Middle Grade Books (~ages 9+)
Published by Duckbill
Dead. My parents are dead.
It’s . . . my fault?
Voices, noises, whispers.
I build a fragile, safe world against it all.
For now, I’m safe.
But will I ever . . . be me?
Fishbowl is my second middle-grade verse novel, one that explores grief and healing as it seeks to make sense of 12-year-old Mahee’s fragmented world.
Red Eyes
Published by Scholastic Asia and Scholastic India
Eleven-year-old Veer Prann runs away from his posh boarding school, where he was bullied, to Suryanagar, where his father is a forest officer. At Suryanagar, he makes friends with the forest guides and learns about the jungle. It’s a different world from boarding school, but nothing prepares Veer for the naked red-eyed girl he sees in a tree one day. The girl, whom Veer calls Medha, is a mystery, an intelligent and intuitive being who communicates with Veer through the psychic transmission of images. Afraid that she will become Suryanagar’s next tourist attraction, Veer must figure out whom to trust and how to save Medha from being caught.
This book is was first published by Scholastic Asia in 2022. It is now available in India too!
Published by Duckbill
Children forced out of their homes
Humans discarded as empty shells
A Machine that sucks out Power.
Secrets
More secrets
And still more secrets-
I must fight a government of evil,
destroy the Machine,
and . . . save my mother.
Me, twelve-year-old Rohini.
Ha. Really?
Parallel worlds, time travel, vortices and an evil Machine come together in this fast-paced fantasy novel in verse. The eternal struggle of good versus evil rages on. Can Rohini and her friends triumph?
Published by Young Zubaan
As if being the new kids isn’t enough, Padma and Kannagi Shankar quickly find that New Dawn High School isn’t exactly a regular school. They have weird subjects like ‘Pot of Gold’ and ‘Maths and Beauty’ — and some of their classes are taught by students! But it’s more strange than bad, and the sisters start to enjoy themselves and make new friends — until a discovery in the library and a few unpleasant encounters make them confused and anxious about both school and family. With their parents far away, and their Thatha not the easiest person to talk to, the girls are forced to look for solutions on their own. But will that be enough, or will their new school soon become their old school?
Published by Mango Books
Vandana, Afreen and Tara stumble upon Rasphora, a magnificent land behind a waterfall. The prophecy of the land says that it is in grave danger, and the girls must leave their old lives behind if they want to save it. But they are just children – can they really fulfil the prophecy?Chapter Books (~ages 7+)
Published by Puffin
Illustrated by Tanvi Bhat
Can friendship withstand the test of school elections?
In Sarvaloka Public School, children are referred to as ‘future citizens’, but the teachers never ask the students for their opinions. Nine-year-old Dhara sets out to change this. She starts a revolution and convinces the whole school to vote for the first time. But in the chaos of the elections, Dhara loses sight of what’s really important to her.
Can Dhara find her way back before things get out of control?
This book was shortlisted for the AG-BLF Book Prize for Children’s Fiction 2023.
Published by Duckbill Books
Illustrated by Suvidha Mistry
Jasmine and Sheba want to spend the holidays finding homes for stray puppies. But to do so, they have to first solve a series of puzzles set by Sheba’s father, Clockwala Uncle. Can they do this in time?
This book was shortlisted for the Neev Book Award 2021 in the Emerging Readers category.
The Best Idea of All
Published by Karadi Tales
Illustrated by Neha Rawat
“We’ll show them we can do things they never even thought of doing!” [Tarini’s] mind raced. “We could just try things out, you know, like scientists!”
Holi is around the corner! Antara, Tarini, and their friend Saira want to do something different. So they get plotting and come up with a wonderful idea. But will all go to plan?
Varsha Seshan tells a heart-warming story about the resourcefulness of three young girls who come up with the best idea of all to save their Holi!
Picture Books
Published by Pratham Books
Illustrated by Mandar Mhaskar
A whale shark is a big fish. How big is it? Is it bigger than a blue whale? Or smaller than a dolphin? Set in the marine world, this book introduces the concept of comparison.
This is a Level 3 picture book, free to read on Pratham Books’ StoryWeaver platform. It is available in nine languages (and counting)!
Published by Pratham Books
Illustrated by Gitanjali Iyer
How do you feel when Nani comes to visit? How do you feel when you spoil a library book? Read this book and see how you feel today.
This is a Level 2 picture book, free to read on Pratham Books’ StoryWeaver platform. It is available in 21 languages (and counting)!
This book is on the Parag Honour Books List 2022.
Published by Pratham Books StoryWeaver
Illustrated by Vivekananda Roy Ghatak
What will happen if Sunita presses her belly button? Or if she pulls her ears? A story about the power of imagination which also introduces children to different parts of the body.
This is a Level 2 picture book, free to read on Pratham Books’ StoryWeaver platform. It is available in 33 languages (and counting)!
Published by Pratham Books
Illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat
What will Megha be today? An explorer, an astronaut, an artist?
