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Check out beautifully-crafted children’s books, toys, and games by South Asian indie creators.

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AdiDev Press

AdiDev Press is an independent publishing company from India. It was born out of a passion for children’s picture books and a deep love for South Asian culture. At AdiDev Press we hope to create beautiful books that will introduce children to different aspects of South Asian culture, leveraging story-telling, beautiful visual elements and simple content. We hope to bring the rich heritage of South Asia into the lives of children in a meaningful manner.

Apni Heritage

Anuja Mohla, DO is a physician who has turned author with her first book “Ek Naya Din”. Born and brought up in New Delhi (India), Anuja immigrated to America as a teenager. Anuja realized the challenge her generation faces in teaching children about their heritage. Anuja found her passion for writing through her desire to empower her son to be multilingual. Anuja aspires to help young parents teach their native language to the next generation.

Archana Narayanan

Bhoomi books are all about revisiting the cultural traditions of India through the eyes of a little girl, Bhoomi and introducing these traditions to children.

Batani

Batani is a boutique publisher based in North Carolina. We collaborate with authors and designers to publish children’s books and games that feature different facets of South Asian culture and lifestyle.

BhashaKids

BhashaKids aims to help grow multilingual and multicultural families in the South Asian diaspora. We make bilingual products in 3 languages (Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam) and are expanding to 10 languages in 2022. We offer vocabulary cards, digital worksheets and bilingual board books where you can learn your Desi language through English. Families enjoy and are successful with our products because we believe kids learn through play.

Chanel Enjoem

Chanel Enjoem was born in Suriname and for a large part, raised in the Netherlands. By moving back to Suriname, she also experienced some years of her childhood there. Back in Europe, she studied Vedic Theology in the Belgian Ardennes. She found the different mythologies of the Vedic culture very inspiring. Since her early years she has been active in the Hare Krishna movement. She grew up with the fun, exciting stories from the Vedas and the oldest texts of the Vedic culture.

Crispy Doodles

Hi, I’m Delzin. I am a children’s book illustrator, designer and layout consultant. I also create custom art for kids and you can find more of my work at my online store www.crispydoodles.etsy.com Find free printable activities for kids at www.crispydoodles.com. When I am not illustrating or thinking up new activities you can find me running around the park with my kids, baking till I drop or cuddled up and reading. If you have a project for me do write to me and I’d be happy to chat!

Culture Groove

Culture Groove is a multicultural book publisher and is home to the popular Maya & Neel’s India Adventure Series books. Through a combination of stories, movement, and art, Culture Groove aims to help parents and educators Raise Multicultural Kids. Their work includes Cultural Stories, Dances and more and has been featured on NBC, ABC, Elle, Neilsen, Fox, and more.

Dev and Ollie Books

Modern, informative and funny, the Dev and Ollie books take children on magical adventures to unique festivals in India. The stories capture the magical relationship of a child and his bedtime cuddly toy, together with cultural learning and lots of fun facts. Author, Shweta Aggarwal, was honoured with the Asian Women of Achievement Award in the Arts & Culture category in 2016, and invited to Buckingham Palace to meet Her Majesty in 2017 in honour of promoting inclusion amongst children.

Devika Joglekar

Devika Joglekar is an animator and illustrator. She has always aspired to author children’s books, which are not only fun to read but also inspire young readers to learn and discover interesting things. She has been bringing ideas to life through her labor of love, Miheika Publications. Originally from India, she now lives with her husband in San Francisco Bay Area.

Diksha Pal Narayan

Author and former TV Producer, Diksha Pal Narayan aims to make ‘Culture Cool’ for North American children. Raising culturally aware children is an important task, and who better to join you in your journey than a fellow parent? The Ved and Friends series hopes to provide parents and children with a fun glimpse into Indian culture and festivities. This series offers a wider perspective to all Indian and South Asian regions and is written for global children.

Eternal Tree Books

We are an award-winning independent publishing house that shares stories inspired by Indic Culture and native traditions of the world. Our mission is to promote humane values, plurality, cultural diversity, and inclusion through books for all ages.

