Announcements

HarperCollins Announces the Acquisition of Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan’s Parvati the Elephant’s Very Important Day

Children love elephants. These large and intimidating beasts are endearing to everyone, especially children. In Kerala, they remain a common and popular sight as they amble along with their mahouts. With their loppy ears, long trunk, and large girth they make a very special animal, one that remains a big draw for children across the world.

Recently, Kerela’s elephants were in the news and all for the wrong reasons – we all read the sad news story about the accident that killed a pregnant elephant that had eaten a pineapple filled with explosives meant to ward off wild boars that were destroying farmers’ crops. It was a heart-breaking story. It was this incident that triggered Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan, who happens to be the sister of acclaimed author Shashi Tharoor, to think of sharing a feel-good story about elephants. By anthropomorphizing the animal, she could show children that her protagonist, Parvati the Elephant, had feelings just like them. Like them she was excited, nervous, responsible and even tired at the end of the day. Stories that highlight our mutual humanity build in children a deeper understanding and responsibility toward animals. We are all, after all, part of a shared world.

There are so many popular children’s books about hungry hippos, wily foxes and mischievous monkeys that a story about a capable, lovable, responsible, female elephant, Parvati seems ideal to help children not only build on their love for the gentle giants but also learn the qualities of courage and perseverance. Through this story, which is written in rhyme to make it even more attractive for younger children, the author showcases the colours, sounds and the pulsing feel of an Indian temple festival as well as look at a day in the life of a temple elephant.

There were as many as 5 million elephants in Africa in the 20th century and there are only about 450,000 now because of poachers in search of ivory. Through her wonderful story, the author wants to return the elephant to our collective consciousness with the help of a simple yet joyful narration of Parvati’s adventurous day.

Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan says, ‘I’m thrilled that my rhyming picture book, Parvati the Elephant’s Very Important Day has found a home at HarperCollins and will soon be in the hands of readers. This is a special story close to my heart about an adventurous day in the life of a temple elephant. I hope it resonates with readers and is also a reminder of the beauty and majesty of a wonderful animal that is in danger of extinction.’

Tina Narang, Publisher – HarperCollins Children’s Books says,’ We are delighted to announce Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan’s first children’s book at HarperCollins. A charming story centred around one of the most majestic and endearing animals — the elephant. We are looking forward to transforming this beautiful, lyrical tale into a picture book children will treasure.

Acquired from Smita Khanna, Jacaranda Literary Agency

About the author:

Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan is a children’s author, poet, translator, editor, and voice-over talent. She is also a former non-profit development professional who spent two decades as an advocate and fundraiser for persons with disabilities. Shobha has done voice-work for documentaries, educational programmes, journalistic initiatives, and audio books. She has published children’s books in India and the United States, including A Pie Surprise and Other Stories (DC/Mango Books), Indi-Alphabet (Mango and Marigold), and How Many Lines in a Limerick? (Clear Fork Publishing), and her work has been anthologized by Tulika Books, Solstice Publishing, and Skipping Stones magazine. Her essays and reviews have been published in India Currents and Scroll.in. Her new book on Raja Ravi Varma will be released in March 2021 by Red Panda, the children’s imprint of Westland.

Shobha comes from an illustrious literary family and is in fact the sister of former UN Under Secretary, current Lok Sabha MP and acclaimed author Shashi Tharoor.

About HarperCollins Publishers India:

HarperCollins Publishers India is a subsidiary of HarperCollins Publishers. HarperCollins India publishes some of the finest writers from the Indian Subcontinent and around the world, publishing approximately 200 new books every year, with a print and digital catalogue of more than 2,000 titles across 10 imprints. Its authors have won almost every major literary award including the Man Booker Prize, JCB Prize, DSC Prize, New India Foundation Award, Atta Galatta Prize, Shakti Bhatt Prize, Gourmand Cookbook Award, Publishing Next Award, Tata Literature Live Award, Gaja Capital Business Book Prize, BICW Award, Sushila Devi Award, Prabha Khaitan Woman’s Voice Award, Sahitya Akademi Award and the Crossword Book Award. HarperCollins India has been awarded the Publisher of the Year Award three times: at Publishing Next in 2015, and at Tata Literature Live! in 2016 and 2018.

HarperCollins India also represents some of the finest publishers in the world including Egmont, Oneworld, Harvard University Press, Bonnier Zaffre, Usborne, Dover and Lonely Planet.

 

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