12 Books Every Indian Child Must Read While Growing Up
By Ignitepad /
04-May-2021
These days, it is very difficult to keep children away from video games and smartphone screens. However hard it may be but we must try and give them a break from continuous screen exposure. The best way would be to make them read a book that will also enable them to learn different things. There are many books that kids must read at different stages of the growing up period. Ignite Pad has picked up some exclusive books suitable for kids because it teaches them life skills, how to survive peer pressure, rejection, and loneliness, etc. The protagonists in the said books overcome obstacles in life and come out as winners. There are some books that every Indian kid must read or at least know about. The books give them a sneak peek into the Indian way of living, culture, and heritage.
Ruskin Bond’s 'Rusty' Series
Ruskin Bond is the most famous children’s storybook author based out of India. The Rusty Series written by Bond has five books narrating stories about how life was in India during the independence era. The stories in these books revolve around the character named Rusty, who is an Anglo-Indian boy much like the author was during his childhood. The book appears to be somewhat biographical in nature. Bond has picked up the little details from his own life as a child and weaved stories based on his experiences and exposure.
One Crazy Summer
In this book, three sisters travel to a different place in search of their estranged mother who had abandoned her daughters. Through the journey, they discover so much more regarding the family, themselves, and their native country. How their perception about life before and after meeting their mother changes, is noteworthy.
Guts
The book narrates the story of Raina, who one fine day, realizes that both her mother and she have upset stomachs. Believing it to be a bug she carries on with her school and studies but soon she finds out that the stomach ache is not going to go away, she will have to learn to live with it. How she copes with the situation is what makes the book interesting.
C Rajagopalachari’s 'Ramayana' and 'Mahabharata'
All Indian kids must read the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata. The one written by C Rajagopalachari highlights the good traits of every good character like Rama, Krishna, Bharat, Sita, Hanumana, Arjuna and Karana, etc. present in the two stories. This will encourage kids to imbibe the goodness of the characters and the values that the two stories teach us.
Smile
As the name suggests, this book is all about dental drama faced by a young kid named Raina. She lost her front two teeth during a fall and had to put up with the agony of wearing braces, retainers having fake teeth, and surgery. While dealing with the dental blues she discovers about her fake friends and other much bigger issues of life. This book will teach the kids how not to forget to smile even during grim times.
Amar Chitra Katha
Every parent must encourage their kids to read Amar Chitra Katha once in their life. The book is a reservoir of information and details about Indian culture, religion, history, and mythology. Each folklore and fable present in the book is an interesting read with lessons on morals, life, and social issues. It also includes biographies.
Twins
It is a story of twin sisters Francine Carter and Maureen. Like every twin on this earth, they too love to eat together, play together, and study together but only until they reach their sixth grade. This is where the twist in the story begins with Francine trying to be a fashionable girl. She yearns to be the class president. She wants to sing in the chorus. She no longer does things that Maureen and she used to do together. Will Maureen accept the growing distance between the two or will she fight back, strategize to bring her sister closer again, This is what the kids will enjoy discovering.
Malgudi Days
Published in 1943, Malgudi Days has stories that are relevant even today. Written by R. K. Narayan, the book beautifully represents the rural life during the period. There are 32 short endearing stories in the book set up in an imaginary village termed Malgudi by Narayan.
Child of the Dream
It is a memoir of the author Sharon Robinson who reflects on her life as a teenager. The privileged life she had as the daughter of the famous baseball player Jackie Robinson yet there were challenges that she had to face as the only girl of color in her affluent neighborhood. The right to equality and the triumph of right over wrong are some of the things that the kids will learn from the book.
Wise and Otherwise: A salute to Life
According to Ignite Pad, this is a must-read book by all Indian kids. Unlike other storybooks for kids, this book is based in current times having modern characters that children can easily relate to. There are 51 stories in this book written by Sudha Murthy. All stories are inspirational and teach children about values and principles that enable us to live a healthy, happy, and successful life.
Wonder
Wonder describes the life of a ten-year-old boy August Pullman. He was born with facial deformity due to some genetic defect. Apart from his appearance he is just like any other regular boy with a good sense of humor, a Star Wars fan, and tries to live a normal life. But will the people around him treat him like a normal boy? Will they like to befriend him? Will they accept his different appearance? The book explores all these questions that will help children learn how all children are god’s creations and are special.
Panchtantra
As the name suggests it is a combination of five books. It includes moral stories having animals with human-like personalities and intelligence. The stories are interwoven and would be quite engaging for the kids as they love animals. It is written by Vishnu Sharma.
