Some superheroes come with capes, hammers and iron suits that launch them into outer space. Other superheroes come armed with cameras, seeds and quiet grit. Today is #WorldEnvironmentDay, and all this June we're celebrating the environment: starting off with the real-life superheroes who do everything they can to protect and preserve the magical flora and fauna we share our home with.

Walking in the Wild by Sejal Mehta and Barkha Lohia

Zakhuma works as a forest guard and wildlife photographer with the Mizoram Forest Department in Dampa Tiger Reserve in Mizoram. This is one of India’s more remote tiger reserves with a very difficult terrain. This self-taught photographer has created a valuable archive of photographs of Dampa’s biodiversity: plants, animals, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mosses and fungi. Join him on a walk through the jungle and meet the different animals who live there and what it means to protect them and their home.

Jadav and the Tree-Place by Vinayak Varma 

Jadav ‘Mulai’ Payeng is a conservationist and recipient of the Padmashree, one of the highest civilian honours awarded by the Indian government. Jadav lives in Majuli, Assam. At the age of 16, distressed by the sight of dying snakes that had washed up on a sandbar banking the Brahmaputra, Jadav decided to plant some trees in the spot. He started small, with bamboos, and grew an entire forest, plant by painstaking plant. Over the next three decades, Jadav and his tree-planting have managed to change the soil in the barren area. The 550-hectare sandbar is now a lush, dense forest and home to a variety of flora and fauna, including elephants, tigers, apes, deer and many species of local and migratory birds. Jadav continues to visit and nurture his forest every day, planting wherever he finds empty patches.

 

A Tiny Seed: The Story of Wangari Maathai by Nicola Riddisjk and Maya Marshak

Wangari Muta Maathai ( 1 April 1940 – 25 September 2011) was an internationally renowned Kenyan environmental political activist and Nobel laureate. She founded the Green Belt Movement, an environmental non-governmental organization focused on the planting of trees, environmental conservation, and women's rights. This lovely book from BookDash introduces readers to the little girl who worked in the fields with her mother and who was worried when she saw the big forests disappearing. 

Welcome to the Forest by Bhavna Menon and Kavita Singh Kale

The Last Wilderness Foundation is an NGO that works in urban and rural areas with children to spread awareness about wildlife and biodiversity, and sensitise them towards conservation and the environment. In January 2017, the Last Wilderness Foundation in association with the Kanha Forest Department conducted a camp for 23 visually impaired students from the Ananya Manav Sai Samiti, Jabalpur. 'Welcome to the Forest' is their story.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and #EnvironmentMonth all this June for more wonderful books, author interviews, video resources and more! 

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Remember that character in a book that you suddenly felt a flood of empathy for? Or that literary character your book-worn hands keep going back to when you are sad, happy or even angry? Our moods, our emotions and what we feel at the moment often predict the book we will pick up, or the character that we will love the most. So we have compiled a list of our books for all your mood seasons. Be it adults or kids, we don’t want anyone to ever think, “I’m feeling so… scared. Now if only there was a book somewhere that truly understood what I’m going through.” Here are the books. Enjoy!

 

1.    Curious-

Sister, Sister, Where Does Thunder Come From? by Roopa Pai and Greystroke

We have heard thunder and lightning are all Kumbhakarna’s doing. In fact, it could be because of some sky-riding motorbikes too. There are many possibilities to explore as a curious little boy and his big sister try to figure out ‘where does thunder come from?’ Read this beautiful story in Hindi, Marathi and Telugu.

 

2.    Sad –

Manikantan Has Enough by Anil Menon and Upamanyu Bhattacharyya

There’s something inherently sad about this book. You will notice not just the obvious longing felt acutely by the main character, but also the sad state of affairs we, as human race, might soon find ourselves in. Read this book, available in 9 languages, to feel better about yourself as you realize even in a futuristic, technology-consumed world, things are not all bright and shiny.

 

3.    Angry -

Sringeri Srinivas Learns to Laugh by Rohini Nilekani and Angie & Upesh

You see the title? That’s how angry Sringeri was. He actually had to ‘learn’ to laugh. In all his books, Sringeri just can’t help but pull all the attention to himself, can he? But in this one, he has competition. From monkeys. Read in Kannada and Hindi to find out what happens when a bunch of monkeys get on his nerves.

 

4.    Vengeful –

Chakora, The Brave Dog by Ashwin Suvarna

Don’t for a moment think that the animal kingdom is not fraught with feuds, jealousies and revenge. This community user has depicted the secret world of animals in this wonderful story about struggles of a dog, his journey, and how he faces animals bent on taking revenge.

 

5.    Compassionate-

Reeti and Mithu by Anupa Lal and Soumya Menon  

We have an untapped reservoir of compassion that we are not aware of at times. Meet Reeti, a little girl who suddenly realizes that her friendship with Mithu, her parrot, is not equal or fair. Join her on her discovery of compassion in this story available in ten Indian languages.

