Ahimsa by Supriya Kelkar 307 pages

To carry on with my India fiction for children, I read Ahimsa.  This takes place during one of the most brutal, but fascinating periods of time in India's history.  I've read several other stories set around the time that Pakistan was established as a separate country from India, but they were always for an adult audience.  This book was set before the split, when India was still under British rule and tensions were running high.  It follows a young girl, Anjali, as her family joins the peaceful resistance started by Gandhi.  If you're interested in historical fiction, I highly recommend this one.  Ahimsa means peace, and this book gently reminds us that one voice can have a huge impact. 

Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani 161 pages

I love graphic novels.  I'm not a fast reader, but graphic novels let me feel like I am.  I also love India.  I love historical fiction about India, I love Indian art, music, clothing...yeah...is Hindiphile the right word?  Anyway, this was a really cool book for a younger audience to just be introduced to not only some cool Indian terms and a visual (if cartoon-y) trip to India, but also a glimpse of what one child's life as an Indian-American might be like.  Ultimately, I love the feeling of 'it's okay to be who you are, that's as awesome as it gets' that the book conveys.  So much story can be told in pictures and I think Chanani did a beautiful job capturing the color and warmth, and sometimes frenetic energy of India.  The pashmina being an integral instrument to tell different parts of the story was a cool touch, because the use of color to transport the reader was so clever.  I really liked this book!

Yes, My Accent is Real: and Some Other Things I Haven't Told You by Kunal Nayyar, 245 pages

Kunal Nayyar portrays Raj on "Big Bang Theory." He came to the United States to attend college and caught the acting bug while he was there.

This is his story of growing up in India, in a family where he was well loved and his immigration to the United States.  It is a funny, sweet, heartwarming memoir.

I listened to the book, read by the author, and enjoyed every minute of it.

Ticket to India by N.H. Sanzai 288 pages

Maya travels with her mother and older sister from San Francisco to Pakistan, after the death of her grandfather. They are going to help Maya’s grandmother make the move to California with them. Before traveling back to the States, Maya’s grandmother wants to embark on a secret trip to India to family heirlooms that were left when the family fled during Partition. When Maya and her sister learn of the trip, they blackmail their grandmother into taking them with her. While traveling, the trio gets separated. Maya enlists an orphan boy named Jai, to help track down the treasure.