Top picks this month

Title: A Cloud Called Bhura 
Author: Bijal Vachharajani
Publisher: Speaking Tiger
Price: Rs399

Amni wakes up one morning to find the sky taken over by a huge brown cloud. Where did this cloud appear from suddenly? Even as she and her friends Mithil, Tammy and Andrew start finding out more, their city of Mumbai starts reeling from the changes the cloud brings to the weather. Bhura Cloudus, as the media calls it, contains noxious gases, causes scalding rain to fall, makes birds flee the city, and suffocates every living thing. Thought-provoking, funny and inspiring, A Cloud Called Bhura is about the changing global climate and the havoc it can cause, as well as the forces of friendship, trust and community that give hope and will help counter this deadly threat to humanity.

Title: From Leeches to Slug Glue
Author: Roopa Pai
Publisher: Puffin
Price: Rs299

In its 25 chapters, the book explores breakthroughs like vaccination, anaesthesia, X-rays and the germ theory, apart from ‘revolutionary’ ideas like compassionate care for the mentally ill and mandatory hand-washing for surgeons. The fascinating stories, trivia, and quirky, fun artwork that complement the narrative, delivered in Pai’s signature conversational style, add to the overall appeal. In an age when allopathy and its practitioners are being viewed with mistrust, and self-diagnosis has become a way of life, this is a critical and must-read book for young and old to realise how much of our largely disease-free lives, and safe, effective and pain-free surgical interventions, we owe to the brilliant and dedicated men and women of centuries past, who ushered in the young science of modern medicine.

Title: Strange Things
Publisher: The Young Chronicle
Price: Rs249

This is a collection of 12 science fiction stories narrated by children. The Book Consists of 12 stories written by kids which are very related to the kids and their interests.

Title: The Rise of the Midnight King
Author: Olivier Lafont
Publisher: Speaking Tiger
Price: Rs280

Every summer, twins Shari and Tal Kandhari, sisters Iti and Trikaya Pillai, and Safir Idris holiday in Devagarh, a village high in the hills of Kumaon. Here, they’ve set up the Kumaon Secret Society, or the KSS. This summer they have a new member: the mysterious Isaac Shroff. Also back in Devagarh is Mesmerizing Mister Mer, the strange and cruel magician whose appearance has timed perfectly with the disappearance of all cats from the village. Can the members of the KSS discover their hidden superpowers in time and foil Mister Mer’s diabolical plans?

Title: 31 Fantastic Adventures in Science: Women Scientists in India
Author: Nandita Jayaraj and Aashima Freidog
Publisher: Puffin
Price: Rs399

This unique book presents the stories of thirty-one of these trailblazing women who work in a diverse array of fields, from environmental biotechnology to particle physics, palaeobiology to astrophysics. Through their research, they uncover the mysteries of the universe, find more sustainable ways of living, cure life-threatening diseases and study animals and plants that are long gone.