We like to keep our reading list stocked with fun and informational books for readers of all ages! Check out our recommendations and where to pick them up online or in your local bookshop.
Junior Reads (Picture Books/Short Stories):
1. Saahi’s Quest by Yuvan, Published by Kalpavriksh (Ages 6-12) (visit kalpavriksh.org/our-store to buy)
2. The Peaceable Forest: India’s Tale of Kindness to Animals by Kosa Ely (available HERE on Amazon India)
3. A Snake in My Bathroom by Priya Ranganathan & Dincy Mariyam (Click HERE to read for free on Pratham Books Storyweaver)
4. Catch that Crocodile by Anushka Ravishankar (available HERE on Amazon India)
5. How to be an Otter by Nisarg Prakash (Click HERE to read for free on Pratham Books Storyweaver)
6. Gyalmo, the Queen of the Mountains by Ranjini Murali (Nature Conservation Foundation) (Click HERE to read for free on Pratham Books Storyweaver)
7. Birds that Sing their Name by Panchapakesan Jeganathan (Nature Conservation Foundation) (Click HERE to read for free on Pratham Books Storyweaver)
8. When I Grow Up, I Want to Be a Tiger by Prerna Singh Bindra (available HERE on Amazon India)
9. Adventures of Philautus Frog by Kartik Shankar (Click HERE to read for free on Pratham Books Storyweaver)
10. Bulbuli’s Bamboo by Mita Bordoloi (available HERE on Amazon India)
11. Magnificent Makhna by Aravind Krish Bala (available HERE on Amazon India)
12. The Little Bird in the Big Mountains by Bulbul Sharma (Click HERE to read for free on Pratham Books Storyweaver)
13. Ghum-Ghum Gharial’s Glorious Adventure by Arpana Kapur (Click HERE to read for free on Pratham Books Storyweaver)
14. A King Cobra’s Summer by Janaki Lenin (available HERE on Pratham Books to purchase)
Books to Raise Environmentally-Aware Kids (Mixed Ages, Independent Reading):
1. Water Stories from Around the World by Various Authors (available on Amazon)
2. Trash! On Ragpicker Children and Recycling by Gita Wolf and Anushka Ravishankar (available on Amazon) – the protagonists are ragpickers in India who give us an inside look at what happens to our waste once we throw it in the trash
3. The Water Catcher by Bhairavi Parekh (available on Amazon) – a fantasy adventure chapter book with a protagonist determined to solve the mystery of a water shortage in his town
4. Green Gardening: Ideas to Potter About With by Benita Sen (available HERE on Amazon India) – You don’t need a garden to go green. This book of green ideas shows you how to garden almost anywhere … a windowsill, the balcony of your flat, the terrace, the steps outside your home. You can grow plants in boots, coconut shells, tyres, broken pots and old tubs; make feeders for the birds visiting your neighbourhood; create a mini garden in the fish bowl and much more …
5. The Case of the Missing Water by Shalini Srinivasan (Click HERE to read for free on Pratham Books Storyweaver) – When the tank in Ranj’s village dries up, she sets out on a mission to find the missing water. Join Detective Ranj on the case.
6. the ‘Vikram Aditya Adventure‘ series by Deepak Dalal (you can find all 8 titles HERE)
For Older Readers Interested in Taking on Larger Books:
1. The Vanishing: India’s Wildlife Crisis by Prerna Singh Bindra (available on Amazon) – a collection of essays on different endangered species of India and what must be done to conserve them
2. The Wild Heart of India: Nature and Conservation in the City, the Country, and the Wild by T.R. Shankar Raman – a collection of essays on wildlife and nature in India
3. The Dance of the Sarus by S. Theodore Bhaskaran (available on Amazon) – a collection of 53 short essays on wildlife and birds
4. Wild and Wilful by Neha Sinha (available on Amazon India) – In this book, we meet fifteen iconic Indian species in need of conservation and heart. The author explores what these creatures need, and how they exert agency and decision-making.
5. My Husband and Other Animals (read both Part 1 & 2) by Janaki Lenin (available on Amazon India) – What’s it like being married to Rom Whitaker herpetologist, wildlife conservationist, and founder of the Madras Snake Park and Madras Crocodile Bank? Janaki Lenin, his wife, tells us, There’s never a dull moment.
6. Every Creature Has a Story by Janaki Lenin (available on Amazon) – Janaki Lenin’s exploration of the evolution of diverse life forms sparkles with humour, clarity of thought and rigour of science. She uncovers the surprising — sometimes bizarre but always amazing – ways in which creatures breed and survive.
7. Indica: A Deep Natural History of the Indian Subcontinent by Pranay Lal (available on Amazon) – Few places have been as influential as the Indian subcontinent in shaping the course of life on Earth. Yet its evolution has remained largely unchronicled.
8. Cities and Canopies: Trees in Indian Cities by Harini Nagendra (available on Amazon) – Native and imported, sacred and ordinary, culinary and floral, favourites of various kings and commoners over the centuries, trees are the most visible signs of nature in cities, fundamentally shaping their identities.
9. Rain in the Mountains by Ruskin Bond (available on Amazon) – A collection of short essays on life in the majestic Himalayas by India’s favourite writer, Ruskin Bond!
10. Running Away from Elephants: The Adventures of a Wildlife Biologist by Rauf Ali (available on Amazon) – Beginning with his interactions with Dr Salim Ali, the legendary ornithologist—who was also his grand-uncle—wildlife biologist Rauf Ali takes the reader on a journey through India’s natural history and the beginning of ecological studies in India.
Youth for Nature 