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Do your kids like Indian food? What kind of food do they like? When Toka Box spoke to New York-based illustrator Kavita Ramchandran about what she'd like to see more books about, she immediately said, "More books about food!" Her kids were more into taking tacos and burgers to school than idlis and dosas. "We should have an idli Wednesday like a Taco Thursday," she said.
Food is not just a connection to culture, it is a window to explore more tastes, textures and experiences. Food is social history and an exploration of the senses. Here are great South Asian, particularly Indian books that explore the theme of food.
Chaat and Sweets by Amy Wilson Sanger is part of her incredible World Snacks board books for toddlers! Scrumptious treats like bhel puri, tandoori chicken, and sweet coconut chum-chum will sensitize their ear for the language to sounds of food from India! The book has gorgeous collage art that children with love.
"Puffed-rice salad called bhel puri crackles when we chew,
Say hello to plump samosas stuffed with minty mashed aloo."
Isn't that just yummy? Are you salivating? Is your tummy growling? Children will feast on the language, the sounds, and the visual imagery. There's another reason why this book is so brilliant for toddlers.
"I decorate my grilled kebab with dahi yogurt dots."
"My lassi smells of rose water, rice idli fills my bowl."
The book engages all the senses through sound and words. Isn't that just amazing? Of course, our babies are mostly responding to the sound and individual words, but when they are older, they will be making images in their mind.
A mouthwatering story in which the steaming hot momo comes appetisingly alive! Watercolour pencil illustrations softened with subtle brushstrokes conjure up scenes sure to tickle the tastebuds, satisfy hunger pangs and stir up a song.
Eleven-year-old Mimi Mackson comes from a big Indian American family: Dad's a renowned food writer, Mom's a successful businesswoman, and her three older siblings all have their own respective accomplishments. It's easy to feel invisible in such an impressive family, but Mimi's dream of proving she's not the least-talented member of her family seems possible when she discovers a contest at the new bakery in town. Plus, it'll start her on the path to becoming a celebrity chef like her culinary idol, Puffy Fay.
But when Mimi's dad returns from a business trip, he's mysteriously lost his highly honed sense of taste. Without his help, Mimi will never be able to bake something impressive enough to propel her to gastronomic fame!
Drawn into the woods behind her house by a strangely familiar song, Mimi meets Vik, a boy who brings her to parts of the forest she's never seen. Who knew there were banyan trees and wild boars in Massachusetts?
We can almost smell the coconut shards and red chillies as they sizzle. You will love this book and its grand culinary adventure. Sruthi Vijayan's words make our mouths water. Sanjana Ranjit's pictures are magnificent. The final picture of Annie and Appoopan finishing their marketing and eating Ela ada from the vendor, the salty sea breeze wafting in and the night balmy and beautiful? This is exactly the way you experience these nights and the pictures reflect this beautifully.
“There is Roti in my lunch box” is a story about Neha, a 6-year-old second generation Indian-American girl, who is trying to understand why the food in her lunch box is always so different from what her friends bring. In her attempt to understand the cultural diversity around, she explores her own complex identity: She expresses her need to feel part of the community she finds herself in, eat the food her friends eat and not feel singled out; but at the same time, she wants to accept and feel pride of her unique cultural heritage.
Neha’s character is a part of many American households. It is the story of a perceptive and sensitive young child caught between two cultures, and of parents trying to help her craft an identity that is whole and complete. This book touches on issues not typically addressed in picture books, and fills an important void in children’s literature for this group of children who are particularly vulnerable to feeling marginalized and different.
Nitya wants to be just like her grandfather, thatha, who enjoys eating fiery-hot red pickles. But her plea to taste them is turned down because pickles are “too spicy for children”. however, Nitya is not one to give up. When she finally gets her way, she is disappointed to discover that that they are indeed too spicy. What does she do to satisfy her ‘Pickle Mania’? a delightfully delicious story of a little girls resolve to have a Pickle of her own.
Breakfasts of India -- lip-smacking food from around the country!
Remember when we were children and we feasted on the language used to describe food in books by Enid Blyton, JRR Tolkien, and Ernest Hemingway? How we wished that someone could write about Indian food that way!
This Montessori numbers book is TamilMontessori's debut children's Tamil book for children aged 0 - 3 years. This board book introduces numbers to the littlest readers through a scrumptious feast served on banana leaf. This book is illustrated by Dejeshwini and published by Zhagaram Publications
Adu (Ee-doo) and Adu (Aa-doo) are very excited. Guests are coming over for dinner and their Mamma has already cooked a lot. Next, she is cooking Gulab Jamuns, but Idu and Adu don t know what Gulab Jamuns are. Before long, they discover just how good these wonderful golden, sugary syrup-soaked balls are and how quickly they melt in their mouths. But Mamma has only made 10 Gulab Jamuns. Will they last until their guests come?
