves are the problem? In another entertaining story, the author opens up our eyes to what seeing clearly is all about.







Puffin Good Reading Guide for Children


Book Description

A comprehensive guide to fiction in English for readers aged four to sixteen, The Puffin Good Reading Guide for Children is divided into three sections to suit every age group. It has entries listing over 1000 books, and is divided into categories with cross-references so that children can read more in genres they like. It includes both classics and the best of contemporary works and books from all over the world. With an introduction by Ruskin Bond, India's best-known children's writer in English, The Puffin Good Reading Guide is an invaluable resource for children who love books, as well as for parents and friends looking for the right book for the young people in their lives.