Books published by publisher Speaking Tiger

A fantastic collection of some of the most inspiring speeches from India, spanning over a century.In this book, brilliantly introduced by Derek O'Brien, legendary Indians speak on diverse topics that will motivate young readers: freedom and equal rights, science and sports, friendship and education, the environment and social responsibility, ambition and courage, the love of books and the burden of schoolbags. Even in this age of speed and bite-sized attention spans, these timeless words reach out across years and touch us, provoke us, make us think, and become a call to action.A.P.J. Abdul KalamAmartya SenAtal Bihari VajpayeeAzim PremjiBaba Amte B.R. AmbedkarBalgangadhar TilakJagdish Chandra BoseJaipal Singh MundaJawaharlal NehruM.K. GandhiMedha PatkarMother TeresaParo AnandR.K. NarayanRabindranath TagoreRaghuram RajanRahul DravidRajendra PrasadRuskin BondS. RadhakrishnanSarojini NaiduShashi TharoorSubhash Chandra BoseSubroto BagchiSwami Vivekananda

The classic fictionalized story of a little boy who lived to be perhaps the greatest king this world has ever seen.Long before he entered history books as Emperor Akbar, the Great Mughal, Prince Akbar was a brave young boy, growing up alone while his father Humayun was far away, fighting to win back the throne of Hindustan. But he had his faithful companions, a fierce black sheepdog and a clever snow-white cat, to protect him from demons and other dangers. Join him in The Adventures of Prince Akbar as he gets entangled in conspiracies and battles, foils his wicked uncle's attempts to kidnap him and playfully chases a bear over the snow, into a hidden green valley. A timeless classic read by children across the years and countries, The Adventures of Prince Akbar comes now with an introduction by Ruskin Bond and will be a book to treasure for a lifetime.

Nimmi Daruwala is starting Grade 6, and she is sure it is going to be absolutely SPECTABULOUS! Will it?Eleven-year-old Nimmi Daruwala does not like her last name at all, nor Sumit, her chief tormentor and general pie-faced classmate. But she loves drama, Miss Tanvi, her drama teacher--and, most of all, inventing utterly unusual words. On the first day of Grade 6, Nimmi wakes up thinking it is going to be a spectacular+fabulous=spectabulous year. But starting with an ill-fitting skort, nothing goes right for her. Sumit is suddenly on the same school bus as her. Her best friend Sophia is talking in a strange singsong accent and is friendly with mean girl Alisha Dubash. And Nimmi's favourite drama teacher has taken the year off. In her place there is the dull, pale-eyed Miss Aatmaja, who brands Nimmi the Troublemaker of Grade 6!With jumping rubber spiders, tumbling candy coloured school furniture, a principal with one too many bright ideas, and a birthday party where almost everything goes wrong, Nimmi's Spectabulous Schooldays is hilarious and dramatic and a story every schoolchild will relate to.

A relevant and stirring story for our times--about who we love and who we help. Umi, Anshu, Lavina, Shiv, Nasreen and Pankaj are typical teenagers living in Delhi. The six love to take off on their all-terrain cycles and explore the city. And one place they frequent is the Delhi Ridge--a forest area filled with all kinds of trees and thorny shrubs and home to half-forgotten monuments. Here, they come across the spooky Malcha Mahal with its strange and sad history. But the children are also getting sucked into another kind of adventure that is unfolding right next door. Their brilliant and pretty tutor, Khushboo Didi is in love with Salim, her childhood friend. Her family is dead opposed to this love story and the children are her only friends and allies. Will love triumph over hate? What dangerous game have the children started when they decide to help Khushboo and Salim? And how will the Ridge, with all its secrets, come to their rescue? Unflinching, exciting and action-packed, The Hidden Palace Adventure is a story for our times--about who we love and who we help, and about bravery that leads people to go places and do things they never thought possible.

The thrilling adventures of Sinbad the sailor, Ali Baba and the forty thieves, and Princess Periezade--from the unforgettable 1001 Arabian Nights.Princess Scheherazade's tales of the Arabian Nights, composed over ten centuries ago, have captivated the imagination of generations of readers. These unforgettable tales of adventure, magic and fantasy come alive in this collection. In 'Sinbad the Sailor', the prosperous sailor narrates his seven incredible ship journeys. In each of these voyages he ends up shipwrecked and encounters gigantic snakes and birds, cannibals, mythical creatures and more. But he escapes each time using his wit, amassing great wealth in the process. In 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves', Ali Baba and his family discover a secret cave filled with glittering gems and gold. But who will rescue them when the thieves trap them in the cave? And, in a lesser-known gem of a tale, the brave and intelligent Princess Periezade goes in search of the singing tree, the talking bird and the golden fountain, all of which lead her to an even greater secret.Dive into this collection, specially selected and introduced by Ruskin Bond, to enter a world full of wonder, enchantment and daredevilry.

An owlet, a cricketer, a wrestler, an all-important cricket match--and everything that can go wrong is going to go wrongRitesh, also known as Tubby, has joined the Jai-Hind International School in Delhi along with his twin sister, Smokey. Tubby is an astonishingly gifted cricketer and is soon in the school cricketing team. That is the easy part. The difficult part is being befriended by Jyotsna, better known as Patki, the soft-hearted, big-eyed, wrestling champion who sits next to him in class. Patki is determined to be his friend, even though all Tubby wants is to glower quietly and think about and practice cricket. But soon he finds himself accompanying Patki to a nearby ancient cemetery where they befriend the mynas, parakeets and an owlet called Owlet. Then, on the day of the most important cricket match of the year, to his great dismay, Tubby finds Owlet in grave danger.What will he choose now: sports, fame and glory--or compassion, kindness and a chance to be a real friend? Ranjit Lal's new novel about school, cricket and friendship is as funny as it is thought-provoking and will charm readers of all ages.

