Tulika’s imaginatively created children’s books pioneered a fresh wave in Indian publishing in 1996. An independent publishing house based in Chennai, our focus is on picture books for children in English and other Indian languages – Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati and Bengali – so that more children can access books in the language of their choice. They offer a range of experiences that are inclusive and representative: of different childhoods, of different social milieus, of different cultural contexts. The visual language too is diverse, with the traditional alongside the contemporary.
In this list, we share our favourites from Tulika's collection. What's more, you get a 10% discount on these books - just use the code AHIMSA when you check out :-)
In this list, we share our favourites from Tulika's collection. What's more, you get a 10% discount on these books - just use the code AHIMSA when you check out :-)
Red: A strong, poignant story about how armed conflict ravages a child’s everyday, how the devastation is not just of homes and lives but also of spirit.
I didn't understand: An everyday school story about friends and playing, bullying and sharing, takes a gentle turn.
The Boy who asked Why: The life of Bhim Rao Ambedkar, who fought untouchability, urged Dalits to protest against the inhumanity they suffered, and helped draft the Constitution of India.
One World: Affirmative writings on peace, in a variety of styles, to help children understand and cope with the world around them.
Gender Talk: Big Hero Size Zero: This book ‘talks' directly to teens on all aspects of gender, lifting confusions and creating awareness.
Wings to Fly: Little Malathi wants to run after hens and chicks, and catch ripe yellow mangoes as they fall — and does just that, while on a wheelchair.
A Walk with Thambi: A story of everyday fun that lights up the close bond between a boy and a dog, with clues that gently tell us that the boy is blind.
Why are you afraid to hold my hand? This book offers straight-from-the-heart answers to common doubts and misconceptions about disability.
Tagore for Today: Using extracts from the Nobel Laureate’s work, the book encourages children to “become careful observers, critical thinkers and curious learners”.
Girls to the Rescue: A riotously illustrated, riveting retelling of well known fairytales, in which familiar heroines are ingeniously recast to overturn stereotypical notions of beauty and strength.
Being Boys: Written with humour and empathy, this array of fiction, fable, autobiography, reportage, diary jottings, memoir and history rewrites the 'rules' of being boys.
Sorry Best Friend: A collection of short stories focusing on communal harmony.
I will save my land: Mati hears that a company wants to make a coal mine in their village – the enormous black pit that will eat up all their lands, and decides to save her land.
Kasturba: Nina is at a loss when she’s given the role of Kasturba – after all Kasturba was only Gandhiji’s wife… wasn’t she? But soon discovers that an ‘ordinary’ wife can be quite an extraordinary person.
A Bhil Story: There isn't a drop of water in the village. The desperate people set off to find a badwa who can ask the gods to send rain. And what does he tell them to do? Go home and paint!
Nabiya: A spirited young girl begins to engage with words and pictures in this sensitively told story.
Mukand and Riaz: Friendship knows no partition or barbed wire fencing, and all children feel the loss of friends.
The why-why girl: Moyna can't go to school because she has to tend goats, collect firewood, fetch water. But she is full of questions.
A home of our own: Sunehri and her friends put together things they’ve collected going about their work in the city on whose streets they live. The game takes on a poignant layer when played by those who have never known a home.
The jungle storytelling festival: Ostroo the Ostrich wants to tell his story at the Jungle Storytelling Festival but others make fun of him because he stammers. Will he able to tell his story?
The colour thief: What happens when a grouchy giant decides to scoop all colour out of the world – from the trees and flowers, from the birds and animals, the fish and the waters?
Soda and bonda: A quirky tale about two friends, which makes us think about who we are and how we see ourselves.
Ranganna: Ranganna the little elephant lives near a dhobi ghat. He is captivated by the brightly coloured nails of his friends and wants to paint his toes too!
The pleasant Rakshasa: A story that inverts ideas of beauty with a light touch, while the pictures add to the fun.
Catch that cat: Dip Dip looks everywhere for her friend's lost cat. When it climbs up a tree and can't come down, the only thing to do is…? The spirited little girl on a wheelchair rescues the cat!
Kanna panna: A joyous story that inverts the notion of ‘disability' and portrays a child for whom having a visual impairment is just the way he is — and even a chance to have some fun!
Ari: Ari may be shy, but he knows he will make a wonderful lion in the class play. When he is neither noticed nor chosen, what does he do?
Kali and the rat snake: A sensitive story about identity with evocative watercolour pictures.
Malu bhalu: As the tale unfolds through the adventures of Malu, a Polar Bear in the North Pole the lilting cadence of the writing draws another larger picture: about girls, about what girls can do too.
One and many: A book about the one and the many in our world full of differences, with illustrations that capture that world in joyous detail.
Tiji and cheenu: Tiji and Cheenu like to eat different things, do different things… and they are best friends!
Warrior women: Flashing swords, firing guns, charging on horseback, planning strategies, talking peace… Twelve warrior women did it all, and how!
The house that Sonabai built: From oppressive loneliness, Sonabai Rajawar 'makes' her way into a world of beauty and joy!
