I’m posting this on behalf of my 8 year old son Ashay who is an avid reader for the #kbcKeepCalmAndReadOn Campaign. These books are apt for 6-10 year olds.
No School, No friends, Nowhere to go. This lockdown is hitting us hard. I have taken to reading like there is no tomorrow. So friends, even if you want to read, below is list of my favourite books. Come read along with me. Enjoy !!!
Story Books
1. Grandma’s Bag of Stories Book by Sudha Murthy
Gone are the days when Grandma used to tell the stories and kids used to sit around and listen to them. This Book takes you down the memory lane where Ajji used to narrate stories to children. A bear who ate some really bad dessert and got angry, a man who counted all the horses in the world and a village woman who tricks a thief thrice. Ah! I love the stories by this author. The stories are light, fluffy and full of humor. It’s written in simple language which is easy for kids to understand. Sudha Murthy’s books make for some great bedtime readings.
2. The Magic Drum and Other Favorite Stories Book by Sudha Murty
The king tricks the gossiping men of Suvarnanagri, A coconut that cost 1,000 rupees and a shipwrecked traveler who becomes a king and many more. Read this collection of stories by Sudha Murty as bedtime stories. Perfect for beginners as they are written in simple language. Some of them are moral stories, some of the stories teach you a lesson and some are pure fun.
3. The Blue Umbrella by Ruskin Bond
Set in the hills of Garhwal, there lives a small girl by the name of Binyadevi. This Story is about Binya who stumbles upon a group of picnickers. One of the picnickers likes her leopard claw necklace and exchanges it with her for a Blue Umbrella. This story further goes on how Binya saves the umbrella from Ram Bharosa and at the end does the unexpected. This book shows lot of positives and empathy.
4. Great Stories for Children by Ruskin Bond
This is a collection of some wonderful stories by Ruskin Bond. His books for children are much enjoyed and celebrated.
One of the stories is about Rakesh a small boy coming back from home eats cherries on the way. On advice from his grandfather he plants the seed of a cherry. When the cherry tree grows it gives shelter to birds and feeds them. It gives shade. So much goodness with just one small seed. This story teaches you what giving is, giving doesn’t reduce but increases happiness. This book includes many more such stories with beautiful morals.
Ruskin Bond’s stories involve nature, villages, hills which enhance the imagination skills of children as these are very rarely seen by children these days. These short stories are wonderful reads.
5. The Boy who swallowed a Nail by Lalita Iyer
Here comes a tired Sriram who walked at least seven kilometers, a man who could not stop farting and Lalita Iyer’s father having weird friends. Lalita Iyer’s family is always up to something! Witty, funny stories that always keeping you entertained.
6. Leatherback and the Strange Place by Shubhra Shah
This book has an interesting plot and the way it is written makes it a very interesting read for children. It also has various activities which keeps children engaged. This book is about protagonist Sarah who defeats a bully Mona in a spelling bee competition. It teaches kids how to overcome their weakness and become confident. It also has various other characters like a 100 year old tortoise, Loro the parrot, The Dog Whisperer, Queenie the cat. Once Sarah is back from the competition, they discover that Sarah’s mother Lolita has been kidnapped. Can they solve the mystery and find Sarah’s mother? You will be hooked onto it from the start to end. That’s a promise.
Action/Adventures
Tintin is a reporter who goes to Africa, South America, etc for several purposes. If you like some adventurous stories then this series is for keeps. This Belgian Hero along with Captain Archibald Haddock and Professor Cuthbert Calculus and his dog Snowy go on to solve some many adventures making each book a funny read.
This is the first adventure series I started reading and just loved this reporter. The book was gifted to me by my aunt and I had no idea of it till then. But the moment I laid my hands on it, I took to it just like storm. I have a huge collection of the Tintin series and am a great fan.
Flight 714 to Sydney is my favorite book in the series. In this book they go to IAC (International Astronautical Congress). On the way they go 200 miles off the course where they get prisoned, but they escape from there in a flying saucer. Doctor Krollspell who is the antagonist initially becomes protagonist and helps Tintin and his friends to escape. How this adventure unfolds is very enthralling hence this is one of my favourites from the series.
8. Geronimo Stilton collection
These stories are about a mouse named Geronimo Stilton. He goes on adventures with his sister Thea Stilton, his cousin Trap Stilton, his nephew Benjamin Stilton, and sometimes with his nephew’s friend, Bugsy Wugsy. He does not want to go on adventures, but his nephew always concludes he is a boring mouse. He does not want to be a wimp in front of anybody, so he has to go on many adventures. Enjoy his adventures.
Every book is a very funny read. I love reading these books because he does adventurous things like time travel, goes in space which is very exciting and thrills me. He goes to fantasy world.
These stories are about a Gaul [bitter enemies of Romans] named Asterix. Unlike Geronimo, he is ready to go on any adventures with his friend Obelix. He gets his superhuman strength by druids in the Gaulish Village who gather mistletoe and brew magic potions. The Gauls drink the magic potions and become invincible and get ready to battle with the Romans. There are some action fights. Each fight scene shows some interesting noises while they attack each other: Bang!, Biff!, Boff! And Kerplonk! – making each book a funny read.
Science and Technology
As is the name suggests, this series of books is full of Knowledge. You name it and you can find it. Space, Human Body, Nature, Animals, History etc everything you need to know with lots of illustrations. In case your child is an advanced reader you should definitely go for these books.
11. Space by Parragon Publishing
As the name suggests it’s all about Space. For kids who are fascinated about the skies, this is one of the best books. It covers details on Solar System, Planets, Space Exploration. There is also a chapter on Beyond Solar System which will excite the reader. It covers the beginning and end of Universe, Galaxies, Black Holes, etc.
12. Science and Technology encyclopedia by Louise Spilsbury
This book talks about small things happening around us. There is science behind everything. Every invention has science and technology involved. This book covers details on inventions, space, transport, and resources. Most of the How’s will be answered in this book. Language is very easy for the kids to understand.
Mythology and Epics
13. Ramayana for Children by Arshia Sattar
A very well written book with interesting illustrations. Explains Ramayana to kids with ease. You will be amazed to see how much knowledge kids amass after reading this book. Intricate details on Rama’s Vanawasa and all that he encounters during his stay are covered in the book which will be very captivating for kids. If you want to give sneak peak of the epics to your kids, then this book is highly recommended.
Bhagavad-Gita is one of the epics of Indian Mythology. Gita captures the conversation between Krishna and Arjuna just before the war of Kurukshetra in which Krishna tells Arjuna that he should get up and fight the good fight. What that means is wrong is wrong even if it is your own family on the other side.
Though Gita is a very complex piece of literature, what makes reading this book easy is the writing style of Roopa Pai which is easy to understand for kids. It also covers a lot of Mahabharata before the War of Kurukhshetra.
15. Dashavatar by KAMALA CHANDRAKANT
They are the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu: Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parshurama, Rama, Krishna, Siddhartha Gautama. You must know what Lord Vishnu says: [If there is a loss of righteousness and a rise of unrighteousness. I shall come to the Earth to restore order and power, age by age.] It tells about work done by Lord Vishnu in every incarnation. It has a lot of colorful illustrations. It is an interesting book to read.
[Note from Team Kids Book Café: For your convenience, affiliate links (MARKED IN PINK) to some of the books have been added to enable you to buy the books from AMAZON, should you wish to! A very small amount of money comes to kidsbookcafe.com when you purchase a book via the amazon affiliate link provided (at no extra cost to you!). Do let us know if you need information about other children’s books by writing to asha@kidsbookcafe.com.]
