A letter from a parent
My daughter loves that the chooha always outsmarts everyone. She now narrates his little schemes at dinner.
Meenal D.Mother of a five-year-old, Pune
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Big Beetle Books · No. 04
Ek Hoshiyaar Chooha.
A playful hide-and-seek story that builds observation, and a gentle sense of kindness
Sharper observation and visual tracking
More excitement during reading
Early, unforced signs of empathy
Rs. 349.00Rs. 399.00
12% offNo GST on books
Nandita can sign this one for your child by name. Add it in the cart.
What changes this week.
1.
Children start actively searching the pages.
2.
More "I found it!" moments of excitement.
3.
Longer attention span through visual tracking.
4.
Gentle conversations about kindness and letting go.
5.
The game continues past the last page.
Four small shifts this book sets in motion.
Focus.
Visual search builds real, sustained attention: the mouse doesn't announce itself, the child has to look.
Emotional grounding.
Empathy is introduced through a simple choice at the story's end, never as a lesson, always as a feeling.
Curiosity.
"Where did the mouse go?" is enough to carry a child through the whole book, and back to the start again.
Imagination.
Children extend the hide-and-seek game beyond the book, into rooms, cupboards, and the rest of the afternoon.
Before this book
Passive page-turning, waiting to be told what happens next.
Before
After a few readings
Actively searching, noticing, and: by the end: feeling something about what they find.
AfterDesigned for toddlers, ages 2–5·Built on visual tracking and repetition-based learning·Introduces empathy naturally, never preachy·Rooted in an everyday childhood game, hide and seek
A note for the reader
How to read this book.
№ 1
Read and pause: "Where is the mouse?"
№ 2
Let your child search the page and point.
№ 3
Repeat the pattern: the anticipation builds each time.
№ 4
Use the ending to talk about kindness: "What would you do?"
From parents & young readers
Notes that have arrived in the post.
A letter from a parent
We read the Hindi aloud and giggle at the sly little rat. Short, clever, and very re-readable.
Sagar P.Father of one, Nagpur
From a librarian
A wry little book that children ask for again and again. The humour lands in any language.
Anita V.School librarian, Nashik
What it quietly builds.
01
Focus
Visual tracking and attention.
02
Emotional awareness
Empathy and compassion.
03
Imagination
Extending hide-and-seek play.
04
Curiosity
Exploration and discovery.
On reading it again
Children get faster: and more excited, each time. The joy shifts from finding, to anticipating, to caring.
Is this book for my child?
Three ages, three different books.
2–3
The spotting age.
Spotting and naming. The mouse is a game before it is a story.
3–4
The predicting age.
Predicting and searching with real anticipation, they know the mouse is somewhere before you turn the page.
4–5
The choosing age.
Understanding empathy and choice. The ending starts real conversations, not just a turned page.
Not just a search book.
Most hide-and-seek books, and this one.
Typical search-and-find books
End the moment the object is found
Offer visual busyness without a feeling attached
Repeat the same trick every page
Are put down once the novelty of finding wears off
Ek Hoshiyaar Chooha
Turns finding into feeling, by the last page
Combines attention and empathy in one simple arc
Rewards a second and third reading with real anticipation
Starts a real conversation about kindness
b
From the studio · Bengaluru
Big Beetle Books is an independent children's imprint making screen-free picture books for the slow afternoon, written by Nandita Rao and illustrated by Charbak Dipta.
Complete the shelf
One playful pairing, a full afternoon.
Different games, the same trust in the child.
Ek Hoshiyaar Chooha
Board Book · Rs. 349.00 Rs. 399.00