‘I think everyone has at least one eccentric aunt or uncle in the family. I had more than one. My boyhood days were enlivened by their presence.’
India’s best-loved children’s writer Ruskin Bond introduces us to some of the most endearing and adorable characters he has ever written about-his grandfather, with his unusual ability to disguise himself as just about anyone; the eccentric Uncle Ken, with his knack for trouble; the stationmaster Mr. Ghosh and his amazing family; and the unforgettable Aunt Ruby and her hilarious encounter with a parrot!
Heart-warming, funny and delightful, The Parrot Who Wouldn’t Talk and Other Stories features some old favourites as well as refreshingly new stories. Marked by Bond’s inimitable style and trademark humour, and embellished with lively illustrations, this book will be a firm favourite with children.
Catagory: Children
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Rusty Comes Home
Rusty returns to his beloved hills, never to leave again Rusty Comes Home is the fifth and final volume in Puffin’s complete collection of Ruskin Bond’s ever-popular Rusty stories. A lonely and sensitive boy who lost his father early, Rusty spent his childhood in boarding schools and with relatives in Dehra. While still a teenager, he ran away from his foster home and had myriad adventures before landing up in London with the ambition of becoming a writer. This book chronicles Rusty’s exploits after his return from London, as he explores Delhi, Dehra and the small, dusty town of Shahganj before settling down in Mussoorie, making his living as a writer, and revelling in the hills that have always fascinated him. Rusty Comes Home contains some captivating stories about Rusty’s friends and fleeting acquaintances, about human nature and the supernatural. Among his friends in Shahganj are Ketan, a victim of the Partition and prone to paralytic fits; Madhu, a child whose life is tragically cut short, but not before she leaves an indelible impression on Rusty; and Suresh, a disabled child with whom Rusty strikes up a close bond. In Dehra he meets up with his genial Uncle Bill, who makes it his habit to poison people with arsenic; the incredible Jimmy, a jinn who can extend his arms at will to infinite lengths; and Miss Pettibone, the oldest resident of Dehra, who enthralls him with riveting stories from the town’s past. Then there is the unnamed basket-selling girl he meets by chance on the Deoli railway platform and can never forget; and Binya, a young and vivacious widow, who floats into his life on the strains of a song. Full of charming and idiosyncratic characters, these stories of love, loss and adventure will appeal to young readers of all ages.
The Hidden Pool
Ruskin Bond’s first novel for children in a whole new look!
Laurie, an English boy in a small hill town in India, strikes up an unlikely friendship with Anil, the son of a local cloth merchant, and Kamal, an orphan who sells buttons and shoelaces but dreams of going to college. One day the three discover a secret pool on the mountainside, and it is there that they plan their greatest escapade yet-a trek to the Pindari Glacier, where no one from their town has gone before.
This newly illustrated edition of Bond’s magical tale of camaraderie and adventure is sure to win over yet another generation of readers.
Escape From Java And Other Tales Of Danger
Join intrepid heroes and dauntless heroines in their quest for survival against earthquakes, fire, floods and bombs! Live life on the edge with five stories of danger and adventure. Flee with Romi as he rides his cycle straight into the river to get away from a fearsome forest fire; listen in to Ruth’s hair-raising story of escape from rioting
sepoys during the uprising of 1857; read about the author’s miraculous flight from Java as Japanese planes bombard the city; witness the havoc wreaked by the deadliest earthquake ever in Rakesh’s town, Shillong; and watch Sita combat a fatal flood. Written in Ruskin Bond’s inimitable style, with doses of humour and excitement, these
extraordinary stories are simply unputdownable.
Panther’s Moon & Other Stories
Ten unforgettable tales of fascinating human encounters with animals and birds- a man-eater that terrorizes an entire village; the strange and wonderful trust that develops between a fierce leopard and a boy; revengeful monkeys who never forgive a woman who grows dahlias; a crow who genuinely thinks human beings are stupid; and many others- that create a world in which men and wild creatures struggle to survive despite each other: a world where, in the end, one is not quite sure which side one is on.
Panther’s Moon and Other Stories is another marvellous collection of stories from India’s most-loved author that will once again amuse, enchant, and delight readers of all ages.
Rusty and the Magic Mountain
The squirrel family must move to a new house, but Nonu’s not happy
Little Nonu Squirrel, playful and daring, has just moved into his new house with Papa Squirrel and Mummy Squirrel. As he starts exploring his new neighbourhood, he realizes there are many exciting adventures in store. He learns to skate with his newly-found friend Nicole, enjoys being fed tasty nut cakes by her Grandma, eats juicy mangoes with the Mango Gang and indulges in some crazy shenanigans with Cousin Danny. But life’s not all mangoes and skateboards. Voracious Goonda cat is on the hunt—will Nonu become his next meal?
Dust On The Mountain
Ruskin Bond wrote his first short story; ‘Untouchable’; at the age of sixteen over hundred stories; including the classics ‘A Face in Dark’; ‘The Kitemaker’; ‘The Tunnel’; ‘The Room if many Colours’; ‘Dust on the Mountain’; and ‘Times Stops at Shamli’. This volume brings together the best of all the short fiction Ruskin Bond has ever written.
‘[Ruskin Bond’s stories]’ brings to life the special flavours of life in the hills…strengthen[s] the “Rudyardian thesis” that the smell of the Himalayas; if it once creeps into the blood of a man; he will return to the hills again and again and will love to live and lie among them.’-Tribune
‘[Ruskin Bond]’ is a writer who has; with intense depth and sensitivity; absorbed the essence of the culturally syncretic Indian society.’-Telegraph
Earthquake
What do you do when there’s an earthquake?’ asks Rakesh. Everyone in the Burman household has their own ideas, but when the tremors begin and things start to quake and crumble, they are all taken by surprise. Amidst the destruction, Rakesh’s family stays strong. But will they survive the onslaught of yet another earthquake?
Cricket for a Crocodile
Ranji’s team finds an unexpected opponent-a nosy crocodile-when they play a cricket match against the village boys. Annoyed at the swarms of boys crowding the riverbank and the alarming cricket balls plopping around his place of rest, Nakoo the crocodile decides to take his revenge.
Dust On The Mountain
Ruskin Bond wrote his first short story; ‘Untouchable’; at the age of sixteen over hundred stories; including the classics ‘A Face in Dark’; ‘The Kitemaker’; ‘The Tunnel’; ‘The Room of Many Colours’; ‘Dust on the Mountain’; and ‘Times Stops at Shamli’.
‘[Ruskin Bond’s stories]’ brings to life the special flavours of life in the hills…strengthen[s] the “Rudyardian thesis” that the smell of the Himalayas; if it once creeps into the blood of a man; he will return to the hills again and again and will love to live and lie among them.’-Tribune
‘[Ruskin Bond]’ is a writer who has; with intense depth and sensitivity; absorbed the essence of the culturally syncretic Indian society.’-Telegraph