Children's books in Tamil (and translated from Tamil)
Books available in Tamil, or translated from it, for young readers. Many come in several Indian languages at once; check the language line on each book.
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What Shall I Make?
Ages 3–6Indian author
Neeraj turns a ball of dough into a snake, a mouse, a cat and a lion, before Amma helps him turn it into a roti. A playful story of imagination in the kitchen.
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Tiger on a Tree
Ages 3–6Indian author
A tiger gets stuck up a tree — and no one in the village can agree on what to do about it. A brilliantly funny picture book with rollicking rhyming text and gorgeous illustrations by Pulak Biswas. Published in multiple Indian languages.
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Gajapati Kulapati
by Ashok Rajagopalan
Ages 4–6Indian author
The most adorable elephant catches a cold with wonderfully messy results. A beloved classic with repetitive sounds perfect for reading aloud.
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Ammachi's Glasses
by Priya Kuriyan
Ages 3–5Indian author
A hilarious wordless picture book about a grandmother who misplaces her glasses and proceeds to cook chappals and eat spiders.
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Flutterfly
Ages 3–6Indian author
A wordless picture book in black-and-white with coloured butterflies. Children make up their own story each time — a different book on every read.
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Out of the Way! Out of the Way!
Ages 4–7Indian author
A boy in India sees a baby tree growing by the path and protects it. The tree flourishes throughout his lifetime despite all the changes around it.
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Maharani the Cow
by Christy Sudhir
Ages 4–7Indian author
Maharani the cow sits cheerfully in the middle of busy streets, holding up traffic for hours on end. A gentle, wry, very Indian picture book.
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Jalebi Curls
Ages 4–6Indian author
A Raja who dreams of jalebis in his sleep is in for a bizarre adventure. Curl up with this delicious and silly read-aloud.
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Eecha Poocha
by Kala Sashikumar (retold)
Ages 4–7Indian author
A retelling of a Malayalam folk tale about a greedy cat and a fly. Poocha drinks up all the soup and swells like a balloon. What happens next?
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The Pleasant Rakshasa
by Sowmya Rajendran
Ages 4–7Indian author
Karimuga the friendly rakshasa decides to share his beauty with jealous fellow rakshasas. A conversation about sharing and inner beauty.
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Purple Jojo
by Sameera Zia Qureshi
Ages 3–5Indian author
A puppy wakes up with big purple patches on him! Children guess how Jojo got the purple stains in this charming bilingual story.
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Sunu-Sunu Snail
by Sandhya Rao
Ages 3–6Indian author
A little snail rushes home to tell his mother all about the sights, sounds, and noises of a storm. Sweet and sensory.
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Mallipoo, Where Are You?
by Radhika Chadha
Ages 3–6Indian author
Mallipoosundari the baby piglet goes missing! Her elephant friends try to find her in this warm, funny tale about caring for others.
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The Night Life of Trees
by Bhajju Shyam, Durga Bai, Ram Singh Urveti
Ages 6–9Indian author
Three Gond tribal artists bring the forest to life with ancient legends about trees in stunning hand-screen-printed illustrations.
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Rooster Raga
Ages 4–7Indian author
A rooster who sings only carnatic ragas causes chaos in his village — until his unique voice wins everyone over. A funny, musical picture book, published in English and several Indian languages.
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Looking for Laddoo
by Aparna Karthikeyan
Ages 4–7Indian author
Karthik and his veterinarian mother weave through the iconic streets of Chennai searching for their missing pup, Laddoo — helping animals along the way. A warm, funny city adventure rooted in South Indian everyday life.
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Thatha's Pumpkin
by Lalita Iyer
Ages 4–7Indian author
Tia's grandfather has grown an enormous pumpkin — the biggest he's ever seen. When it's too large to eat alone, Tia must find homes for each little wedge. A gentle story about generosity, sharing, and community.
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The Night the Moon Went Missing
by Various
Ages 4–7Indian author
The moon goes missing and everyone searches for it in this charming multilingual story. Free to read on StoryWeaver in English, Hindi, Tamil and more.
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Grandma's Bag of Stories
by Sudha Murty
Ages 8–12Indian author
A grandmother enchants her grandchildren with ten irresistible tales of kings, wisemen, princesses, and rogues drawn from India's folk tradition. Sudha Murty at her most delightful.
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Tales of Birbal (Amar Chitra Katha)
Ages 5–9Indian author
Birbal's legendary wit against all challengers — in Amar Chitra Katha's iconic comic format, one of India's most beloved children's comics for over 60 years.
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Krishna (Amar Chitra Katha)
Ages 6–9Indian author
The iconic retelling of Lord Krishna's life — from his miraculous birth to his role in the Mahabharata — in vivid, memorable Amar Chitra Katha comic panels.
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Wings of Fire: An Autobiography (Young Readers Edition)
by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
Ages 12–15Indian author
India's 'Missile Man' and beloved President tells his own story — from a Tamil Nadu fishing village to leading India's space programme. Abridged for young readers.
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Sivagamiyin Sabatham: Young Readers Edition
by Kalki Krishnamurthy (adapted)
Ages 10–13Indian author
Kalki's Pallava kingdom epic — war, Bharatanatyam, sculpture, and romance — adapted for young readers. One of Tamil literature's most beloved historical novels.
Heads-up: War & battle violence, Teen crushes & romance
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En Iniya Iyanthira (My Dear Robot)
by Sujatha (R. Rangarajan)
Ages 10–14Indian author
Tamil Nadu's most beloved science fiction writer imagines a future where humans and robots must find a way to coexist. A landmark of Tamil sci-fi — accessible, witty, and thought-provoking.
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Nila Nila (Tamil)
by T4Tales
Ages 1–4Indian author
A Tamil-English interactive board book for toddlers, bringing T4Tales' bilingual reading experience to a new Indian language.
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Stories I Like to Tell
by Jeeva Raghunath
Ages 6–10Indian author
Well-known storyteller Jeeva Raghunath shares the stories she grew up with and loves to tell, peppered with the storyteller's tongue-in-cheek asides. A lovely read-aloud and storytelling resource for families and teachers. Illustrated by Niveditha Subramaniam.
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The Musical Donkey (Paadum Kazhuthai)
by Niveditha Subramaniam
Ages 2–5Indian author
A donkey who loves to sing — even if nobody else loves hearing him! A cheerful, funny board-style picture book for the youngest readers, available in bilingual editions including English–Tamil (Paadum Kazhuthai).
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A Home of Our Own
by Meghaa Aggarwal (illus. Habib Ali)
Ages 4–8Indian author
Sunehri and her friends, who live on the city streets, decide to play house with old plates, empty chip packets, plastic bottles and a broken helmet they have collected. A tender look at play, friendship and what makes a home.
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Junior Kumbhakarna
Ages 4–8Indian author
Every night Kukku asks his father for the story of Kumbhakarna, the giant who sleeps for six months at a stretch, and every night he dozes off at the same moment the giant does. In his dream, everyone tries everything to wake the giant up. A wildly funny retelling of an episode from the Ramayana, illustrated by Shreya Sen.
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From Bhavani, With Love
by Lakshmi V (illus. Zainab Tambawalla)
Ages 8–11Indian author
Sumi's grandfather is a master weaver of jamakkalam rugs in Bhavani. When his hands begin to falter and the pit loom falls silent, Sumi and the community find a way to help.
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Crow vs Vada
by Aruna Shekar
Ages 3–6Indian author
The tea stall opens, hot masala vadas pile up, and Crow just wants one. But the tea-seller is watching, and there are other competitors too. Who wins? A cheeky new spin on a classic tale.