 

6.    Vain-

आम्ही सारे प्राणी by Madhav Chavan , Meera Tendolkar and Santosh Pujari

Proud of your hair? Your teeth? Your lack of tail? Huh? Well, vanity knows no bounds and no logic either sometimes. Here’s a sweet story about a little girl who is showing off in front of a bunch of animals, trying to prove humans are better than animals. Do the animals take it well, and who turns out to be better in the end? Read this Marathi story in Kannada, English and Telugu  to find out!

 

7.    Funny-

Saboo and Jojo by Herminder Ohri

Happy endings are great. Funny endings are even better. Here’s a story that will remind you of all the adorably funny things we used to say and do as kids. Saboo and Jojo is available to read in 6 languages, three of which are translations done by our community in Kora, Santali and even French!

 

8.    Playful-

निराली दादी by Mala Kumar , Manisha Chaudhry and Niloufer Wadia

Meet this grandmother. She can’t stay still. She refuses to slow down. Her fun is just getting started. Watch her quick playful hands bounce and juggle everything from frying pans to office supplies! This grandma has tossed up quite a lot of trouble for herself. Watch out for her!

 

9.    Excited-  

Pambaram, the Naughty Top by Kavitha Punniyamurthi and Ajanta Guhathakurta

We just cleaned up and found something delightful - a naughty spinning top! This pambaram will spin and spin until your head does the same. Priya and Bala were playing with Pambaram when suddenly it took off! Help the kids chase the super-excited Pambaram as it weaves its way through the house and neigbourhood making things… and people fall. Also available in Hindi and Marathi.

 

10. Scared-

Under My Bed by Anupa Lal and Suvidha Mistry

We often do a double take at night when we see a shadow that looks creepily like a full-fledged person. While we pretend to be brave, a child’s mind doesn’t quite work like that. Thankfully. So, here’s a story about fear that makes us see danger in innocence, available in bilingual formats too with English in Telugu, Marathi and Hindi.

 

What are YOU feeling today? Tell us the story you relate to the most in the comments, or on Twitter and Facebook!

 

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 The little creature with many eyes and legs lurking in the nooks and crannies of your house and garden has a fascinating story behind it. Vena Kapoor, Programme Co-ordinator, Education and Public Engagement at the Nature Conservation Foundation has been working in the areas of conservation research and practice since 1998. Her early research was on rainforest restoration in the Western Ghats using spiders as an indicator species and developing conservation education and outreach material. Vena has written 'Off to See Spiders' for Pratham Books, a digital first STEM book illustrated by Pia Meenakshi.  This story first appeared in The Hindu in School dated September 16, 2015.

Eight legs and eight eyes
Spun a web and caught three flies -----

What comes to your mind when someone says the word “spider” to you? Long hairy legs and sticky webs?  A scary little creature lurking in some deep dark corner?

If you, like many people, don't like spiders, that's quite understandable since spiders rarely get much positive press. But I can guarantee that if you make a little effort to get to know spiders better, you will gradually get fascinated – and may even end up a bit obses- sive about them, like I am!

First, find a spider in your home or outside. Now, does it sit in a web that resembles a wheel, or does the web look like a complicated mess? Web building spiders can take anywhere between 20 minutes to a full day to spin their miniature architectural marvels. In many species it is only the female who weaves a web, and the males (much smaller in size) hang out at the edges, hoping to scrounge a meal.

Femal Giant Wood Spider. Photograph by Sara.

Webs come in different shapes: a wheel, a dome, a thick white sheet, which becomes really prominent when there is heavy dew in the morning. Most spider webs are coated with a glue-like sub- stance to capture and hold steadfast any unfortunate insects that fly into them. Radiating lines of silk alert the waiting spider when something has been caught, else the poor-sighted spider might never know! A male web building spider strums and plucks the silk at the edge of the web to announce his arrival. If he is off-tune in his strumming the male is either ignored or eaten by the female!

 

Wolf Spider. Photograph by Sara.

Perhaps you have come across a spider scurrying quickly about or jumping around athletically, with no web in sight? These spiders are known as hunting spiders and they rely on camouflage, stealth and deceit to get their food. Look for these spunky spiders in your house, on plants or on leaf litter on the ground. Sometimes looking closely at a flower will reveal a small brightly coloured spider that resembles a crab! These crab spiders often match the colour of the flower they live on; and an unsuspecting bee visiting the flower for nectar is soon made a meal of.

Crab Spider. Photograph by Robin Rozario.

Hunting spiders with their keener eyesight are also often brilliantly coloured, which helps to impress a female, since they have no webs to strum on. They often also perform elaborate courtship dances, which consist of swaying movements of their body and legs.

The world of spiders is weird and wonderful indeed. So the next time someone asks you if you would like to go bird watching, decline politely and tell them that you would rather go spider watching! 

If you'd like to go on a spider walk right now, read Vena and Pia's book 'Off to See Spiders!' on StoryWeaver. 

 

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