Animal Tales from India: Ten Stories from the Panchatantra

From international poetry sensation Nikita Gill comes her highly anticipated children's book debut, Animal Tales from India - a stunning picture book reimagining of the wild and wonderful fables of the Panchatantra. First written in Sanskrit, the stories of the Panchatantra have been read aloud and shared for thousands of years, kept alive by generation after generation of storytellers.

In this captivating collection of ten animal tales, reimagined with warmth and wit by Nikita Gill, you'll meet mighty elephants and courageous mice, cunning crocodiles and clever monkeys, talkative tortoises and little lapwing birds. Discover a world of wonder, wisdom and friendship, of helping others, speaking out and finding courage.

Writing with warmth and wisdom, Nikita Gill beautifully preserves the spirit that has kept these stories alive across the millennia, while infusing them with a new accessibility. With vibrant, irresistible colour artwork by Chaaya Prabhat on every page, and sumptuous high-end finishes, including a jacket, foiled cloth binding and a ribbon marker, this is a timeless gift book for every child to enjoy and treasure.

The natural flow of these stories is apparent as you read them and you will find yourself reading this book from cover to cover. There is so much for children of all ages to enjoy and I am confident that, thanks to Nikta and Chaaya, these ancient fables will become loved by a new generation. In schools these fables could be used to lead in to morals, traditions of storytelling, prediction and comprehension, as wells as being stories from another culture. It could be the start of a wonderful topic looking at Indian culture. It is such a pleasure to read, and once you pick it up you will want to share it with others.

96 pages / Reviewed by Amanda Shipton, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 5+

Animal Tales from India is a beautiful collection of stories from the Panchatantra, written by the talented Nikita Gill and illustrated by Chaaya Prabhat. The front cover is gloriously colourful with some of the characters you will meet on your story journey. The book has 10 fables from the Panchatantra involving clever monkeys, a singing donkey, forgetful elephants, lazy lions and many more animals who teach us important ways to look after each other and how to be friends. There is a lovely introduction from Nikita about how she came to know these stories and why they are important to her and her family.

This book has wonderful messages to understand and the animals show human qualities that demonstrate how we should or should not behave and live alongside each other. The beautiful art work supports these stories so well and there are interesting characters to discover throughout the pages of each story.

This book would support work on fables and was enjoyed by six to seven-year-olds year olds who loved the antics of some of the characters, and enjoyed discussing their behaviours and relationships. This book would make a beautiful gift to a child and would definitely be a firm favourite, with stories being read over and over again.

96 pages / Reviewed by Maria, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 5+