Aaji’s birthday is coming up, but Jyoti has no idea what to get her. Fortunately, everyone in their village has lots of very different ideas. . .
About the Hook Book Series
In a world where children’s books often feel cut from the same cloth, Hook Books stand out as a vibrant blend of imagination, humour, and heart. Crafted as a bridge between picture books and early chapter books, this series delivers stories that spark joy and wonder, while remaining rooted in age-appropriate learning.
Hook Books keep the fun going with:
- Short, digestible bits of text (perfect for budding readers)
- Bright colour illustrations that pull kids into the story
- Themes that speak to the everyday lives of children—plus a sprinkle of whimsy!
From fantasy tales to those that touch on more advanced ideas, Hook Books ensure that young readers are always in for a treat, no matter their reading level. Even better, these books take children on journeys through different parts of India, giving them a taste of the rich diversity of our world through local flavours, landscapes, and cultures. Whether the story takes place in bustling cities or quiet villages, Hook Books make every setting feel like home.
In the summer of 1942, thirteen-year-old Anne Frank found herself hiding with her family in the cramped attic of an old office building in Amsterdam. Outside, Jews all over Europe were being thrown into concentration camps.
Exiled from the outside world, the Frankfurt family battled hunger, boredom, confinement, and the ever-looming threat of discovery and death. As the second World War continued to rage, Anne turned to her diary and documented everything. The diary was accidentally discovered in the attic shortly after the family was arrested. In 1947, it was formally published in Dutch.
Since then, Anne Frank’s phenomenal diary has become a world classic, offering a terrifying glimpse of what it was like being a Jew in a war-ridden Europe. Honest, vulnerable, and tragic, Anne Frank’s story serves as a powerful reminder of the horrors of war, and as an eloquent testament to the indestructible nature of human spirit.
India has a paradox of malnourishment as well as morbid obesity. While children have fewer weight-related health and medical problems than adults, overweight children are at high risk of becoming overweight adolescents and adults, placing them at risk of developing chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes later in life. They are also more prone to develop stress, sadness, and low self-esteem.
The contributing factors could be many, besides genetic makeup and medical factors like hypothyroidism and Cushing’s Syndrome. Children today spend far more time on screens than playing games outdoors, more so in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Energy-dense foods and drinks are more readily available now than before. Psychological factors like stress also lead to overeating and increase the risk for obesity in childhood.
The book is a comprehensive roadmap for prevention and management of childhood obesity by one of India’s top bariatric surgeons. With real life case studies and examples, the book helps parents and children chart a roadmap to recovery and a fitter, healthier life. Without corrective action, there could be serious implications for future generations.
Whenever decorated officer Vishwas Nangre Patil recalls the memories of Diwali from his childhood days, the sounds of firecrackers often transform into the deafening grenade blasts from the night of 26/11. It was his grit, cultivated over the years from the neck-breaking labour of studying for the UPSC exams, that had enabled him to power on and gun down the terrorists inside the Taj Mahal Palace hotel during the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Head Held High, translated from the Marathi book Mann Mein Hai Vishwas, is an account of IPS officer Vishwas Nangre Patil’s life-from his humble background, through school, college, long hours of studying for the UPSC examinations to the final selection to the IPS cadre and, eventually, his role in the counterterrorism operations during the Mumbai attacks. This moving and authentic account of the most formative and challenging years of his life is sure to strike a chord with those who aspire to join the Indian civil services.
In the recent past, many writers have acquainted readers with the composite culture of Assam. Moushumi Kandali makes a similar attempt in The Black Magic Women, but with a stark difference. She brings her characters out of Assam and places them in the mainstream, capturing their struggle to retain their inherent ‘Assameseness’ as they try to assimilate into the larger society.
The stories makes one pause, think and debate issues that range from racial discrimination (‘The Fireflies Outside of the Frame’) to sexual harassment (‘The Hyenas and Coach Number One’, ‘Kalindi, Your Black Waters . . . ‘) to the existential and ideological dilemma induced by the state’s complex sociopolitical scenario (‘The Final Leap of the Salmon’). The title story is revealing of how mainstream India perceives Assamese women-as powered with the art of seduction and black magic-as a result of which they face social discrimination that can range from racial slurs to physical abuse.
The writer ventures into a surrealistic mode, using a generous sprinkle of fable, myth and metaphors to deliver a powerful punch. With all the shades of emotion these ten stories from the North-east evoke, the reader cannot remain a passive observer.
The Dalit Truth contains a symphony of Dalit voices as they call out to the future. A multitude of Dalit truths and their battles against the lies perpetrated by the caste system are reflected in the pages of this book, pointing towards a future filled with promise and prospects for the coming generations.
This eighth volume in the Rethinking India series, published in collaboration with the Samruddha Bharat Foundation, probes the pathway to be followed by the Dalits as articulated by Ambedkar’s Constitution. The authors featured in the volume come from various fields and bring narratives of different colours, not just stories of dismay but also of possibilities. The essays offer deeper insights into social, educational, economic and cultural challenges and opportunities faced by the Dalits, the varied strategies of political parties for their mobilization and the choice to be made by the Dalits for attaining social equality.
The informed readers of today will find these pages both enlightening and refreshing. The Dalit Truth is a dossier for tomorrow.
Contributing authors: Sukhadeo Thorat; Raja Sekhar Vundru; Kiruba Munusamy; Suraj Yengde; Bhanwar Meghwanshi; Badri Narayan; Jignesh Mevani; Sudha Pai; PA. Ranjith; R.S. Praveen Kumar; Priyank Kharge; Neeraj Shetye; Budithi Rajsekhar
In this enthralling account, historian Abraham Eraly conjures a vivid picture of ancient, classical and medieval India-from the foundational seed of the Indus Valley Civilization in 2500 BCE to the grand saga of the Mughal Empire. This box set comprises the acclaimed books Gem in the Lotus, The First Spring (Part 1), The First Spring (Part 2), The Age of Wrath, The Last Spring (Part 1) and The Last Spring (Part 2).
Was Savarkar really a co-conspirator in the Gandhi murder?
Was there a pogrom against a particular community after Gandhi’s assassination?
Decades after his death, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar continues to uniquely influence India’s political scenario. An optimistic advocate of Hindu-Muslim unity in his treatise on the 1857 War of Independence, what was it that transformed him into a proponent of ‘Hindutva’? A former president of the All-India Hindu Mahasabha, Savarkar was a severe critic of the Congress’s appeasement politics. After Gandhi’s murder, Savarkar was charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination. While he was acquitted by the court, Savarkar is still alleged to have played a role in Gandhi’s assassination, a topic that is often discussed and debated.
In this concluding volume of the Savarkar series, exploring a vast range of original archival documents from across India and outside it, in English and several Indian languages, historian Vikram Sampath brings to light the life and works of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, one of the most contentious political thinkers and leaders of the twentieth century.
Capturing the beauty of a mother-daughter relationship, Divya Dutta in this moving memoir celebrates her mother’s zest for life that made her into the woman she is today. Divya walks us through the most intimate memories of her life, those that strengthened her relationship with her mother. The incredible bond she forged with her mother helped her through difficulties, times good and bad, that led to her becoming an award-winning actor of stature in the Indian film industry.
Me and Ma is a celebration of Divya’s exemplary achievements. It is also an honest, intimate and heartfelt tribute to the force behind her success-her mother.
