Tamarind & the Star of Ishta

from £38.99

We would recommend this book to be taught in Years 4 or 5.

Tamarind never knew her Indian mum, who died soon after she was born. So when she arrives at her ancestral home, a huge mansion in the Himalayas surrounded by luxuriant gardens, she's full of questions for her extended family. But instead of answers, she finds an ominous silence - and a trickle of intriguing clues: an abandoned hut, a friendly monkey, a glowing star ring, and a strange girl in the garden who calls herself Ishta. Slowly, Tamarind unravels a mystery at the heart of who she is…

A beautiful and emotional family drama lightly woven with magic, in a breathtaking Indian setting.

If you would like to be invoiced for this product (or would like a different quantity), please email julia@chestnutbooks.co.uk with an order number and we’ll be happy to help.

Quantity:

We would recommend this book to be taught in Years 4 or 5.

Tamarind never knew her Indian mum, who died soon after she was born. So when she arrives at her ancestral home, a huge mansion in the Himalayas surrounded by luxuriant gardens, she's full of questions for her extended family. But instead of answers, she finds an ominous silence - and a trickle of intriguing clues: an abandoned hut, a friendly monkey, a glowing star ring, and a strange girl in the garden who calls herself Ishta. Slowly, Tamarind unravels a mystery at the heart of who she is…

A beautiful and emotional family drama lightly woven with magic, in a breathtaking Indian setting.

If you would like to be invoiced for this product (or would like a different quantity), please email julia@chestnutbooks.co.uk with an order number and we’ll be happy to help.

We love this book because it is:

  • perfectly captures the anxieties & anger children can experience becoming part of a new family

  • wonderfully atmospheric & a beautifully vivid representation of India

  • an emotional family drama woven with magic with a positive outcome

Learning opportunities:

  • Writing: write a letter from Tamarind to her father after she has first arrive in India

  • Debate: Sufia V Tamarind

  • Writing: write a letter from Tamarind to Sufia

  • Geography: cultural, weather (monsoons) & physical geography comparisons between UK & India

  • Geography: look at the flight from UK to India and the countries Tamarind flies over

  • PSHE: blended families/new relationships

  • Celebrating cultures: research & look at Saris

  • Science: animals & their habitats

  • Cooking: cook & taste traditional Indian food

  • Science: space - stars & constellations

  • Science: plants & their habitats - research the Tamarind tree and create a fact file

  • Read the non-fiction book India, Incredible India by Jasbinder Bilan alongside the story

Head over to the Chicken House website to see their teaching resources: Chicken House Publishers

Visit Jabinder Bilan’s website to see photos of Tamarind’s world and to book an author visit:Jasbinder Bilan

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