Author: Ruskin Bond
Publisher: Penguin/Puffin
Year: 2000-05-01
Language: English
Pages: 318
ISBN/UPC (if available): 014131415X

Description

With a personal, nostalgic introduction by the author and some superb illustrations, this edition is certain to become a Collector’s item.

Ruskin Bond, the master storyteller, is at his inventive best when spinning out yarns for children. For over four decades, the author has conjured up an enchanting literary landscape in which children play an integral role. This collection brings together thirty-seven of his finest stories for children including some that have never been published in India before.

The themes of the stories are refreshingly simple: the close bond between a young boy and his grandmother and their long trek to buy a new pair of reading glasses in ‘ A Long Walk with Granny’; a bicycle ride which becomes a nightmare for a young boy when he encounters the strange duo of a brother and sister on a lonely road in ‘The Haunted Bicycle’; the hilarious adventures of a family traveling on a train with their unusual pets.

A rich cast of characters exert their magical spell, whether it is Uncle Ken, who flits from job to job; or Miss Mackenzie whose love for flowers become a common link between her and a young schoolboy; or Toto the little frisky monkey, whose exploits make for delightful reading.

Contents

Introduction

A Long Walk With Granny

Animals on the Track

A Tiger in the House

The Playing Fields of Simla

The Wind on Haunted Hill

Riding Through the Flames

A Rupee Goes a Long Way

The Flute Player

The Night the Roof Blew Off

Faraway Place

The Tree Lover

How Far is the River?

The Haunted Bicycle

Whistling in the Dark

Four Boys on a Glacier

The Cherry Tree

Picnic at Fox-Burn

Panther’s Moon

The Leopard

The Thief

The Fight

The Boy Who Broke the Bank

Chachi’s Funeral

The Tunnel

The Prospect of Flowers

A Face in the Dark

The Room of Many Colours

The Last Tonga Ride

The Funeral

All Creatures Great and Small

Coming Home to Dehra

What’s Your Dream?

Life with Uncle Ken

The Crooked Tree

Untouchable

A Crow for All Seasons

Upon an Old Wall Dreaming