Books for elementary group are those that which children can read and understand by themselves. The range of authors and classics are quite vast. Biographies prepared in picture story formats can also be introduced and mixed in an acceptable ratio for kids.
Some excellent books my daughter picked this year for reading from our adjacent public library includes Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling; The Blue Umbrella by Ruskin Bond; The Mermaids Cap by Margaret. Wetterer; Indian Tales and folk tales, a compilation published by National Book Trust etc. From Chavara Public Library they enjoyed reading A Meow from the Heart by Rini Mary Varghese; Up Close, a compilation of short stories by Leo Fay; by the Riverside Publishing Company, Chicago; and few others in English; Chilapathikaram; Unniyum urumbu Rajavum by Joseph Narimattom; Shirdi Sai Baba, Swami Vivekananda, etc in Malayalam from Vagbadananda Library …
Our domestic collection for this group is from the following list.
An important and versatile set for this group of kids are those by Enid Blyton.
AWARD PUBLICATIONS LIMITED (www.blyton.com)
· The greedy rabbit
· The little brown bear
· The magic brush
· Snicker the brownie
· Big Eyes – the enchanter
· The twelve silver cups
· The teddy bears tale
· A hole in her pocket
· The gobbling hat
· The banana robber
· The rabbit’s whiskers
· The fairies shoe maker
· The Magic snow bird
· The strange umbrella
· Pretty Star the pony
· The tower in Hohowood
· The little toy engine
· The ugly old scare crow
· The sneezing dog
· Look out for the elephant
· Mr. Icy cold
· The wishing wand
· The fly away cottage
· The brave little puppy
· The cat with a feathery tail
· The pig with green spots
· The little lost hen
· The secret door
· The magic clock
· The little brownie house
· The goblin’s toy shop
· Bicycle magic
· Christina’s kite
· The very peculiar cow
· The cuckoo in the clock
· Three bold pixies
· The donkey on the sands
· The little witch dog
· The enchanted bellows
· The wishing jug
· The little white rabbit
· The brave toy soldier
· The walk away shoes
· Sneezing powder
· The little old toy maker
· The enchanted table
· The magic mirror
· The flyaway money
· The magic ice cream
· The house with six legs
· The bed that ran away
· Giant’s round the corner
· The tale of bushy the fox
· The three strange travelers
· The magic watering can
· The astonishing ladder
· The magic needle
· Mr. Meddle’s bicycle
· The Smickle Smockle
· Six red wizards
· Mr. Wumble and the dragon
· The fairy kitten
· The flopperty bird
· The enchanted shoes
· Peronel’s magic polish
· The wonderful torch
· Mr.Pink whistle’s stories
· Mighty-One the wizard
· Benny and the giants
· Mr. Twiddle fetches polly
· Peter and the magic shadow
· The wishing spells
SCHOLASTIC (www.scholasticindia.com)
- 1. Best of Tagore, 12 short stories; translated and compiled by Jharna Basu
- 2. Living in Space by Sharon Dalgleish
- 3. Diwali Stories compilation by various authors.
- 4. Get the facts- Space by Biman Basu
- 5. Get the facts- Maths by Bal Phondke
- 6. Brain teasers – Puzzles and Games (level-1) by Peter Clutterbuck
- 7. Glow in the dark –Planets by John Starke
- 8. Incredible Quotations – by Jacqueline Sweeney
- 9. Puzzles, Mazes and games by Radha.S.
- 10. The best days of my life- childhood stories of famous people; by Scharada Dubey.
THE BOOK PARADISE (Email: book paradise @hotmail.com)
Junior Encyclopedia – Awesome facts
This is a series of books published in association with Macbeth Books Limited, Moscow, Russia.
The topics covered are:
- The Universe
- · Computers
- · Animals
- · Plants
- · The Human body
- · Science
- · Our Environment
- · History
- · History of India
- · Nations of the world
- · Inventors and Inventions
- · Science Projects
- · Birds
- · Earth and Space
- · Wonders of the world
- · Amazing records
A comprehensive reference book that introduces young readers to various topics noted here. Richly illustrated, fun-to-read book encourages children to really think about the world them and discover the pleasure of learning. Complex subjects are introduced with care in an easy to understand manner. A ideal compilation to possess.
ROHAN BOOK COMPANY (www.rohanbooks.com)
A series of modern illustrated world classics are being made handy to the convenience of young readers to cultivate reading habit, improve word power and strengthen their language.
- · Tales from Shakespeare; Charles and Mary Lamb
- · Bible Stories
- · As You Like It, William Shakespeare
- · The Tempest, William Shakespeare
And many more…
RAINBOW BOOKS (rainbowbooks@rediffmail.com)
In a set titled the big book; the compilations are from Fairy Tales, Jataka tales, Classic tales and Tenali Raman.
APPLE BOOKS (www.applebooks.org)
They have released many series. Titles available in the different series are as follows.
Series1: My Most Loved
· Stories from around the world.
