The best South Asian children’s books: culture, food, traditions
Start ‘em early!
I’ve been an avid reader from a very young age. One thing that was missing for me, was seeing and reading about kids who looked like me, ate like me, struggled like me and celebrated my holidays. When I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, I made it my mission to order piles of books to make sure she saw herself in the books in our home.
I have to say, I’ve been close to tears reading many of these books: if only these books had been out when I was a kid, perhaps one less child would have made fun of me for being Indian. Or maybe I just wouldn’t have felt so alone!
I also really wanted to introduce my daughter to South Asian words, foods and language right from the start. Whether board books, hardcover books or paperback, I’ve been reading these books to her from day one! Okay maybe day 5, I needed a few days to recover from that emergency c-section.
I think board books are great for eventual handling by baby themselves, but I am also an advocate for reading any and all books to newborns, infants and toddlers. Of course, when we were in major mouthing everything phases, or tearing paper phases, those were opportunities for me to teach from early on how we care for and respect books.
What I love about most of these books is that they are about South Asian kids in super relatable and REALLY GREAT stories/adventures. I’m not making it up, that we own almost every single one, and if we don’t it’s because we lost it or loaned it out.
Just in time for some Diwali 2021 (or anytime) gifts for your budding readers! Happy Reading!
Board books (for everyone, but easy to flip pages for infants, babies, toddlers)
Meet My Hindu Gods - simple explanations of various hindu gods
10 noisy rickshaws - a number counting book 1-10 using common Indian items and foods
Shubh Raatri Dost - Good Night Friend; a brother and sister in a farm town in India say goodnight to all of their farm animal friends in Hindi and English
Chaat and Sweets the art used to create these pages is absolutely phenomenal, I’m in awe each time I read it! A culinary stroll through some of India’s greatest snacks!
Hardcover/ paperback (for everyone, but targeted to preschool/ elementary age)
P is for Poppadums - Indian Alphabet book done so well!
Thread of Love - About the brother-sister holiday Raksha Bandhan
Super Satya Saves the Day Satya’s super special cape is at the cleaner’s; how will the day go without it?!
Always Anjali Anjali can’t find her name on any of the carnival prizes and she gets made fun of for her name. Ugh. Who can relate? How does she find the confidence to turn it around? I wish I had that when I was her age, but I’m hoping reading this will give kids with “different” names everywhere a little boost!
Laxmi's Mooch LOVE. THIS. STORY. It’s funny, cute and teaches kids that EVERYONE HAS HAIR EVERYWHERE. Shoutout to all my desis who got made fun of for their “mooches” and “unibrows” - this one is for us!
Bindiya in India The story of an Indian American girl’s first trip to India
Hanuman Moves a Mountain A classic story told with a modern twist
Let's Celebrate Diwali Diwali is celebrated different ways in different parts of India, students share how their family celebrates in their school
Priya Dreams of Marigolds and Masala Priya & her Babi Ba cook together and share traditions of India together
Bilal Cooks Daal Bilal and his friends learn patience, and that delicious foods can be worth the wait
Tomatoes for Neela beautiful artwork; Neela, Amma and Paati cook together and learn about a seasonal favorite: the tomato!
Neela Goes to San Francisco Neela goes to San Francisco, California and practices counting the wonders she finds there
Harini and Padmini Say Namaste Harini and Padmini learn about the ancient spiritual history of yoga & how to do the poses
Padmini is Powerful power comes in many forms and we all have different forms of it within us; a functional & fun intro to Hindu gods
Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth really cool illustrations & color palate; What happens to Ganesha when he bites into a super giant jawbreaker ladoo? Find out what he learns
10 Gulab Jamuns Idu and Adu haven’t tasted gulab jamuns yet, but they’re about to!
Festival of Colors A lovely book about Holi & colors
Bindu's Bindis Bindu and her Nani connect over their bindi collection
The Many Colors of Harpreet Singh Bhangra loving Harpreet loses his colors when he moves to a new city with his family; will he find them again?!
Grandmother School A school built for grandmothers in a village in India so that they can learn to read and write
Ganesh and the Little Mouse I love this story: will Ganesh and his little mouse stand a chance among the other strong, fierce competitors?
Kalamata's Kitchen - Kalamata’s recalls her summer trip to an Indian spice market while she gets ready to go back to school
Fatima's Great Outdoors A brown family goes camping and it is amazing
Chapati Moon Mrs. Kapoor is cooking up a storm in her kitchen with ghee, spices - you can almost taste the food through the book!
Why is My Hair Curly Avantika wishes her hair were straight like her adoptive Amma, Appa and biological brother Avnish
Shreya's Very Own Style Shreya has patches on her head with no hair, and tries to find ways to style her hair while participating in school activities
Kamala and Maya's Big Idea How can Kamala and Maya turn a “no” into a “maybe” and even into a “yes”?
Ravi’s Roar What happens when Ravi has a bad day and gets angry? What does he do to repair after he’s yelled?
Two more recommendations:
Baby Ganesh/Krishna, Modi Soft Plush Toys: https://www.moditoys.com/ make amazing new baby gifts!
Mira Royal Detective: If you do screen time (we don't yet, but I have watched several episodes of this myself because it's cute and i'm in awe of the fact that a show like this exists on DISNEY these days!) these are super short episodes and there are always ones that are unlocked on the Disney Junior website so you don't have to pay and it's really cute https://disneynow.com/shows/mira-royal-detective
Did I leave one of your favorite South Asian themed children’s books off of this list? Email me priya@beginbalanced.com to let me know and I will add it once I read it!
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