Two translations, a graphic novel and a fantasy tale – the bookshelf this week is stacked with gems written in simple language and commanding imagination – allowing children to create a world of their own. Take a look:
1.Book: The Best of Tenida; Author: Narayan Gangopadhyay, translated by Aparna Chaudhuri; Publisher: Puffin Books; Pages: 196; Price: Rs. 250
The leader of a gang of four, Tenida is a brash, loud-mouthed fellow with a large heart and a gargantuan appetite. Along with the quick-witted Kyabla, the Bangladeshi-accented Habul and the cowardly Pela, Tenida falls headlong into one misadventure after the other, that is, when he is not telling tall tales of his own heroism.
Full of wit and old-world charm, this anthology is dotted with vignettes of life in yesteryear Calcutta (now Kolkata).
2.Book: Ophelia and the Marvellous Boy; Author: Karen Foxlee; Publisher: Penguin India; Pages: 228; Price: Rs. 299
Ophelia Jane Worthington-Whittard doesn't believe in anything that can't be proven by science. When her father takes a job in a strange museum in a city where it ever stops snowing, Ophelia discovers a boy locked away in a forgotten room. He is a prisoner of Her Majesty, the Snow Queen, and he has been waiting a long time for Ophelia's help.
As Ophelia embarks on an incredible adventure to rescue the boy, everything she believes is tested. Along the way she learns more and more about the boy's own remarkable journey to reach her and save the world. A story within a story, this modern-day fairy tale is about the power of friendship, courage and love – and the importance of never giving up.
3.Book: Moon Mountain(Graphic Novel); Author: Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay; Text: Saurav Mohapatra; Illustrations: Sayan Mukherjee; Publisher: Puffin Original; Pages: 156; Price: Rs. 399
This graphic novel paints a portrait of Africa that is hauntingly beautiful and terrifying at the same time.
The adaptation brings forth the author's vivid descriptions of the vast continent, while keeping the essence of the original story untouched.
Join Shankar and his friend Alvarez as they make their way through the rugged wilderness of pre-First World War Africa and encounter wild beasts, lost tribes, labyrinthine trails, raging volcanoes and mythical monsters that seem all too real in search of the fabled diamond mines of Richtersveld, the mountain of the moon.
A powerful tale of wanderlust and adventure, this is all about giving wings to your dreams.
4.Book: The Tigers of Taboo Valley; Author: Ranjit Lal; Publisher: Red Turtle; Pages: 168; Price: Rs. 295
Rana Shaan-Bahadur, alpha male tiger of Sher-kila National Park – feted around the world after being filmed by a wildlife photographer – is also father to four cubs, Hasti, Masti, Phasti and Zafraan. When their mother, Raat-Ki-Raani, falls to a poacher's bullets, Shaan-Bahadur suddenly finds himself a single parent, a matter of great shame for a male tiger.
To escape the taunts of the other tigers, he moves to the dreaded Taboo Valley, an abandoned area with a dark history inside the national park.
But Khoon-Pyaasa, the poacher, is on the prowl, determined to kill the magnificent Shaan-Bahadur, as are Shaan's rivals for the position of alpha male. And deadliest of them all. Askaa – Al-Seekh-Kebab Atankvad Aandolan – an underground group of porcupine terrorists, have sworn to exterminate all tigers and will stop at nothing till they get their quills into Shaan-Bahadur and his cubs.
A hilarious and touching story of wildlife, politics, fearsome terrorist tactics, dysfunctional tiger families and more.