Meet Moochhander and his giant moustaches here!

Molka, the Giant, travels far and wide to learn the secrets of baking. He dreams of having his own bakery some day. He finds the perfect little town to set up his bakery, but the people are a little too set in their ways. When excited customers arrived enticed by the aroma of his goodies, Molka shows them a huge pile of buns, each the size of a couch! They look in wonder at the giant buns for a while and run away. Molka bakes gigantic bread loaves and then a mountain of cookies, and a cheesecake the size of a bus. The townspeople think Molka is making fun of their size and get angry. So, Molka leaves the town in a huff! Read on to find out what happens next.

In other stories in the book, a wicked monkey interrupts a wedding by stealing the bride. A little piglet solves the case of the missing piglets. And then there’s Moochhander, the Iron Man, whose fabulous moustaches can pull cars or be tied to the circus dome for use by the trapeze artistes! These fun stories come alive with enchanting illustrations on every page. The large print makes it great for those of you who are beginning to read to yourselves.

Flute in the Forest
Author: Leela Gour Broome
Puffin: Rs 199. pp 192

Thirteen-year-old Atiya finds school awfully monotonous. No one, not even her forest officer Papa who is busy with his files, has much time for her. Sick of dull lessons and classmates who tease her for being slow and dim, Aitya follows a path through the forest which few people would dare to take. Limping along on her strong foot, the other being a little shorter because of polio, Atiya uses a walking stick to balance herself and ventures right into the jungle. Elephants, tigers, panthers, hyenas, bears, venomous snakes and amazing adventures are waiting to welcome her! Atiya loves the jungle, exploring it on short, secret and often dangerous treks. On one trek, she hears the glorious melody of a flute. She imagines an angel playing the instrument, using the canopy of the trees like a natural surround sound system!

She is determined to learn to play the flute although her father does not approve. Her music lessons draw her close to Ogre Uncle, the grouchy old anthropologist, and his Kurumba tribal daughter, Mishora. Atiya’s enchanting music wins her father over, calms the rogue elephant Rangappa, and opens up a world of fascinating possibilities. This is a charming book based on the real-life experiences of the author.