Books by Mitali Perkins

Tiger Boy

by Mitali Perkins

When a tiger cub goes missing from the reserve, Neel is determined to find her before the greedy Gupta gets his hands on her to kill her and sell her body parts on the black market. Neel's parents, however, are counting on him to study hard and win a prestigious scholarship to study in Kolkata. Neel doesn't want to leave his family or his island home and he struggles with his familial duty and his desire to maintain the beauty and wildness of his island home in West Bengal's Sunderbans.

Tiger Boy

by Mitali Perkins

“One of the new tiger cubs has escaped from the reserve!”

When a tiger cub escapes from a nature reserve near Neel’s island village, the rangers and villagers hurry to find her before the cub’s anxious mother follows suit and endangers them all. Mr. Gupta, a rich newcomer to the island, is also searching—he wants to sell the cub’s body parts on the black market. Neel and his sister, Rupa, resolve to find the cub first and bring her back to the reserve where she belongs.

The hunt for the cub interrupts Neel’s preparations for an exam to win a prestigious scholarship at a boarding school far from home. Neel doesn’t mind—he dreads the exam and would rather stay on his beloved island in the Sunderbans of West Bengal with his family and friends.

But through his encounter with the cub, Neil learns that sometimes you have to take risks to preserve what you love. And sometimes you have to sacrifice the present for the chance to improve the future.

Awards & Honors

• Notable Books for a Global Society
• NCTE Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction (Honorable Mention)
• CBC-NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People
• A Junior Library Guild Selection
• CCBC Choices
• 2017 North Dakota Library Association Flicker Tale Children's Book Award nominee, intermediate fiction
• 2016 South Asia Book Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature

Bamboo People

by Mitali Perkins

Junior Library Guild Selection
Top Ten ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults
Starred Reviews in PW and School Library JournalBook Page's Top Ten Middle Grace NovelBang! A side door bursts open.

Soldiers pour into the room. They're shouting and waving rifles.

I shield my head with my arms. It was a lie! I think, my mind racing.

Girls and boys alike are screaming. The soldiers prod and herd some of us together and push the rest apart as if we're cows or goats.

Their leader, though, is a middle-aged man. He's moving slowly, intently, not dashing around like the others. "Take the boys only, Win Min," I overhear him telling a tall, gangly soldier. "Make them obey."

Chiko isn't a fighter by nature. He's a book-loving Burmese boy whose father, a doctor, is in prison for resisting the government. Tu Reh, on the other hand, wants to fight for freedom after watching Burmese soldiers destroy his Karenni family's home and bamboo fields. Timidity becomes courage and anger becomes compassion as each boy is changed by unlikely friendships formed under extreme circumstances.

Bamboo People

by Mitali Perkins

Junior Library Guild Selection
Top Ten ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults
Starred Reviews in PW and School Library JournalBook Page's Top Ten Middle Grade NovelBang! A side door bursts open.

Soldiers pour into the room. They're shouting and waving rifles.

I shield my head with my arms. It was a lie! I think, my mind racing.

Girls and boys alike are screaming. The soldiers prod and herd some of us together and push the rest apart as if we're cows or goats.

Their leader, though, is a middle-aged man. He's moving slowly, intently, not dashing around like the others. "Take the boys only, Win Min," I overhear him telling a tall, gangly soldier. "Make them obey."

Chiko isn't a fighter by nature. He's a book-loving Burmese boy whose father, a doctor, is in prison for resisting the government. Tu Reh, on the other hand, wants to fight for freedom after watching Burmese soldiers destroy his Karenni family's home and bamboo fields. Timidity becomes courage and anger becomes compassion as each boy is changed by unlikely friendships formed under extreme circumstances.

Rickshaw Girl

by Mitali Perkins

Adapted for the screen by Sleeperwave Films (rickshawgirlmovie.com), directed by Amitabh Reza Chowdhury. Adapted for the stage by the Bay Area Children's Theater.Selected by the New York Public Library as one of the best 100 children's books of the past 100 years.
Jane Addams Honor Book
Maine Library Association Lupine Honor Book
ALA Amelia Bloomer Project Award Book
Bank Street Best Children's Books List (Starred)
Boston Author's Club Highly Recommended Book
Association of Children's Booksellers Best Book

The Not-So-Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen (Originally published as: The Sunita Experiment)

by Mitali Perkins

In this engaging story about cultural discovery, thirteen-year-old Sunita finds herself resenting her Indian heritage when her grandparents come for a visit from India to California. She's embarrassed by the differences she feels between herself and her friends, but she's in for some surprises as she gets to know her grandparents -- and herself! Includes a reader’s guide.

Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border

by Mitali Perkins

It's almost time for Christmas, and Maria is traveling with her mother and younger brother, Juan, to visit their grandmother on the border of California and Mexico. For the few minutes they can share together along the fence, Maria and her brother plan to exchange stories and Christmas gifts with the grandmother they haven't seen in years. But when Juan's gift is too big to fit through the slats in the fence, Maria has a brilliant idea. Here is a heartwarming tale of families and the miracle of love.

Forward Me Back to You

by Mitali Perkins

"... Simple prose belies complex themes around faith, service, personal identity, and trauma, and Perkins adroitly threads carefully balanced perspectives throughout the story and draws readers' attention to cultural bias ... This timely, realistic story filled with lots of heart yet devoid of a pat ending is sure to capture readers' interests and spark contemplative conversations around global issues and activism. A must-have for teen and new adult collections." ― School Library Journal, starred review

"... [E]xpertly explores personal identity, faith, trauma and ethnocentrism, cleverly using a dual narrative to depict Kat's and Robin's individual points of view. Perkins also uses the teens' experience in Kolkata to highlight the way many view service when done in cultures other than their own. Forward Me Back to You respectfully tackles heavy issues with a poignant, honest and refreshing outlook. ―Shelf Awareness, starred review

"...The third-person narrative perspective is as accessible as it is literary. Perkins, who was born in Kolkata, India, knows how to write fiction about serious issues such as trauma, healing, identity, cross-cultural service, and social justice. Her inclusive, diverse characters leap off the page with distinctiveness and relatability. Perkins also does superlative work in creating characters of faith who pray, attend church and enact Christian principles. While there is an element of romance, this novel is about character growth, friendship, loyalty, self-discovery, and global awareness ... Unique and refreshing, Forward Me Back to You should bring even more fans to Perkins's novels." ~ VOYA Magazine, starred review

Winner of the South Asia Book AwardSchool Library Journal Best YA Book of the YearNominated for the American Library Association's Best Fiction for Young Adults listNominated for the Amelia Bloomer ListBarnes and Noble Most Anticipated YA

Bare Tree and Little Wind: A Story for Holy Week

by Mitali Perkins

A lyrical, captivating retelling of the Palm Sunday and Easter story from National Book Award nominee Mitali Perkins, author of Rickshaw Girl, that is sure to become a beloved tradition for families of faith.

Little Wind and the trees of Jerusalem can't wait for Real King to visit. But Little Wind is puzzled when the king doesn't look how he expected. His wise friend Bare Tree helps him learn that sometimes strength is found in sacrifice, and new life can spring up even when all hope seems lost.

This story stands apart for its imagination, endearing characters, and how it weaves Old Testament imagery into Holy Week and the promise of Jesus's triumphant return. While the youngest readers will connect to the curious Little Wind, older children and parents will appreciate the layers of meaning and Scriptural references in the story, making it a book families can enjoy together year after year.

You Bring the Distant Near

by Mitali Perkins

Nominated for the National Book Award.
Six starred reviews
School Library Journal's Best Book of the Year.
Publisher's Weekly's Best Book of the Year.
Horn Book Fanfare List.
ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults.
New York City Public Library's Notable 50 Best Book for Teens.
South Asia Book Award Winner.
Mississippi's Magnolia Award Winner.

This elegant young adult novel captures the immigrant experience for one Indian-American family with humor and heart. Told in alternating teen voices across three generations, You Bring the Distant Near explores sisterhood, first loves, friendship, and the inheritance of culture--for better or worse. From a grandmother worried that her children are losing their Indian identity to a daughter wrapped up in a forbidden biracial love affair to a granddaughter social-activist fighting to preserve Bengali tigers, award-winning author Mitali Perkins weaves together the threads of a family growing into an American identity. Here is a sweeping story of five women at once intimately relatable and yet entirely new.

You Bring the Distant Near

by Mitali Perkins

Nominated for the National Book Award * Winner of the South Asia Book Award * Walter Award Honor for Teen Literature * PW Best Book of the Year * SLJ Best Book of the Year * Horn Book Fanfare List * Shelf Awareness Best Book of the Year * NYPL Best Book of the Year * Boston Globe Best Book of the Year * ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults * Mississippi Magnolia Award * Six starred reviews: ★ Horn Book ★ School Library Journal ★ Publishers Weekly ★ Booklist ★ Shelf Awareness ★ VOYA

Five girls. Three generations. One great American love story. You Bring the Distant Near explores sisterhood, first loves, friendship, and the inheritance of culture--for better or worse. Ranee, worried that her children are losing their Indian culture; Sonia, wrapped up in a forbidden biracial love affair; Tara, seeking the limelight to hide her true self; Shanti, desperately trying to make peace in the family; Anna, fighting to preserve her Bengali identity--award-winning author Mitali Perkins weaves together a sweeping story of five women at once intimately relatable and yet entirely new.

