Rina Singh – författare

Experience Holi with every color of the rainbow!

This Hindu celebration known as the festival of colors and the festival of love signifies the end of winter, the arrival of spring and the victory of good over evil. A time to laugh, play, visit friends and get messy! Little ones will love exploring the colors of Holi through the vibrant photographs and Singh's playful rhymes in this brilliant concept book.

By the author of Diwali (Orca Origins), which has been called "an exceptionally valuable resource" by Kirkus Reviews and "a standout volume" by School Library Journal.

Every morning, a young girl walks her grandmother to the Aajibaichi Shala, the school that was built for the grandmothers in her village to have a place to learn to read and write.

The narrator beams with pride as she drops her grandmother off with the other aajis to practice the alphabet and learn simple arithmetic. A moving story about family, women and the power of education—when Aaji learns to spell her name you’ll want to dance along with her.

Women in countless countries continue to endure the limitations of illiteracy. Unjust laws have suppressed the rights of girls and women and kept many from getting an education and equal standing in society. Based on a true story from the village of Phangane, India, this brilliantly illustrated book tells the story of the grandmothers who got to go to school for the first time in their lives.

Orca Book Publishers is pleased to offer Grandmother School in two accessible editions. The audiobook features alternate text descriptions of images, including the cover. The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

Key Selling Points

★"This nonfiction book has themes of environmental protection, determination, helping others, and following one’s passions. The artwork and the story are inspiring and beautiful.” —School Library Journal (SLJ), starred review

Brothers Nadeem and Saud grew up in Delhi watching the majestic raptors called black kites circle in the sky above their heads.

But every year, when paper-kite-flying season came and people brought out their glass-coated kite strings called manja to have friendly battles, the beautiful birds faced dangerous skies. One day, the brothers found a black kite tangled in manja, but their local vet couldn’t help. As they got older, the brothers never forgot that day. Learning from a local vet, who taught them how to mend a bird's wing, and a neighbour who trained pigeons, they began to rescue and rehabilitate injured black kites.

Bird Brothers, A Delhi Story depicts the powerful true story of Nadeem Shehzad and Mohammad Saud, who have devoted their lives to helping these birds return to the sky.

Praise for Rina Singh

★“A very wise book, speaking volumes…Share this at story hours, or hand it to the child struggling to read; this communicates essential truths without a word. Marvelous.”—School Library Journal, starred review for Once, a Bird

★“This sweet, understated story is wordless—a perfect way to tell it, as it requires youngsters to relate to the illustrations in a unique, profoundly personal way…Refreshing, beautiful, moving, and meaningful.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review for Once, a Bird

★“With cinematic fluidity, Dion’s marvellous watercolor, gouache, and digital illustrations evocatively convey Singh’s thoughtful wordless narrative…This multilayered wordless picture book has much to say about nature, renewal, and resiliency.”—Booklist, starred review for Once, a Bird

★ "[A] tender tribute to the Hindu holiday of Holi…A joyful hybrid of concept book, holiday title, and portrait of familial love."—Publishers Weekly, starred review for Holi Colors

★ "Singh celebrates Holi, the Hindu festival of colors and love, and highlights six colors in this vibrant, playful board book…The sheer joy of the event comes through on nearly every page…Communicating the universal concept of color within the specific celebration of Holi, this gem deserves a place in every child's book bag."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review for Holi Colors

"Wait, kiddo, wait! Coming right up—the world on your plate."

With maki sushi, savory shakshuka and silky fondue, nothing but a big community feast will do! This delightful rhyming picture book sweeps through the homes of a diverse neighborhood as kids, families and neighbors prepare a buffet of delicious dishes. Finally they come together in a community block party to share their favorite foods!

Praise for Rina Singh:

★“A very wise book, speaking volumes…Share this at story hours, or hand it to the child struggling to read; this communicates essential truths without a word. Marvelous.”—School Library Journal, starred review for Once, a Bird

★“This sweet, understated story is wordless—a perfect way to tell it, as it requires youngsters to relate to the illustrations in a unique, profoundly personal way…Refreshing, beautiful, moving, and meaningful.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review for Once, a Bird

★“With cinematic fluidity, Dion’s marvellous watercolor, gouache, and digital illustrations evocatively convey Singh’s thoughtful wordless narrative…This multilayered wordless picture book has much to say about nature, renewal, and resiliency.”—Booklist, starred review for Once, a Bird

★ "[A] tender tribute to the Hindu holiday of Holi…A joyful hybrid of concept book, holiday title, and portrait of familial love."—Publishers Weekly, starred review for Holi Colors

★ "Singh celebrates Holi, the Hindu festival of colors and love, and highlights six colors in this vibrant, playful board book…The sheer joy of the event comes through on nearly every page…Communicating the universal concept of color within the specific celebration of Holi, this gem deserves a place in every child's book bag."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review for Holi Colors

In a small village in India, a boy grows up to make a huge difference in his community by planting trees to celebrate the birth of every girl. Based on a true story, this book celebrates environmental sustainability, community activism and ecofeminism.

This is the story of Sundar Paliwal, who is from Piplantri, a small village in North India. As he grows to be a man, Sundar witnesses how irresponsible mining ravages the countryside and how ancient customs and beliefs cause gender inequality and discrimination. He decides it’s time for change to come to his village. Sundar’s plan? To celebrate the birth of every girl with the planting of 111 trees. Though many villagers resist at first, Sundar slowly gains their support. And today, there are over a quarter of a million trees in his village, providing food, water and opportunities for women to earn a living. His efforts have turned a once barren and deforested landscape into a fertile and prosperous one where girls can thrive.

Based on true events in the life of Sundar Paliwal, and written in collaboration with him, Rina Singh’s uplifting story shows how one person can make a difference in a community. Beautiful illustrations by Marianne Ferrer sensitively bring the evolution of the village to life. With strong links to the science curriculum, this book offers lessons on environmental awareness, sustainability and stewardship, as well as the concept of ecofeminism. It also explores ideas of social development, community and culture, and the character education traits of responsibility and cooperation. A thoroughly researched author’s note with photographs and more information about the village of Piplantri is included.