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South Asia is a subregion of Asia, usually taken as comprising the modern countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The concept of "South Asia" is useful when referring to the countries of the region as a group. The descriptor can be useful when discussing issues that affect the common history, culture, etc. of the countries. The term diaspora is used (without capitalization) to refer to any people or ethnic population forced or induced to leave their traditional ethnic homelands, being dispersed throughout other parts of the world, and the ensuing developments in their dispersal and culture.
Annotations are from the "Card Catalog Description" or "Synopsis" information supplied by publishers to various online booksellers, including, but not limited to, Amazon.com and it's international affiliates, BN.com and Powells.com.
Like what you see here? Contact Pooja Makhijani to speak at your library or conference. Her presentation, More Than Monkeys, Maharajahs and Mangoes: An Overview of South Asian Literature for Kids, provides educators and librarians an overview of representations of South Asia and the South Asian diaspora in children's literature and tools to select authentic books for their classrooms and communities.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Additions? Email sakidlit@poojamakhijani.com.
Aruna's Journeys Blue Jasmine
Jyotsna Sreenivasan
Aruna, an 11-year-old Indian-American girl, reluctantly visits India and in the process discovers more about who she is. Her feminist aunt in India helps her keep true to her own identity.
Kashmira Sheth
When twelve-year-old Seema moves to Iowa City with her parents and younger sister, she leaves friends and family behind in her native India but gradually begins to feel at home in her new country.
Aani and the Tree Huggers Ashok by Any other Name
Jeannine Atkins, Illustrated by Venantius J. Pinto
Based on true events in India in the 1970s, young Aani and the other women in her village defend their forest from developers by wrapping their arms around the trees, making it impossible to cut them down.
Sandra S. Yamate, Illustrated by Janice Tohinaka
Ashok is an Indian American boy who wishes he had a more "American" name. In a series of mishaps, he searches for the perfect name for himself.
The Adventures of Young Krishna, Blue God of India Anklet for a Princess: A Cinderella Story from India
Diksha Dalal-Clayton, Illustrated by Marilyn Heeger
A collection of myths about the young Krishna, the god who is always getting into trouble because of his boyish pranks.
Lila Mehta, Illustrated by Youshang Tang
Cinduri, hungry and ragged, is befriended by Godfather Snake, who feeds her delicacies and dresses her in gold cloth and anklets with bells and diamonds, to meet the prince.
Babyji Fasting, Feasting
Abha Dawesar
The story of Anamika Sharma, a spirited student growing up in Delhi. At school she is an ace at physics. At home she sneaks off to her parents' garage to read the Kamasutra.
Anita Desai
From the heart of a close-knit Indian household to the cool centre of an American family, this novel examines a surfeit of feasting and Indian family life, and the self-denial and starving of affluent American women in the land of plenty.