Reviews written by Nimmy Chacko, Staff Reviewer

Like most other people, I grew up devouring Hans Christian Andersen’s stories. His fairy tales are the first stories I remember reading. And it didn’t matter that I encountered them again and again – in various formats, from stunningly illustrated picture books and monstrous text-heavy hardbound anthologies to film and...

THE STORY OF INVENTIONS is a simple, accessible introduction to some of the breakthroughs that have shaped the world across centuries. The information is presented through minimal text splashed across bright, colourful spreads. What I liked about the book was the fact that it lays the pros and...

This book is all kinds of wonderful. Actually, everything about it is pretty much spot on – starting with the expression of the aye-aye on the cover! Who Are You Calling Weird does exactly what it promises to do – it celebrates some of the most fascinating animals on this...

This book took me right back to my childhood! But what’s interesting is that the stories in this book aren’t just retellings of Indian folk tales, but original tales inspired by Indian folklore. And I’ll admit that I was slightly sceptical at first – would the stories be too outdated...

Let me get straight to the point. I loved this book. I love the concept, the writing, the way it’s been put together—everything. I keep mentioning in my reviews how the world of non-fiction for kids seems to have exploded now. There are just so many wonderful non-fiction books...

I don’t think I’ve ever read a dog story without either crying or grinning through it. GOBI: A LITTLE DOG WITH A BIG HEART was no different. Based on a true story, this sweet picture book is about how a scraggly little pup in the middle of the Gobi desert...

The first thing that occurred to me when I read this book was how much I could relate to the protagonist, Lou. I used to be the least adventurous person in my group of friends, and I’d always have spectacular excuses for procrastinating something I was scared of doing. Things...

DIFFERENT? SAME! is a gem of a book that gives us a little peek into the many wonders of the animal kingdom in a most unusual way. It puts together a bunch of animals that are totally unlike each other (like a zebra, a bumblebee, a tiger and a lemur,...

What an enthralling little book this is! Growing up, I didn’t read too much non-fiction because I didn’t have access to a lot of reading material that presented information in a fun, friendly way. But I’m really glad that so many books are blurring the lines between ‘teaching’ and ‘storytelling’...

To be honest, I paid very little attention to the text the first time I read The Storm—I was transfixed by the absolutely gorgeous charcoal sketches that are the life and soul of this book. It’s the illustrations that take this spare and simple story to a completely new level...

One of the great things about books is, of course, that they enable you to travel without a ticket. You can sit in one corner of the world and still experience the sights, sounds, smells and colours of the other end through the pages of a book. Metropolis by Benoit...

Going to a new school can be a terrifying experience. And it doesn’t help that Toby’s siblings have managed to fit into their schools quite snugly, while he has to go to one that apparently smells of ‘ogre armpits’. That one phrase there made me laugh out loud....