In this masterful and hilarious picture book, Sumi Chandrasekharan writes about an absent-minded foodie in Kerala who just can't remember the name of a food item that is soft and white but oh my, it is so yummy!
Tsering can’t wait to taste his grandmother’s delicious noodle soup. He invites a string of friends and neighbors home. But as preparations get underway, there is a power cut and the house is plunged into darkness. Will Abi be able to put together the much-anticipated thukpa? Told from a blind child’s perspective, this tale by Praba Ram and Sheela Preuitt is accompanied by Shilpa Ranade’s stunning illustrations.
The Ugly Vegetables shares timeless themes of community and diversity. A neighborhood comes together to share flowers and ugly vegetables soup, and the young gardener learns that regardless of appearances, everything has its own beauty and purpose. Complete with a guide to the Chinese pronunciation of the vegetables and the recipe for ugly vegetable soup!
DOSA story : Sandhya Rao pictures : Ashok Rajagopalan Who ate the dosas? Amma makes dosas but they keep disappearing! A story in which children have the last laugh! They will also experience the fun and excitement of making the pictures move. There are instructions on how they can do that at the end of the book. This is the second in the series after Grandma's Eyes.
When the Royal Chapati Cook quits, there is no one to make the fluffy-puffy chapatis that the king loves. Can they find another champion chapati maker at the Grand Chapati Contest?
There was once a prince who hated food. But one day the royal cook surprises him. From then on there's no stopping this mad tale, with pictures that capture all the bondaful silliness!
Nazneen carefully cooks some fragrant marzwangan kurma for a special family dinner. But just when it is all ready, guests arrive. The illustrations use traditional Kashmiri embroidery motifs to provide ambience for the story.
This funny and delightful folktale brings all the sights, sounds and flavors from Kashmir. The illustrations by use traditional Kashmiri embroidery motifs to set the tone of the book.
GUESS WHAT'S COOKING IN GADBAD?
Lies! Mystery! Trouble! Laughs!
It's time for the annual festival and a special guest is expected to arrive in Gadbadnagar, but has a certain President gone too far? Has Nani finally met her match in the meanest, scariest and awfullest demon ever to crawl out of the Dark Forest? Will the Mayor's mustache ever run for office?
Wait, there's more!
Fake Mystery Heroes! Haunted falooda! Giant dogs--
RAARGH!
And what's that again about goats? You're going to have to read it for yourself.
Veer and an any a love to help Baba in the Garden: watering the plants, plucking weeds and clearing dried leaves. One day, they are really naughty, and Squish and squash Baba's freshly grown tomatoes and throw them at each other! A few weeks later, they discover lots of Tomato saplings growing in the Garden. Soon the plants begin to fruit and there is a bumper harvest. What are they to do with so many tomatoes?
Some plants “grow up”, while others “grow down", and still, others "grow around and around". A rhyming book to learn about where food comes from.
“We are One“, by Param Patel and Pinky Mukhi, is a sweet narrative about Mintu, a Gujarati Indian by origin. Mintu invites his friends Curio and Chirpy, home for dinner. He is unsure if his Mexican and Italian American friends would appreciate the yummy parathas he loves. Or would they find Mintu and his food strange?
The first rain of the season is here and everyone is keen to help Baba sow seeds in the vegetable garden. Baba gives seeds to Ananya, Veer and Mummy to sow. But no one knows what plant they are growing. It is going to be a surprise.
Veer, Baba and Mummy’s plants grow, big and flowers and then little fruits appear on them. Ananya’s plant only has leaves growing bigger and bigger. No flowers, no fruits. On HARVEST DAY everyone has fruits to harvest from their plants. Everyone, except Ananya. What was she to harvest when her plant did not bear any fruits?
India is home to a rich variety of fruits and vegetables: some are local to the region, while others traveled thousands of miles and have since found a home here. This full-color board books introduce both rare and common Indian fruits and vegetables to the very young. Each book comes with a list of each topic’s words in English, with space to add words in your own language.
Absolutely everyone brings sandwiches for lunch. No matter how much they love their home-cooked Indian food, Neeva and Nimi couldn't possibly pack something different in their lunchboxes or could they? In this yummy tale of food around the world, one group of friends finds out how delicious diverse food can be!
