Children Books On Lord Ganesha – Top Picks

It is that time of the year when the city is dazzling by the grandeur and the arrival of the elephant- headed Lord Ganesha. Book lovers find a booky-wooky solution to everything (well almost everything!). Here is a compilation on some of most lovable children books that you can read along with your little ones (aged toddlers to 6 years) about the Vignaharta Shree Ganesha.

1. Books by Om Publications for toddlers and young readers

Ganesha Mini Bus Series:

A perfect book to introduce Lord Ganesha to toddlers and babies. A small handy cut-out book with lovely and bright illustrations with one liners on each page talking about Ganesha’s family, his mouse and his love for sweets.

Ganesha Cutout books:

Idea for young children of 3 years and above these cut out books are cute and attractive with engrossing and cute illustrations narrating the story of how Lord Ganesha and Karthikeya competed for the magical mango that was gifted by Narada-muni.

There is another book titled Large Print: Ganesha by Sunita Pant Bansal – a wonderful compilation of short stories published by Om Publications. The suggested reading levels are however 6 to 8 years.

2. Amma Tell Me About Ganesha! By Bhakti Mathur

Vakratundh Mahakaya Suryakoti Samaprabha
Nirvighnam Kuru Me Deva Sarva Karyeshu Sarvada
“O Lord, of the curated trunk and immense body,
Radiant with the brilliance of the sun,
Pray clear all obstacles from
All of my endeavors forever.”

This book begins with a lovely and engrossing scene of the festival of Ganpati Chaturthi on the new moon’s fourth day, when beautiful and ostentatious statues of Ganesha are carried to the waters to bid goodbye – only to welcome him early next year (“agle varas tu jaldi aa”) ! The popular duo Klaka and Kiki at once demand for story time during bedtime. Amma tells them that Lord Ganesha is the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Moutain Kailash being their abode. Once Goddess Parvarti moulded a clay figure from sandalwood paste and moulded arms, legs, belly and head. It was a miracle that she was able to blow life into the same.

When Lord Shiva returned home, this little creation, Lord Ganesha was safeguarding the house and he refused to let Lord Shiva in. Soon Lord Shiva and Lord Ganesha had a face off where eventually Lord Shiva cut off Lord Ganesha’s head. Goddess Parvarti freaked and started destructing the whole universe. To ease her anger, Shiva promised to get Lord Ganesha back and replaced his head with an elephant’s head.

This book series is a wonderful way to introduce children to these mythological stories in a charming and informative manner. It has vivid illustrations and rhyming text making it highly recommended for introducing our mythological stories to young children in a fun and simple manner.

3. Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth by Sanjay Patel and Emily Haynes

An extremely lovable and appealing book with illustrations to win any child’s or adult’s heart. One reading is just not enough for this cute little mystical and whimsical book on Lord Ganesha. The story is a retelling of the popular mythological story of how Ved Vyasa convinced Lord Ganesha to write the great epic story of Mahabharta. The story has an interesting twist when a jaw-breaking ladoo breaks the tusk of Lord Ganesha which he later uses as a pen to write down the story. Ved Vyasa persuades him to write. There is a mutual agreement to do it without any breaks or haults in between the Vyasa’s narration and Lord Ganesha’s writing. Well, except that Lord Ganesha did want to take breaks for his Ladoos!

In all, a complete 5 on 5 stars to this wonderful picture book that is sure to be a hit with most of the children in the age bucket of 3 to 7 years.

4. Books on Ganesha from Chinmaya Mission Publications

Chinmaya Publications is very well known for its spiritual and social services to the world that strives to culminate the values and knowledge though it’s various endeavours. It also has a wide section of children books with animated illustrations of Gods and Goddess and dynamic short stories. Here is a sneak peek into two of them .

Boogie Woogie Ganesha by Swamini Supriyananda is an adaptation of Purana’s story to narrate the strength of the unbeatable Lord Ganesha. The story is about how Lord Ganesha came to Earth to join the family of Sage Kashyapa and his wife Aditi. Ganesha and mother Aditi go to the nearby lake and a crocodile trapped him. It is a fun and exciting story of how Ganesha jumps over the crocodile and frees himself from the clutch of the crocodile. This crocodile was in real Chitra who was cursed to be an animal. Chitra is free and once again in his original avatar thanks to the unbeatable Lord Ganesha.

Ganesha goes to a party by Swamini Supriyananda is yet another fun-frolic story where Lord Kubera meets Lord Shiva and Lord Ganesha to invite them for a party. The story depicts Lord Ganesha in a flight and illustrations are animated to give it a special charm so that young children can enjoy. Lord Kubera offered all food to Lord Ganesha but nothing was enough. Lord Ganesha had all cooked food, all raw food and had now started eating the palace. Finally, Lord Kubera asked Lord Shiva for help who gave some puffed rice whose few grains were enough to satisfy Lord Ganesha. This made Lord Kubera realise that he was wrong in showing off his wealth and that no amount of money and wealth can replace love.

These books are adaptations of these popular stories to teach love, genuineness, sharing, humility, generosity and other important life virtues to young children by way of simple stories.

5. Lord Ganesh’s Feast of Laughter by Meera Uberoi :

This is yet another humorous compilation of the pot-bellied God of all beginnings, Lord Ganesha. It compiles some of the little-known tales dug up from ancient texts—about how Ganesha created the tabla, how he stopped Ravana from becoming all-powerful, how he raced around the world without moving an inch, and how he swallowed Vishnu, Brahma and Lakshmi in one big gulp! The tales of Ganesha, the Vignaharta is portrayed in a delightful manner captivating minds of its young readers. Although it is appropriate for older kids, young enthusiastic kids hooked onto mythological stories may find it enthralling too!

6. Read Aloud Tales of Ganesha – Ganesha goes to lunch and other stories by Nita Mehta Publications

This books starts with a wonderful introduction to Lord Ganesha and goes on to narrate some lovely stories about Ganesha and the cat, Ganesha goes to lunch, How the moon lost its shine, the race, how Ganesha helped the Cauvery river to flow and Ganesha, the first stenographer. Towards the end the book also lists some names by which Ganesha is also known as well as a few activities to engage the kids. In all. Yet another nice compilation of short stories to celebrate the various mythological stories.

Hope you enjoyed reading the article and will be able to pick up your favourite Ganesha tales. Do share your best reads. We will be back with more amazing books, till then happy reading.

…Mata Jaki Parvati, Pita Mahadeva…Ek Dant Dayavant, Char bhuja dhari..Mathe sindoor sohe..Muse ki savari..Jai Ganesh, Jai Ganesh. Jai Ganesh Deva”

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