Anushka Ravishankar facts for kids

Anushka Ravishankar is a well-known Indian author. She writes many books for children. She also helped start a publishing company called Duckbill Books.

Anushka Ravishankar's Early Life

Anushka Ravishankar was born in Nashik, India. She studied mathematics in college. While in college, she enjoyed books by famous authors like Lewis Carroll. After finishing her studies, she worked in an IT company. She became a full-time writer after her daughter was born.

Writing Books for Kids

Anushka Ravishankar started her writing journey by sending stories to Tinkle magazine. She won a contest, and the magazine offered her a job. She worked as a freelance writer for Tinkle.

In 1996, her family moved to Chennai. There, she became an editor at Tara Books. This is a children's publishing house. She wrote a book called Tiger on a Tree. This book was a collection of fun, silly poems. It was translated into Japanese, Korean, and French. The book sold many copies around the world. She also worked as a Publishing Director at Scholastic India.

In 2012, she started Duckbill Publishing House with Sayoni Basu. Later, in 2019, Penguin Random House India bought Duckbill Books. Some people even call her the Indian Dr. Seuss because of her unique writing style!

Anushka Ravishankar's Writing Style

Anushka Ravishankar writes both picture books and chapter books. She is especially good at writing "nonsense verse" for children. Nonsense verse often uses sounds and silly words. It might not always make perfect sense.

What is Nonsense Verse?

Anushka explains that some of her books, like To Market! To Market!, have a sensible story. But the poems inside are quite nonsensical. She uses sounds to make the words fun. Sometimes, the sound is more important than the meaning. Other books, like Excuse Me, Is This India?, are completely nonsensical.

Inspiration for Stories

Some of her books are inspired by real-life events. For example, Catch that Crocodile!, Elephants Never Forget, and Tiger on a Tree came from things that actually happened.

Anushka also works closely with artists. She sometimes changes her poems after the pictures are finished. She collaborates with artists from many countries. These include South Africa, Switzerland, Italy, and India. While some of her books have an Indian feel, most of them appeal to children everywhere.