Looking for the best children's books about the Partition of India? Picture and chapter books can truly do justice to our tumultuous history and its many layers. The beauty of literature is that it has nuances and complexity, making it perfect for curious children who want to know all sides of the story and want to discover the past for themselves. When one of our readers asked us for books on the Partition, we simply had to draw up a list!  

Here are 7 Children's Books About the Partition of India.

1. Mukand and Riaz by Nina Sabnani

One of our favorite books of all time, Mukand and Riaz is also a perfect way to introduce your child to the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. At the heart of the book is a story about two childhood friends who play with each other, enjoy ice cream together, and don't know the meaning of barbed fencing.  Based on the memories of her father, animator Nina Sabnani made this film for the Big Small People Project, Israel, using the art of women’s appliqué work, common to both Sindh in Pakistan and Gujarat in India, to provide a rich and textured visual experience. Mukand and Riaz is essentially about every child’s right to friendship and a home. Through shared memories, shared craft and shared histories, it offers deeply moving layers of meaning with which to identify and from which to draw strength.

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2. The Moon from Dehradun by Shirin Shamsi

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3. The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani 

Written in the form of letters, this book features a 12-year-old Nisha as she is displaced from her home in Pakistan and is forced to move to Jodhpur due to the rising violence during Partition. Nisha loses her mother in child-birth so she writes ‘letters’ to her during her perilous journey (partly by train and partly by foot). With each letter, you see the fears children faced when they were displaced and lost their homeland and the ensuing identity crisis that arose.

4. Chachaji's Cup by Uma Krishnaswami, Illustrated by Sowmya Sitaraman