HarperCollins Children’s Books Announces the Release of the Holiday List 2020

HarperCollins Children’s Books releases three carefully curated list of books each year for children

to discover the joys of reading and continue reading. We kickstart 2020 with The Holiday List!

Once upon a bike there was a girl called Candida, who traversed India from its southernmost tip to the Gurais Valley in Kashmir. Alone on her motorcycle, bursting with the spirit of adventure, she travelled through sun and storm, calling the sky her shelter and the ground beneath her feet home.

Based on the actual five-month-long journey of renowned biker Candida Louis, Candid Tales: India on a Motorcycle rides off the beaten trail to discover eccentric and beautiful people (living and otherwise!), heart-warming cultures, and secret places in which she left her heart behind. In an age of fictitious super heroes, this book introduces the younger generation to a real live heroine of rare spirit and fearless heart, to inspire and electrify them to follow their dreams!

Stories by authors from across the world that bring back the joy of school days and close friends going on adventures. And in case you want to read something else, flip the book over and start a sports story.

Contributors include Arefa Tehsin, Cheryl Rao, Chitra Soundar, Christopher Chaves and Shamika Chaves, Kate Darnton and Sophie Stepanian, Ken Spillman, Parinita Shetty, Revathi Suresh, Shikandin, Srividya Venkat, Stephen Aitken and Valentina Trivedi.

This is the third book in the Flipped series.

As we rocket into space on the back of several successful missions, this book examines India’s glorious space trajectory starting from its first venture, the Aryabhata, to its most recent mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan-2. Presented through crisp stories and timelines accompanied by pictures from ISRO and other space agencies, this brilliantly designed, information-rich book will give you a complete update on India’s unique place in the world of space exploration. It also looks at India’s collaboration with space agencies such as NASA, ESA, Roscosmos and others on the world stage besides listing future projects that India will be launching in the coming years. This book also includes space trivia, timeline of the Indian space programme and milestones of other spacefaring nations; information on observatories and telescopes; valuable tips on space careers and scholarships for aspiring astronauts, space scientists and explorers; and exciting activities by NASA such as building your own satellite and rocket and even making an edible asteroid!

Come explore India’s incredible journey into space!

This book is the first in a new series that will present India’s place in various spheres such as sports, science, history and more. Next in the series is India at the Olympics scheduled for release in May.

Mini is back! And this time she’s full of questions. Inspired by her class teacher, Ritu Miss, to ask questions to learn more about the world, five-year-old Mini keeps her family busy with her why and where, when and who. But when these very questions take on a life of their own, her family sits up and notices and, in short, learns the importance of Mini’s Questions!

‘We need offbeat, quirky stories like the ones in this collection to make history come alive’ – Ruskin Bond

Eccentric maharajas and nawabs, bizarre believe it or not tales and hilarious twists and turns come together in this first book of the Quirky History series! From the Nizam who hid a priceless diamond in a shoe to the Swan Car of the Maharaja of Nabha to the Nawab of Junagadh who got his dog, Roshanara, married in brocades and pearls with over 700 guests in attendance and many more quirky, unusual stories.

A collection of unsual, interesting stories about India’s past, inlcuding sections on royalty, food and games curated by Mini Menon and based on the popular website Live History India.

Stories of Courage and Valour shines a light on famous and little-known heroes of real life and celebrates different kinds of courage – not just bravery in battle but also hard work and loyalty.

Meet heroes like:

Shravan, who worked tirelessly to fulfil his blind parents’ wishes

Razia Sultana, who bravely defended her kingdom

Siddhartha, who gave up his royal life to find contentment and peace for everyone

Prahalada, who stood up for his beliefs even in the face of danger

Kerttu, who roamed unknown lands in search of her nine lost brothers

Rostom, who fought bravely for his king and displayed undying loyalty

Laurencia, who inspired an entire village to stand up for what was right

From popular Indian legends to tales from across the world, these are stories about extraordinary young men and women who fought for what they believed in, whether it was love, loyalty or fairness.

Float along with the River and giggle with the children who make paper boats. Wave to the animals making their homes along its banks, and greet the morning with Baba who visits each day to sing a beautiful song about the Sun. This gentle and profound story is woven with classical themes of Ayurveda and Vedanta. Through subtle, nature-based analogies, children and adults alike resonate with universal messages about the happiness and health of moderation and the joy and power of recognizing the divine light in our own hearts.

Activity pages offer playful explorations of holistic wellbeing of body, mind and soul using ancient wisdom.

Mohan’s story can become our story if we have the courage to follow in his footsteps. He started young, there is no reason for us to wait. – Tushar Gandhi, great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi

It is not my purpose to attempt a real autobiography or story of my life. I simply want to tell the story of my numerous experiments with truth, and as my life consists of nothing but those experiments, the story will take the shape of an autobiography – M.K. Gandhi, November 1925

Gandhiji’s Autobiography and his Satyagraha in South Africa, as published in English, run into almost 1000 pages. An abridgement of these two into a single volume of 283 pages was published in 1952 by the Navajivan Trust. A request was received for a still smaller version for use in our schools. This book has been specially prepared to meet the need. Matters which are not likely to be of much interest to school children have been omitted, and the language has been simplified where possible.  – Bharatan Kumarappa, July 1955

This edition, specially abridged for children, includes a foreword by Tushar Gandhi and additional text on ways to explore Gandhi in today’s world.