GAPS AND LETTERS by Supriya Cherian

Based in Australia, Gaps&Letters independently publishes Malayalam English bilingual board books and printable Malayalam alphabet worksheets for Malayali children around the world to stay connected to their Kerala heritage. Along with language learning, we aim to bring back few traditional practices through our coconut shell products which are grown and handmade in Kerala.

Hindikaybol by Priya Gupta

I create Hindi books for kids learning it as a second language. My books are contemporary stories that can be read aloud to toddlers. They are also language learning tools for older kids, classified according to reading levels. All Level 1 stories have complete English translations while Level 2 stories have a key to difficult words.

Kabooki by Swetha Toleti

Kabooki’s mission is to revive folktales from various cultures in a format that allows parents to connect with the younger generation through stories they heard in their childhood.

Madhu Devi

Devi Sri Books brings to life the magical lands of Gokula where Sri Krishna was born. Madhu Devi is the founder of Devi Sri Books, the author of Janma Lila and art director. As a licensed Waldorf teacher she wanted to bring more watercolor style books from her Vedic roots to not only her classroom, bhakti yoga sanga, but to children all over the world. Janma Lila is the beginning of a series of childhood stories of Sri Krishna in his home of Gokula, with his parents Nanda Maharaj and Yashoda.

Raising World Children

Aditi Wardhan Singh is the multi award-winning, best-selling author of Strong Roots Have No Fear and How Our Skin Sparkles. An authoritative voice on cultural sensitivity and empowerment, she has been featured on numerous global publications and broadcast networks and is the founder of RWC Magazine, which encourages other voices like hers to come forth to create unique resources for parents seeking to raise global thought leaders.

Rita Gandhi

Rita Gandhi is a Children’s Book Author who grew up in Nagpur, India, and now lives in Newark, California. She is a mother of a toddler. Along with her books she is also a Recruiter. When she is not writing, she is busy crafting, cooking and enjoying the childhood of her little daughter. She says it’s very important for kids to learn about their culture and traditions as it influences our values, thoughts, faith and belief.

Sandhya Acharya

Sandhya Acharya is a children’s book author based in California. She enjoys writing for children and sometimes grown-ups too. Her articles and short stories have been featured in Washington Post, NPR(KQED), India Currents, Lost Balloon, Peacock Journal, and Aaduna among others. When she is not writing, she is running marathons, dancing, hosting a podcast for a non-profit, and enjoying the childhood of her young sons. Sometimes she steals candy from her kids’ stash.

Shoumi Sen

Shoumi Sen is the creator of “From The Toddler Diaries”, a series of children’s books on Indian culture and mythology. ‘From The Toddler Diaries’ began as a series of poems that Shoumi wrote for her daughter. This collection was the life of several bedtime story sessions and play dates with friends. Inspired by this interest among kids and encouraged by their parents, she decided to publish the collection.

T4Tales

T4Tales offers Indian parents living across the world, books that are simple and enjoyable to read to their children in Indian languages. We publish interactive board books written concurrently in Indian languages and English transliteration (within in the same book) for 0-6 year olds. We help introduce Indian languages, such as Hindi, Tamil, Gujarati, to children in their early years, through interactive fun books.
 

Tamil Storytime

Tamil children can imagine themselves as superheroes too! At Tamil Storytime, we are building the love of Tamil through books, resources and learning kits.

The Jai Jais

Welcome to The Jai Jais, a growing series of books for babies and beyond about Hindu gods, goddesses and festivals. The Jai Jais have brought culture, religion and diversity into the home and also the classroom for children of all diversities. The Jai Jais have been loved by families worldwide, offering our inquisitive children a chance to learn about the Hindy deities, festivals, rituals and symbolism.
Yali Publishing is opening a window to South Asia through high-quality fiction titles for young readers 4-16. Recognized by the American Library Association, the National Council for the Social Studies, and South Asia National Outreach Consortium, our books make wonderful additions to home, classroom, and library collections.

For all other enquiries, email us at team at southasiankidlit.org.