30 Children’s Books on Indian Culture & Festivals

Having to raise my brother and I outside of India my parents had to make extra efforts to teach us about our culture, language and religion. When you live in India, you just know when the festive season is around the corner, shops start putting out their finest pieces, it’s blasted across televisions and street signs, families start hosting big dinners and mothers get busy in the kitchen. Due to the zero commercial influence in the States, my parents would have to make up for it at home by making it a big deal. They would tell us colorful stories from their childhood, cook our favorite foods, and get us involved in fun and festive help tasks. My dad had a shelf in his library dedicated to Indian books and comics, just so he could teach us the culture in a ‘fun’ way. Years later I still find myself indulging in those books every time I go home to visit my parents.

Even before Little Mirchi was born I started a running list of Indian inspired books that I wanted to add to our home library for her to learn and read from. My hope is that she too will learn and hold on to the memories the way I cherish the books my Dad collected for us when we were kids. Sharing some of my favorite books that teach children about Indian culture, festivals and language below. I’ll be adding to this list as I come across more Indian inspired fun reads. If there are any children’s books in your collection that you think should be on the list, please share in the comments section!

 

bookcollage1a

 

1. Amma, Tell Me About Series

  1. Amma, Tell Me About Holi
  2. Amma, Tell Me About Krishna
  3. Amma, Tell Me About Diwali
  4. Amma, Tell Me About Ramayana
  5. Amma, Tell Me About Ganesha
  6. Amma, Tell Me How Krishna Defeated Kansa
  7. Amma, Tell Me How Krishna Fought The Demons

ammaganesh

 

 

 

 

 

8. Diwali (Bright Baby Touch & Feel)

51uMuegH5EL

 

 

 

 

 

9. The Drum: A Folktale from India

drum

 

 

 

 

 

10. Indian Children’s Favorite Stories

indianchildren

 

 

 

 

 

11. The Story of Divaali

divaali

 

 

 

 

 

12. Ramayana: Divine Loophole

ramayanaloophole

 

 

 

 

 

13. Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth

ganeshatooth

 

 

 

 

 

14. Mina Goes to India: Mina Chali Bharat

mingoestoindia

 

 

 

 

 

15. Lots of Lights

lotsoflights

 

 

 

 

 

16. Rani and the Safari Surprise

raniandsafari

 

 

 

 

 

17. The Diwali Gift

diwaligift

 

 

 

 

 

18. Rani Vists the Taj Mahal

ranitajmahal

 

 

 

 

 

19. The Little Book of Hindu Deities: From the Goddess of Wealth to the Sacred Cow

hindudieties

 

 

 

 

 

20. Rani Saves Diwali

ranidiwali

 

 

 

 

 

21. The Big Poster Book of Hindu Deities

posterdieties

 

 

 

 

 

22. Chaat and Sweets

chaatsweets

 

 

 

 

 

23. Elephant Prince: The Story of Ganesh

ganeshelephant

 

 

 

 

 

24. Diwali: A Cultural Adventure

diwalicultural

 

 

 

 

 

25. Lighting a Lamp: A Diwali Story

lightingalamp

 

 

 

 

 

26. My Dadima Wears a Sari

dadima

 

 

 

 

27. Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-ji

hothotroti

 

 

 

 

28. Monsoon Afternoon

monsoon

 

 

 

 

29. The Road to Mumbai

roadmumabi

 

 

 

 

 

30. Lily’s Garden of India

lilygarden

 

 

 

 

**Added after original publish**

31. The Story of Little Babaji

babaji

 

 

 

 

 

32. Chachaji’s Cup

chachajiscup

 

 

 

 

 

33. Celebrate your Name

celebratename

 

 

 

 

 

34. The Happiest Tree: A Yoga Story

thehappiesttree

 

 

 

 

 

35. India ABC’s

IndiABC

 

 

 

 

30 Children’s Books on Indian Culture & Festivals


11 thoughts on “30 Children’s Books on Indian Culture & Festivals

  1. Hi, I live in Melbourne and would like to have my lo read these as a child so he can learn about our culture. Is there a way to buy these books. How much do they cost?
    Neha

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