This is a Level 1 picture book, free to read on Pratham Books’ StoryWeaver platform. It is available in 64 languages (and counting)!
Short Stories for Middle Grade Readers
Published by Scholastic Asia and Scholastic India
A boy is excited at the prospect of finding treasure in an old house; a girl meets a strange creature with a magical gift; a retired teacher reminisces about the students whose lives she touched; and a colour-blind child triumphs in art class. These are just some of the stories in this light-hearted, often humorous collection that showcases the lives of children in contemporary India.
Watch a reading of one story from the collection here.
(~ages 7-10)
Published by Happy Squirrel, Leadstart Publishing
Inspired by things around her, a young girl writes stories about everything she sees – a boy who finds the eye of a dragon, a girl who finds a letter from her great-grandfather, the Master of Dreams who helps her create dreams each night, the half-man-half-deer Coco … Finally, the Story-Catcher himself comes to meet her, with his bundle of ideas.
Listen to one story from the collection here.
Published in Dance, Nani Dance: Stories of Grandmothers and Grandfathers
Meet Paati, Thatha, Dida, Nani, Dadi, Dadu and so many more grandparents of all kinds in this charming collection of stories by some of India’s best children’s writers.
A collection to be read alone or with a grandparent, Dance, Nani, Dance (published by Talking Cub) brings to life the unique and beautiful bond children share with grandparents. It will make readers laugh, or wipe a tear, or inspire them to cuddle Nani some more!
Published in Flipped – Mystery Stories and Sci-Fi Stories
The Flipped Anthology series gives you two themes, two covers and two sides to open the book from … and you get to choose! Now you don’t need to keep a book away if you don’t like a story or a theme, you only need to flip the book over and start reading again!
The first book in the Flipped series was a bundling together of Funny and Scary stories, the second of Adventure and Ghost stories and the third of School and Sports stories. This latest Flipped, the fourth in the series, is a combination of Mystery and Science Fiction stories.
Published in Let’s Play! The Puffin Book of Sports Stories
Fancied Orchid School is already 33 for no loss in the three overs before lunch. Can Model School successfully unleash its secret weapon, Anshuman the chess nerd, and win the match? Neeru decides to start playing hockey like her mother to deal with her loss, and discovers there’s no therapy like getting some dirt on her spotless whites. Priya pushes herself to the limit to prove herself to Akhil, who scoffs at her for playing TT …
First published in 2010, now reprinted with a snazzy new cover!
Poems
Published by Oxford University Press
Nail Tree and Making a Clone are rhyming picture books, published by Oxford University Press as part of their Reading Portal.
Nail Tree
Grandma can’t wait to see the nail tree growing out of her granddaughter’s mouth. Ah! She could charge tourists to come see this wonder – a tree growing out of a child’s mouth! As she dreams of the money she could make, the child begins to think …
Making a Clone
Two girls decide to make a clone out of ketchup, potato peels and okra. They have grand ideas and dreams, and they don’t make a fuss about distinguishing between the possible and the impossible!
Making a Clone was first published in Issue 22 of SCOOP. SCOOP Recommends this poem and has a fun activity for you! Find out more here.
Creatures of the Dark
Published by Oxford University Press in Roots Book 5
Roots: A Holistic Approach to English Language & Literature is a new multi-skills series that places special emphasis on developing linguistic skills through appropriate communicative practices.
“Creatures of the Dark” is a fun poem that takes the reader on a walk into the imaginary world of creatures that roam around in the darkness.
Articles and Stories for Adult Readers
Published by The Curious Reader
In this essay, Varsha talks about the challenges faced and the learning gained while hosting online literary events in this COVID-19 era.
Published by The Curious Reader
At the best of times, independent bookstores struggle to keep their doors open with skyrocketing costs.Read this feature where Varsha explores how indie bookstores are creatively adapting and innovating during the lockdown in order to survive.
Published by The Curious Reader
Caught in the middle of an ever-growing list of things to do, Varsha talks about how this has led to her reading less during the lockdown.
Published by The Curious Reader
This list of middle-grade historical novels shows us how ten different places from around the world are brought to life for the reader.
Published by The Curious Reader
Children’s literature helps a reader give free rein to their imagination. In this essay, Varsha writes about reading children’s literature even as an adult.
First published on the StoryWeaver blog
This blog post describes a series of training sessions that Varsha Seshan conducted with librarians of municipal schools around Mumbai, and the ways in which she used StoryWeaver to chalk out a library reading programme for these schools.
Published by The Curious Reader
What creates the bedrock of our imagination of monsters? Why do children so often create monsters that are “fat and ugly”, black and male? This essay examines the construction of monsters and the messages literature insidiously conveys through the kinds of monsters it perpetuates.
Published by Inside Himalayas
Winner of the Juggernaut Books Travel Writing Contest
Every jungle holds on to its secrets, of which only the privileged few are shown a fleeting shadow. In Nagzira, 45 km from Gondia in Maharashtra, we caught our first glimpse of the elusive leopard-and discovered yet again that in the forest, it’s the survival of the fittest.