· Bedtime tales
· Grandpa tales
· Grandma tales
Series2: Most popular
· Aesops fables
· Classics
· Jataka tales
· Panchatantra
Series 3: Famous tales
· Tenali raman
· Arabian Nights
· Akbar & Birbal
· Vikram & Betal
Series 4: My best loved
· Moonlight stories
· Goodnight Stories
STERLING PRESS PRIVATE LIMITED (www.sterling publishers.com)
Their series Shakespeare for everyone is a simple version that kids adored. The titles are:
- · As You Like It
- · Twelfth night
- · The tempest
- · The taming of the Shrew
- · Romeo and Juliet
- · Antony and Cleopatra
- · Hamlet
- · Henry V
- · Julius Caesar
- · King Lear
- · Macbeth
- · The Merchant of Venice
- · Much Ado about Nothing
- · A Midsummer nights dream
- · Othello
- · Richard III
HELLO FRIEND (hellofriend@brijbasiartpress.com)
Their series classic tales has the following titles.
- · Gulliver’s Travels
- · Black Beauty
- · Heidi
- · The Wizard of Oz
- · Tom Sawyer
- · Oliver Twist
- · Little Mermaid
- · The Selfish Giant
- · Sleeping Beauty
- · Goldilocks and the three bears
- · Bambi
- · The Bremen Musicians
- · Ali Baba and 40 thieves
- · Tom thumb
- · Rapunzel
- · Beauty and the Beast
- · Jack and the beanstalk
SHREE BOOK CENTRE (shreebk@vsnl.com)
Illustrated Classics has a set of 8 titles.
- · Black beauty
- · David Copperfield
- · Gulliver’s Travels
- · Huckleberry Finn
- · Kidnapped
- · Tom Sawyer
- · Treasure Island
- · Oliver Twist
PUSTAK MAHAL (www.pustakmahal.com)
Stories from Panchatantra are retold by Mahesh Chandra Bhargava. Panchatantra is a collection of fables mostly through the animal-characters which has exerted considerable influence on mankind, the world over. The stories are divided here into five sections on worldly wisdom. It helps us to reinforce morals in kids; it helps them differentiate between good and bad; to learn the rules of social limitation and many more.
50Wittiest Tales of Birbal is a compilation retold by Clifford Sawhney. Birbal’s tales of wit and wisdom make lively reading for children. Legendary stories are narrated in a simple lucid manner.
OM BOOKS INTERNATIONAL (www.ombooks.com)
Unlike the above books, each book in this set is a collection of small stories of half a page to 2 pages and is titled 365!
There are different compilations named as follows.
- · 365 Tales of Indian Mythology
- · 365 Animal tales
- · 365 fairy Tales
- · 365 Bedtime Stories
- · 365 Jataka tales
- · 365 Folk Tales
- · 365 Questions and Answers
- · 365 inventions and Discoveries
- · 365 Stories from around the world
PETER HADDOCK PUBLISHING (UNITED KINGDOM, YO16 6BT).
Stories of Adventure is an exciting collection of adventurous stories for kids; sure to entertain and delight them.
Content include14 stories.
- · Jack the Giant Killer
- · Ali Baba and the forty thieves
- · Treasure Island
- · Gawain and the Green Knight
- · Sindbad the Sailor
- · The Rock of the Caribbean
- · Jack and the Beanstalk
- · The Hare and the Tortoise
- · Arabian Nights
- · The Sword in the stone
- · Puss in Boots
- · The three brothers
- · Dick Whittington
- · Aladdin
There is a delightful series of classic stories that keeps kids spell bound until the very last page. Each story has been rewritten to suit the reading standards of this age group. With single page Van Gool illustrations, this book was first published by Creations for Children International, Belgium(www.c4ci.com).
Titles in the Junior Classic series are:
- · Heidi
- · White Fang
- · Robinson Crusoe
- · Treasure Island
- · Tom Sawyer
- · Robin Hood
- · Pocahontas
- · Gulliver’s Travels
- · A Christmas carol
- · Black Beauty
- · The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- · Huckleberry Finn
MANOJ PUBLICATIONS (manojpublication@mantraonline.com)
Ramayana, each volume depicts the various chapters in a comprehensive manner easily picked by kids. Illustrations are also good.
Sage Valmiki created the greatest epic “Ramayana”. Saint Tulsidas redrafted the epic to layman’s language in Ram Charitha Manas. It communicates messages of sacrifice, righteousness and love. Such stories are sure to uplift youngsters morally and spiritually.
101 Stories from Panchatantra is another unique contribution in fiction literature. Said to be a branch of Indian Nitishastra, these stories keep the readers spell bound throughout. It shows kids the right path for wise conduct in our daily life through simple morals.
TICKTOCK MEDIA LTD (Unit2, Tunbridge wells, Kent, TN2 3XF, Great Britain)
They have a good collection of kid’s books. From the series on Animal Puzzlers we picked WHY DON’T ELEPHANTS LIVE IN THE CITY? An interesting good read that amazes toddlers and self readers alike.