A beloved tale of genies, a magic lamp, an evil villain, and the remarkable adventures of a boy called Aladdin.Fifteen-year-old Aladdin is befriended by a stranger who says he is Aladdin's uncle. Charmed by his generosity and friendliness, Aladdin accompanies the man to a cave somewhere in the wilderness outside the city. From the cave, Aladdin gathers all kinds of astonishing jewels--and a lamp that looks old and ordinary. But when the stranger reveals himself as a magician, and locks Aladdin in the cave, the boy discovers there is magic everywhere, including in the old ring he is wearing on his finger. From here start the extraordinary exploits of Aladdin. Will he be able to become a rich man with the help of the genie of the lamp? Will he win the hand and heart of the Princess Badroulboudour? And how will he rescue her when his lamp is stolen from him by trickery?An everlasting story of genies and enchantment, love and deceit, a poor boy and a beautiful princess, Aladdin and the Magic Lamp will capture the hearts of readers once more, in this beautiful edition introduced by Ruskin Bond.

Nimmi Daruwala is back with a dreadful+fantastic=dreadtastic adventure! Nimmi Daruwala is back to school after a week of absence, thanks to some awful green-coloured jelly she ate, and it's time for a dreadful+fantastic=dreadtastic adventure! While Nimmi was away, Principal Bakshi had two new ideas: beanbags for each class, and Cookaroo, a cooking competition in the school. But the beanbags in Nimmi's class have burst and no one knows who did it; and Nimmi can only just about boil an egg. To top it all, Ms Atmaja is as ghastly as ever; and Sophia is now part of mean girl Alisha Dubash's Evil Threevils. But Nimmi finds unlikely friends by her side in the class nerds Diya and Kavya;and a cooking partner in the mysterious new student from America, Kabir. Will Nimmi and Kabir be able to present a decent dish at Cookaroo? And more importantly, will Nimmi be able to fulfil her ambition of becoming a detective and crack the case of the burst beanbag? Full of twists and turns Nimmi's Dreadtastic Detective Days is so funny that it will have you guffawing+chortling=gaffortling.

When summer camp is so sweet, can you run from all the fun?Raj is going to what has to be the worst summer camp ever--Camp Sweets, where they teach children how to become expert sweet-makers. Yes, his mother is the owner of the Tasty Mithai Bhandar that serves the best gulab jamuns, jalebis, rasgullas and other delectable confections in town. But has anyone ever asked him what he wants? Certainly not to be anywhere near laddoos and imartis. Grumpy and annoyed, he turns up at Camp Sweets determined to not learn anything. Yet, there are boys and girls here who adore sweets. As Raj whips up one Indian dessert after another, he finds that with all the crazy cooking and new friendships, Camp Sweets is a summer camp like no other. And the kitchen is where monstrously sweet adventures begin...

Ajji may have died, but her presence lingers around the abacus she used, always ready to pick faults in her grandchildren and point out their mistakes. But when a royal necklace goes missing, only Ajji can save the day. Banno Bi says she is a witch, and the neighbourhood children stay far away from her. Yet it is to Banno Bi and her djinns they turn when they are in trouble. Dhani's life may have ended too soon, but can he take the help of his old laptop and his social media account to bring a bully to justice? And when a Biryani vs Pulao battle breaks out in Nawabi Lucknow, who else can settle scores but the ghost of a celebrated chef? Subhadra Sen Gupta's ghost stories are curious, quirky and entertaining. They will make you laugh, sigh, and look carefully over your shoulder each time you turn a page!

On her twelfth birthday, Nimmi Daruwala is super excited about two things: her first mobile phone and her birthday party. But too many disasters await her. Instead of unhealthy chocolates, Mrs Daruwala brings healthy non-chocolate Jowar Banana Bites for Nimmi to distribute in school. Mean girl Alisha Dubash is throwing an extravagant party for the class on the same day as Nimmi’s birthday celebration; Ali has signed her up for her first ever inter-school Scrabble tournament; and Miss Aatmaja transforms into her vampire-self once again thanks to the Jowar Banana Bite. And even Nimmi’s new phone turns on her by sending weird autocorrected messages to people.Will Nimmi’s friends—mainly Kabir—choose to attend her party instead of Alisha’s? Will she be able to come up with at least one high-scoring word at the Scrabble tournament? And above all, will Miss Aatmaja succeed in getting Nimmi expelled from Vidya World School?

Travel around the world with this glorious collection of best-loved folk tales.Harisharman, a poor man from India, pretends he has magical powers and can solve any problem. But what will he do when the king himself asks for his help to find the gold stolen from the royal treasury? In ancient Arabia, Ameen Beg meets a scary ghoul. With just some salt and an egg, he outsmarts the ghoul and makes him run away fast and far. In distant Eastern Europe, a king is furious with his attendant George. The only way George can escape punishment is by finding the mysterious maid with the golden hair. Will he be able to find her and bring her to his king? Meet these and many other odd and wonderful characters--wily witches from Australia, brave and just eagles from North America, magician-giants from South America and boastful tailors from Scotland--in these captivating stories. There are tales of love and humour, of adventure and daredevilry, of ogres and animals. Beautifully illustrated and skilfully retold, this collection will thrill and charm readers young and old.