Ruskin Bond is the author of several bestselling novels and collections of short stories, essays, and poems. These include The Room on the Roof (winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize); A Flight of Pigeons; The Night Train at Deoli; Time Stops at Shamli; Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra (winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award); Angry River; The Blue Umbrella; Delhi Is Not Far; Rain in the Mountains; Tigers for Dinner; Tales of Fosterganj; A Gathering of Friends; Upon an Old Wall Dreaming; Small Towns, Big Stories; Unhurried Tales; A Gallery of Rascals; Rhododendrons in the Mist; Miracle at Happy Bazaar (winner of the Kalinga Literary Festival Children’s Book of the Year, 2021); It’s a Wonderful Life; The Shadow on the Wall; Song of the Forest; The Last Tiger; and The Gold Collection. Ruskin Bond was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1999, a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Delhi government in 2012, and the Padma Bhushan in 2014. He was selected for a Sahitya Akademi Fellowship.
<p>From the master storyteller comes a wonderful new tale about friendship, eccentric relatives, ghosts, nature, and the enduring magic of childhood. Ruskin is eleven years old and visiting his granny’s home in Dehra during his winter holidays. Follow along as he takes you through the many things he experiences during his time there—a mischievous ghost hiding in an old peepul tree, delicious baked treats enclosed within a magic box, a man with a tin box containing odd knick-knacks, uncomfortable yet exciting tonga rides, surprising run-ins with Quit India protestors, the warm company of old Miss Kellner, pretty weeds that he calls ‘Purple Hearts’, and much else besides. Punctuating all these happenings is the hoopoe, a little bird with an attractive hairdo, which appears in granny’s garden at 3 p.m. every day, much to Ruskin’s delight. In The Hoopoe on the Lawn, Ruskin Bond weaves together a story of the joys of unexpected friendships, the beauty of nature, and the simple pleasures of being young.</p><div><br></div>
