Tulika Publishers: Celebrating Pride: Embracing differences, building acceptance and fostering love!

“A rainbow is not afraid of showing its true colours because it knows it is beautiful inside out,” says a Canadian philosopher. Introducing gender indentities, diversity and pride into a child’s life is important and equally sensitive. So, when can parents, caregivers and educators let children explore these topics?

Child psychologists recommend nurturing young children from a place of positivity, anti-bias and acceptance, while intentionally weaving values of kindness, honesty and empathy into the fabric of their lives. By encouraging vulnerability, respecting differences, and providing open and safe environments for discussion, they believe, we can raise individuals who feel worthy, fight intolerance and push for equal rights.

Through June, we highlighted books that gently, yet powerfully touched upon topics like sex, gender identities, attraction, family dynamics, diversity, inclusion, tolerance, kindness and acceptance across age groups. We kickstarted this series with a moving review of our award-winning picture book ‘Guthli Has Wings’ written by Kanak Shashi.

Later, we shared exclusive excerpts from well-acclaimed books like ‘Big Hero, Size Zero: Gender Talk’ by Anusha Hariharan and Sowmya Rajendran, ‘This is Me, Mayil’ by Sowmya Rajendran and Niveditha Subramaniam and ‘Blue and Other Stories’ by Suniti Namjoshi. Today, we’re closing this series on a high note! Are you ready to chase rainbows and paint your nails with our lovely ele-friend 'Ranganna'! Let’s dance and prance!

Say hello to our cheerful and colourful Ranganna! An elephant who gets fascinated by colours? And wants to wear nail paint? Will his friends Aditi and Anushka polish his nails too? Illustrations that are a riot of colour zestfully captures the tale of an elephant who loves colour and wants to paint his nails in different hues. Read a few promising reviews about this crowd-favourite book… then scroll down to celebrate diversity, inclusion and love with Ranganna. Happy Pride!

A picture-perfect book for introducing acceptance and pride to young people!

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“In Ranganna, Arthi Navneeth has created a wonderfully upbeat elephant character with an uninhibited love for colours. With his sunny disposition, he is sure to put everyone in a cheery mood. Well-designed spreads by Kavita Singh Kale washed with stunning colours render a lovely rural charm making it an irresistible pick!” — Praba Ram, Saffron Tree

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“In this charming tale, we meet the effervescent Ranganna who wants to add some colour to his plain self. And he gets his wish when he meets two little girls, Anushka and Aditi. How many toe nails does an Indian elephant have? Well, ask the two little girls in the story, they know! And, that's how many colours of nail polish they find to paint Ranganna's nails - one colour per toe nail. Is it any wonder Ranganna does his happy elephant dance at the end? Arthi Navaneeth's genial narration and Kavitha Singh Kale's bright spreads make this a delightful read for the kids.” — Sheela Preuitt, Saffron Tree

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“Did you ever read or watch something just for the sheer loveliness of it and not wonder what it all meant, in the end? If you’re answering “yes” to these questions, ‘Ranganna’ is your story. He’s an adorable, cuddly, blue elephant. Yes, blue, with bright pink bubble gum cheeks. Kavita Singh Kale’s art work looks like it’s from a classic Indian children’s book or comic from the eighties. It’s unpretentious, beautifully imperfect and completely relatable.” — Goodbooks.in

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“I got Ranganna by Arthi Anand Navaneeth as a haul along with few other books when the lockdown was lifted first and deliveries started… Ranganna elephant would like nothing but colours, all around him, and all over himself if had his way. When his friends show him their new nail polish, his only wish is to get his nails painted as well. What do you think he’ll do? A colourful story, what I call rainbow-ed. Lots of colours to learn… [we liked] the beautiful message behind the story, of friendship, of respect, and of accepting anyone as they are. Go for it, it is a colourfully beautiful book to have in the collection!” — Anuradha Gupta, reviewer

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“We loved the simple story line and the absolutely eye catching illustrations! What we loved are the absolutely adorable story line and the gender neutral message in the book.” — R’s Mom, a Kolkata-based blogger

Ranganna, the little elephant lives near a dhobi ghat. He is captivated by the brightly coloured nails of his friends and wants to paint his toes too! But whoever heard of an elephant wearing nail polish?! A simple story on gender neutrality, acceptance and love with illustrations, which are a riot of colour and energy, make Ranganna one irresistible picture book!

Are you ready to do the Ranganna dance with the young people in your life?

What are celebrations without some fun? Move and groove to a special set of songs tuned based on this adorable book — visit our SoundCloud page now and get shaking!

Though Pride month is coming to an end, we strongly believe that our universal mission to acknowledge diversity, nurture safe environments, advocate for inclusion, and spread kindness should carry on…

Introduce pride to the young people in your life with our gender-bender books,

order them from our website today!