"Perkins tells a nuanced, quintessentially American story. She affectionately traces four young women's interrelated yet distinct paths to determining their identities, and, later in the book, adds a fifth. Ranee, the Das family matriarch, has long lived according to Bengali tradition. In her 60s, she embarks on a process of discovery familiar to many immigrants who move to this country as adults: She reshapes herself from the blended clay of her native and adopted homes." -- Chicago Tribune

A Little Bit Super: With Small Powers Come Big Problems

by Gary D. Schmidt, Nikki Grimes, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Pam Muñoz Ryan, Linda Sue Park, Mitali Perkins, Ibi Zoboi, Leah Henderson, Kyle Lukoff, Daniel Nayeri, Pablo Cartaya, Meg Medina, Remy Lai, Brian Young

None

The Golden Necklace A Darjeeling Tea Mystery

by Mitali Perkins

National Book Award nominee Mitali Perkins crafts a contemporary chapter-book mystery about a 12-year-old Nepali girl who sets out to solve the disappearance of her Bengali friend's missing jewelry.

Set within a tea plantation in Darjeeling, 7-10-year-old readers are transported across the world to a politically and culturally rich setting, following our brave heroine, Sona.

Sona, a 12-year-old Nepali girl, has struck up a friendship with Tara, the niece of the greedy tea plantation manager who has promised Tara's hand in marriage in order to get his hands on her inheritance of precious jewelry. Then Tara’s gold jewelry goes missing. The search is on for the culprit, and Sona must use all her wits in order to prove it wasn’t her beloved brother, Samiran Daju, who stole it.

Filled with vivid characters against a complex and multilayered political and cultural backdrop, this novel showcases a strong girl protagonist whom readers will root for. The Golden Necklace is award-winning author Mitali Perkins's latest and most compelling story yet.

Hope in the Valley

by Mitali Perkins

Hope in the Valley, from National Book Award Nominee Mitali Perkins, is a middle-grade novel exploring grief, friendship, family, and growing up in a community facing a housing crisis.

Twelve-year-old Indian-American Pandita Paul doesn't like change. She's not ready to start middle school and leave the comforts of childhood behind. Most of all, Pandita doesn't want to feel like she's leaving her mother, who died a few years ago, behind. After a falling out with her best friend, Pandita is planning to spend most of her summer break reading and writing in her favorite secret space: the abandoned but majestic mansion across the street.

But then the unthinkable happens. The town announces that the old home will be bulldozed in favor of new—maybe affordable—housing. With her family on opposing sides of the issue, Pandita must find her voice—and the strength to move on—in order to give her community hope.

Just Making A Guide for Compassionate Creatives

by Mitali Perkins

From award-winning author Mitali Perkins comes an essential companion for writers, artists, and other creatives who long for a more just world.

Why should we make art while injustice and suffering wreak havoc? How can we justify making beautiful things? Author Mitali Perkins isn't afraid of hard questions about justice and art. She knows that the creative life can seem selfish. As the daughter of immigrants, she studied toward a career of eradicating poverty and knows the internal voice that challenges: ""How dare you retreat to your studio to create?""

Yet Perkins learned that writing fiction wasn't setting aside her passion for a better world but pursuing it. In Just Making, she offers a justice-driven perspective unique among books on creativity. ""My ancestors are village Bengali women who made beautiful things but didn't dare to dream of art as a career,"" she writes. Women across the globe have crafted beauty and order amid chaos, war, and deprivation, and Perkins turns our attention to what we learn from them.

Just Making introduces us to strategies such as forgetfulness in flow, tenderness in trauma, and crossing borders. In conversation with creative guides like Nikki Grimes, Chad Somers, and Carol Aust, Perkins offers ten practices that help creatives keep making. Persevering through pushback from within and without, we can keep making art that heals human suffering, transmits truth, and confronts the oppressor.

Here are dispatches for young and not-so-young creatives, crafted by a writer committed to shalom: the flourishing of all. We must keep making art infused with truth, beauty, and goodness, not to ignore a world in distress but for the sake of loving it. With vivid stories, practical ideas, and reflection and discussion questions, Just Making will inspire you to keep making beauty in a broken world.