The Riddle of the Seventh Stone

Rishabh the rat and Shashee the spider are quite happy with the way they are: rummaging around in Venkat Thatha’s wonderful, musty, dusty, rare herbs shop. Until, that is, they stumble upon a magical powder and find themselves transformed into human children. It’s not easy being a kid: there’s school, and homework, wearing clothes and—yuk!—having to use soap... but even worse, their very home and the entire city are under threat from an evil moneylender and property dealer known as the Shark. With the help of other children, friendly cockroaches, cheeky mosquitoes, and a very Big Bandicoot, they set out to prove that no problem is too big even for the smallest of creatures. REVIEWS: “Riddle of the Seventh Stone [is] a unique take on ordinary events and creatures that we take so much for granted; things that get extraordinary in Sahu’s gifted hands.” —Shreekumar Varma “Monideepa Sahu’s delightful debut book should be prescribed reading for all school age children. I for one have decided to put it firmly on my list of gifts to keep in stock, and am eagerly looking forward to her next!”—Saffron Tree “...a fun read, even for this adult reader, so I’m sure children would thoroughly enjoy the creepy bits as well as the Indian setting. What a welcome change!” —Hasmita Chanda