About Atlas Of Greats
Big lives, told small.
True picture-book stories of great Indians, for children aged 3 to 7.
Why these stories?
Children learn who they could become from the stories they hear. Ask a five-year-old to name a great Indian, and you may hear one name, or two. India has hundreds.
A boy who delivered newspapers on a little island grew up to build rockets. A young woman opened a school for girls when most girls were not allowed to learn. A shy boy became the man who led a whole country without raising a fist.
We want those names to feel as familiar as the characters on a child’s lunchbox, and far more worth copying.
Every Great starts small
Our books don’t open with statues and speeches. They open with a child, someone your child’s own size.
Mohandas, a very shy boy who wouldn’t copy in a spelling test.
Ramanujan, doing his sums on a slate.
Abdul, delivering newspapers every morning before school.
Greatness isn’t something you are born with. It’s something you grow into, one brave, kind, stubborn day at a time.
What your child carries away
Every story is a gentle lesson in how to live. These are the values our books come back to, each one taught by something a real Great did.
Kindness and empathy
Noticing how others feel, and doing something about it.
- Be kind to everyone
- Care for others
- Friends can be different
- Be a friend to everyone
- Help others grow
Honesty and fairness
Telling the truth, and standing up for what is fair.
- Tell the truth
- Open doors for others
- Everyone can learn
Courage
Being brave when it’s hard, and strong without being unkind.
- Be brave
- Be strong without fists
- Stand up to unfairness
Never giving up
Trying again, practising, and keeping going.
- Never give up
- Try again
- Keep going
- Never stop trying
A love of learning
Wondering, looking closely, and finding joy in knowing more.
- Look up and wonder
- Love what you learn
- Learning can be joyful
- Look closely
Working together
Sharing, helping and doing big things as a team.
- Work together
- Walk together
- Play as a team
- Sing together
How every book is made
True, and checked
Every scene comes from well-documented history and the person’s own words. We simplify for small readers, but we never make things up and pass them off as fact.
Made for reading aloud
One short passage on each spread, 32 pages: a story you can finish at bedtime, and one a child can soon “read” back to you from the pictures.
Pictures that get it right
One warm house style, so the series looks like a family on the shelf. Faces keep their true complexion on every page; clothes, homes and faith are shown as they really were.
Six lessons, straight from the story
The last pages gather six lessons, each tied to a moment the child has just seen. Never a moral tacked on at the end.
Free printables with every book
A colouring page drawn from the book’s own pictures, and a “What I learned” sheet to talk about the story. Free to print at home or in class.
And then, the next Great
Each book closes by introducing others in the series, because one good story should lead to another.
For the grown-ups reading along
- Slow down on the pictures. There’s always something to find.
- Stop at the hard moments and ask, “What would you do?”
- At the lessons, let your child pick a favourite and tell you why.
- Take it off the page with our free colouring pages and “What I learned” sheets.