The annual list features the best books for children and young adults published in the past one year across Hindi and English in an effort to promote good quality children’s literature in India

Parag Initiative of Tata Trusts today announced the 3rd edition of the Parag Honour List for the year 2022. This robust list features a wide range of original writings across categories like picture books, chapter books, and young adult books. With a focus on curating a comprehensive collection of remarkable literature in English and in Hindi, the list aims to promote access to good quality children’s literature that librarians, teachers, parents and children can refer to and read.

The Parag Initiative of Tata Trusts believes in the transformative power of reading for pleasure and works to ensure that children across India can appreciate and enjoy reading in diverse regional languages. The work of Parag spans over sourcing, publishing, disseminating and promoting good quality children’s literature in India. Over the years, Parag has catalysed the children’s literature ecosystem towards encouraging joyful reading. This year, Parag received books from 23 Indian publishers, published between October, 2020 to September, 2021 with over 200 entries, 38 of which were in English and 9 books Hindi across genres we selected.

Amrita Patwardhan, Head of Education at Tata Trusts, shared her views on the initiative, she said, “With the number of books being published for children on the rise, it is important to help readers including librarians and parents with recommendations of good books. The Parag Honour List is a first of its kind effort in India, of an annual independently curated list of noteworthy books published in Hindi and English across genre and age-groups. An Independent jury with a deep understanding of children’s literature reviews a number of entries and curates PHL.”

As part of the criteria for creating the Parag Honour List, all leading publishers of children’s books are requested to submit their select titles for review. In turn the books are reviewed by a panel of eminent educationists and bibliophiles, with the very best finding their way to the Parag Honour List.

The jury for the English language category comprised of Anita Balasubramanian, co-founder of The Learning Network, Jeeva Raghunath, Author and Storyteller; and Manjiri Nimbkar, Author, Illustrator and Medical Doctor

Speaking on the book list Manjiri said, “This effort by Parag to curate the best books through a rigorous exploration is a truly laudable undertaking. The books in this list handle diverse topics and are beautifully crafted. Some are funny and entertaining while others handle delicate issues very sensitively while still others introduce the reader to the life’s work of contemporary heroes.”

Esteemed members of the jury in the Hindi language category were Arun Kamal, Poet and Essayist, Gurbachan Singh, Executive Editor of Azim Premji University’s -Paathshaala Bhitar Aur Bahar and Prachi Kalra, Associate Professor, Gargi College, Delhi University

Prachi Kalra added, “The Parag Honour List is about the pleasure of binge reading! Just drown yourself in the best books.

HINDI BOOKS FEATURED IN THE PARAG HONOUR LIST 2022
BOOK	AUTHOR	PUBLISHER
Lightning	Prabhat	Jugnoo Prakashan
Betiyaan bhi chahein Azaadi	Kamla Bhasin	Pratham Books
Machhali Nadi Kholke Baithi	Sushil Shukla	Eklavya
Ye Sara Ujala Suraj Ka	Sushil Shukla	Eklavya
Basti mein Baadh	Maya Yadavan, Neha Patel, Tinam Nishad, Pooja Singh	Shaheed School
Bees Kachodi Poodhi Tees	Shriprasad	Jugnoo Prakashan
Kerala ke Kele	Prayag Shukla	Jugnoo Prakashan
Ek Kahani	Vinod Kumar Shukla	Jugnoo Prakashan
Gyarah Rupaya ka Fountain Pen	Amit Datta	Jugnoo Prakashan

ENGLISH BOOKS FEATURED IN THE PARAG HONOUR LIST 2022
BOOK	AUTHOR	PUBLISHER
Animal Alphabet	Manjula Padmanabhan	Tulika Publishers
Asamo, is that You?	Canato Jimo and Ogin Nayam	Pratham Books
How I Feel	Varsha Seshan	Pratham Books
Ikru’s First Day of School	Sunaina Coehlo	Pratham Books
Jamlo Walks	Samina Mishra	Puffin Books, Penguin Random House India
Our World Hamari Duniya	Sandhya Rao	Jugnoo Prakashan
Sometimes Mama, Sometimes Papa	Nandini Nayar	Puffin Books, Penguin Random House India
The Grand Chapati Contest	Asha Nehemiah	Duckbill, Penguin Random House India
This is Where We Live	Manjari Chakravarti	Pratham Books
Tiger, Tiger, Where Are You?	Mujahid Khan	Pratham Books
When Adil Speaks, Words Dance	Lavanya Karthik	Puffin Books, Penguin Random House India
Who’s Next?	Mini Shrinivasan	Eklavya
Home	Author Fausto Aarya De Santis	Pratham Books
Coming Home	Priti David	Karadi Tales in partnership with PARI
Kashmir! Kashmir!	Deepa Agarwal	Scholastic India
My Name is Gulab	Sagar Kolwankar	Tulika Publishers
No Nonsense Nandhini	Aparna Karthikeyan	Karadi Tales in partnership with PARI
Noon Chai and a Story	Adithi Rao	Tulika Publishers
That Night	Bijal Vachharajani	Pratham Books
Have You Met the Parsis?	Anastasia Damani	Puffin Books, Penguin Random House India
Hop On: My Adventures on Boats, Trains and Planes	Ruskin Bond	Talking Cub, Speaking Tiger Books
Nature Society Series – Maharashtra, Odisha, Lakshadweep and Rajasthan	Yemuna Sunny	Eklavya
The Boy Who Played with Light – Satyajit Ray	Lavanya Karthik	Duckbill, Penguin Random House India
The Grass Seeker	Uddalak Gupta	Pratham Books
The Secret World of Mehlli Gobhai: The Man Who Found Art Everywhere	Jerry Pinto	Pratham Books
Bena’s Summer	Shibal Bhartiya	HarperCollins Publishers India
Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame	Supriya Kelkar	Scholastic India
The Blue Horse and Other Amazing Animals from Indian History	Nandini Sengupta	Hachette India
The Teenage Diary of Abbakka – The Warrior Queen of South India	Kavitha Mandana	Talking Cub, Speaking Tiger Books
10 Indian Heroes Who Help People Live with Dignity	Somak Ghosal	Duckbill, Penguin Random House India
A Germ of an Idea	Charudatta Navare	Eklavya
Gods, Giants and the Geography of India	Nalini Ramachandran	Hachette India
How to be a Writer	Ruskin Bond	HarperCollins Publishers India
Postbox Kashmir: Two Lives in Letters	Divya Arya	Duckbill, Penguin Random House India
Queen of Fire	Devika Rangachari	Duckbill, Penguin Random House India