Poaching is one of the main reasons that so much of our wildlife – especially the tiger population – is alarmingly endangered. It’s a rather horrid subject, but Indian authors take it seriously, as they should.
Here are a list of books on tigers and poaching, for kids looking to learn more and engage with this complicated issue:
• Ambushed by Nayanika Mahtani: Tara is forced to separate from her beloved gadgets when she has to accompany her father to a Himalayan tiger reserve. There, she teams up with Satya, a tribal boy, to save a tigress and her cubs from poachers.
• Ranthambore Adventure by Deepak Dalal: Aditya finds a poacher’s diary and is then kidnapped by a team of poachers. His friend Aarti follows them, which leads her to Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, where it’s up to the children to save the day.
• Tiger Boy by Mitali Perkins: Neel lives in the Sunderbans. He is really bright, and everyone wants him to win a scholarship and go to the city to study. But he has more pressing matters at hand – a tiger cub has gone missing!
• The Tigers of Taboo Valley by Ranjit Lal: Hear straight from the tigers and other animals what they think about nasty poachers like Khoon-Pyaasa. A hilarious tale about a tiger taking on poachers and parenthood.
• Tiger by the Tail by Venita Coelho: Join the Animal Intelligence Agency as they go on a mission to investigate why tigers are disappearing from wildlife reserves in South Asia.
Additional reading:
This month’s guest editor also commissioned me to recommend books on flying fish. I was truly stumped. Flying fish, hmmm…I needed to delve into my library and search and search.
Finally, I came across one Kindle book, Are Flying Fish REAL? A Children’s Book of Discoveries by Captain Barney Barnacle. The book (well, it’s not really a book, it’s more like a feature) introduces flying fish and explains how they fly.
It turns out there are over 60 species of flying fish, some two-winged, and others four-winged. The author goes on to talk about their habitat. Did you know, Barbados has a coin with the flying fish icon on it? The book is full of interesting trivia like this – fascinating for both kids and adults.
In collaboration with BAM Books, an Instagram-led project that highlights diverse books for children and young adults.
Other stories in this Guest Editor package:
Guest Editor Diaries: Of Poachers And Flying Fish: 10-year-old Aarya Mehta assigns stories to the NiF team.
Oh Deer! The Thrill Of The Hunt: Editor Aarya Mehta writes about when a tigress set her sights on a deer for dinner, and they all watched in.
A Cruel Trade: Prerna Bindra tries to explain why poachers poach and how it's driving our wildlife to extinction.
It’s A Bird, It’s A Plane...It’s A Flying Fish! Marine Biologist Abhishek Jamalabad tells us if fish can fly.
