Asia

Materials from Asia

Grandpa’s Soup

When Grandma dies, Grandpa is too sad to do anything. All day long, day after day, he sits by himself in his house. Then, one day, Grandpa wakes up and realizes he misses the soup his wife used to make for him. So he decides to try to make the soup himself. Though each batch he makes is bigger and better than the last, Granpda hardly gets a taste of it. Unexpected visitors, hungry for soup, keep arriving at his door. Soon, Grandpa discovers that sharing with his new friends is the best cure for his loneliness.

A Grain of Rice

When a humble farmer named Pong Lo asks for the hand of the Emperor’s beautiful daughter, the Emperor is enraged. Whoever heard of a peasant marrying a princess? But Pong Lo is wiser than the Emperor knows. And when he concocts a potion that saves the Princess’s life, the Emperor gladly offers him any reward he chooses except the Princess. Pong Lo makes a surprising request. He asks for a single grain of rice, doubled every day for one hundred days. The baffled Emperor obliges only to discover that if you’re as clever as Pong Lo, you can turn a single grain of rice into all the wealth and happiness in the world!

Farmer Falgu Goes Kite Flying

Farmer Falgu’s trips never go smoothly. In the fourth book of the popular series, he is on his way to the annual kite-flying festival with his daughter, Eila. But…. Whoosh! She loses her kite to the strong wind. Will our clever Farmer Falgu come up with a solution to make his daughter happy? Chitra Soundar’s beautiful tale is complemented by Kanika Nair’s colorful illustrations that bring alive the kite flying festival of Rajasthan.

The Shadow In The Moon

Two young sisters celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, admire their mooncakes decorated with a picture of a lady in the moon, and listen to their Ah-ma tell the ancient tale of how the holiday began.

The Bridge Home

Four determined homeless children make a life for themselves in Chennai, India.

The Bridge Home was our WOW Recommends: Book of the Month for October 2019 and also featured our August 2019 My Take/Your Take, June 2020 My Take/Your Take, and July 2020 My Take/Your Take.

Mangoes, Mischief, And Tales Of Friendship

In these tales inspired by traditional Indian folktales, Prince Veera and his best friend Suku are given the opportunity to preside over the court of his father, King Bheema. Some of the subjects’ complaints are easy to address, but others are much more challenging. How should they handle the case of the merchant who wants to charge people for enjoying the smells of his sweets? Or settle the dispute between a man who sells a well to a neighbor, but not the water inside? Or solve the mystery of the jewels that have turned into pickles? These eight tales show how Veera and Suku outwit the kingdom’s greediest, wiliest subjects.