The rains have officially left the city. For those squeamish about bugs, it’s now safe to throw open the windows when you curl up to read, without having to worry about visits by all kinds of insects. For those of you who would like to read stories about different kinds of insects, here’s part one of our creepy-crawly list.
Dancing Bees
Did you know that bees make a real song and dance over honey? And delicate butterflies can frighten fearsome birds? Superbly comic pictures exaggerate funny but true facts about the mad, mad world of creepy crawlies.
The Honey Hunter
In the land of eighteen tides, where three rivers meet, deep inside a mangrove forest near the Bay of Bengal, there lived thousands and thousands, maybe even gazillions, of honeybees, ruled by the Bee Goddess. The bees filled their honeycombs with rich, golden honey – liquid light, some called it – until it ran down trees like rivulets of sunshine. All the animals and birds loved it, but one person loved honey more than anyone in the world: a little spiky-haired boy called Shonu. One day, driven by hunger, Shonu breaks the honey-hunters’ golden rule and sets off into the forest. Will he find the honey he so loves? Or will he be caught by He-Whose-Name-Must-Not-Be-Taken, the mighty and terrible Demon-Tiger?
Recommended Age: 8+
Price: Rs 395
Basava and the Dots of Fire
Every day, Basava goes to the forest to collect firewood for his mother. But one day it grows dark and he can’t find his way home. That is when Basava sees the glowing dots of fire that light up the forest… A gentle story with a touch of magic and dramatic illustrations.
Recommended Age: 6+
Price: Rs 100
The Gijjigadus and the Fireflies
The nests of the golden sparrows are dark, as they have no light. They fly all the way to the Kingdom of Gods to ask for help, and together they find a magical solution. As this big book opens like a canvas, one enters a world of magical solutions, leaps of fantasy, shadows and moondust. This shimmering tale of friendship is sure to light up the eyes of its little readers.
Price: Rs 350
Recommended Age: 4+
Flutterfly
Something’s fluttering around! It settles on a shoulder here, on a nose there… What is it? Where did it come from? And where is it going? Follow the splash of orange to find out! Lively illustrations with a vivid pop of colour put you on the trail of a story in this wordless picture book.
Recommended Age: All ages
Price: Rs 160
Help! Help!
Help! Help!’ calls the big black ant when the little black ant falls into the water. But the only answers it gets are ‘crokk’, ‘isspiss’, ‘aaaanh’, ‘cheek’, ‘miyawwwwn’ and ‘woaw’. Who will save the baby? Unusual sounds add excitement to a familiar pattern in this bilingual folktale-based story.
Recommended Age: 3+
Price: Rs 75
Kahani Tree 
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