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AHA! BOOKS!

Arvind Gupta

An individual booklist is found to reflect the compilers own interests andbiases. To that extent this booklist does not lay claim to any objectivity. Itcontains some extremely fine books on education, popular science,mathematics and childrens stories. ver the years, I have been activelyinvolved in translatin! and populari"in! many of these books. At times wehave been successful in brin!in! out low#cost, Indian reprints like forinstance The UNESCO Source Book for Science in the Primary School,Tottochan, Diwaswapna$all published by the %ational &ook Trust'.

There is a !eneral dearth of !ood books on science activities, toy makin!,ori!ami, and how#to#do#it books. I am a!ainst slottin! books for specific a!e!roups, for I feel that a !ood book is a joy for one and all. (u!!estions forwidenin! this booklist would be heartily welcome.

Divaswapna$)aydreamin!' # Gijubhai &adhekari!inally written in *+- by a contemporary of Gandhiji. This book is

probably our countrys most ori!inal contribution to world peda!o!y. Amust for every teacher.

The an /ho 0lanted Trees# 1ean GionoA !reen classic. A deeply inspirin! story of an unlettered shepherd, who

plants *22 oak seeds everyday for over 32 years and !reens up a totallybarren valley. Already translated in - Indian lan!ua!es.

aha!iri# 4emlatane of the finest picture books for children printed in India. /ritten by the

famous alayalam writer Thaka"hi 0illai under the penname of 4emlata, ithas been illustrated superbly by 0ulak &iswas ## a !reat artist.The 1oy of akin! Indian Toys # (udarshan 5hannaIndia has a lon! tradition of makin! toys. This book contains more than a*22 simple folk#toys collected from far flun! melas of the country. This is a

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historical collation as most of these toys are fast disappearin! by the onmarch of mass#produced factory toys.

The &lackboard &ook# 6leanor /attsIf there is one teachin! aid which is to be universally found, it is the

blackboard. ost teachers do not know how to use it optimally. This bookshows the most ama"in! possibilities of usin! the blackboard for teachin!lan!ua!e, math, science, !eo!raphy and history. That one could do so muchwith a simple blackboard comes as a revelation.

0icture (tories# 7adlovI first read this book as a child and can never for!et it. It contains 82 picturestories, which do not preach morals or sermoni"e. The stories are veryintelli!ent and full of fun. This indeed is the best picture book in the Indian

market for the last 93 years.

(nake Trouble # 7uskin &ondA deli!htful story of days spent in !randfathers mena!erie. This book is asure shot hit with children.

Guess /hat Am I )oin!: A;;< $Asian ;ultural ;entre for

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with practical demonstrations to a juvenile audience at the ondon institutein *--+. 7eprinted for the first time in India by #i!yan Prasar. It is simply a!reat book.

The ;hemical 4istory of a ;andle# ichael BaradayA steno!raphic record of a series of lectures supported by experimentaldemonstration that Baraday !ave to children durin! the ;hristmas 4olidaysof *-C2#C*. A popular science classic for all times.

6nvironment and (elf 7eliance# Dona Briedman and 6da (chaurA resource book desi!ned to promote ecolo!ical sanity amon! the masseswith topics like =/eed into /ealth= and =)ont ive /ith Garba!e=.0roduced in a comic form with matchstick drawin!s and simple captions,this book will endear itself to its readers.

7iddles in a Tea ;up# 0artha Ghosh E )ipankar 4omeA hundred phenomenon from daily life analy"ed by two outstandin!

physicists. This book was first translated into Italian and subseFuently intoseveral Indian lan!ua!es.

/hos /ho at the oo# 7uskin &ondTwo outstandin! people ## a writer and a photo!rapher have jointly producedthis masterpiece. /ith beautiful photo!raphs by 7a!hu 7ai and a lovely text

by 7uskin &ond, this book will deli!ht all children.Id!ah # 0remchandThis !reat story has been rendered by 5ushwant (in!h from the ori!inal4indi into 6n!lish. At the fair, poor 4amid, instead of buyin! toys buys achimta$twee"ers' for his old !randmother. A very touchin! tale.

adam 7ides a &us# >illikannanA deli!htful story of a villa!e !irls first ride in a bus to a nearby town.

ne (traw 7evolution# asanobu Bukuoka/ithout usin! any chemical fertili"ers, pesticides, this remarkable 1apanesemicrobiolo!ist has produced the hi!hest yield of rice for 32 years. A bookstron!ly opposed to the industrial#military paradi!m of development. Adeeply philosophical book which has chan!ed lives.

The ittle 0rince# (aint Antoine )e 6xupery

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This fable has endeared itself to both youn! and old alike for more than 82years. A deeply philosophical book.

%umber Bun with a ;alendar# 0.5. (rinivasanThe calendar han!s on every wall. /e see it but never very carefully. Thatan ordinary calendar has so many lovely number patterns is strikin!ly

brou!ht out in this book.

/ater # 7amaA wonderful introduction to one of our !reatest resources ## water. (impleand lucid.

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renowned peda!o!ues. The book is simple and lucid. 6ssential book forlan!ua!e teachers.

Teacher # (ylvia Ashton /arnerBirst published in *+C9, Teacher was immediately acclaimed as a seminalwork ## one which radically altered the way in which we transmit knowled!eto the youn!. Teacher is essential readin! for all those concerned withhelpin! children !row into life lovin! adults.

The (on! of the &ird# Anthony de elloThis book is for people of every persuasion ## reli!ious and non#reli!ious. Itfreely draws from the mystical traditions of &uddhism, en, ;hristianity,4induism, (ufism. 6veryone loves stories with a subtle messa!e ofuniversal, peace, tolerance and freedom.

(wami and Briends# 7.5. %arayanA deli!htful book by Indias most reputed author. This book describes the

pranks, escapades, school experiences of a youn! boy in a small Fuaint townin (outh India. A very popular T. >. serial was made on this book.

1oy of earnin! 0art I E II: ;entre for 6nvironmental 6ducationTwo extremely well produced books on activity based science andenvironmental studies. 7elevant for middle school children.

(piders ## An Introduction # >ijaya axmiThis book introduces the world of spiders both to the layman and theamateur naturalist in simple terms but with professional insi!hts and details.A !reat book on natural history.

The Indian 6lephant# Ajay )esai/ritten by a field biolo!ist after research on elephants in the wild for over*#years. This book is one amon!st a series of books edited by the eminent

environmentalist &ittu (ah!al on Indias diverse and enchantin! wildlife.

&ahuroop Gandhi# Anu &andopadhyayThis is certainly the best book on Gandhi ever written for children. It has aforeword by 1awaharlal %ehru and some brilliant caricatures of Gandhi bythe cartoonist 7.5. axman.

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%o#;ost, ow#cost, Teachin! Aids# ary Ann )as!uptaA comprehensive practical !uide that !ives instructions for makin! simpleteachin! aids for primary school.

)an!er (chool?# I)A; )ocumentThe most subversive cartoon book on schools ever written. It tells you howclever children are rendered stupid by the bureaucratic structures of theschool. A must for all parents.