Mansi Dhanraj Shetty

This felt like one of those moments you want to gently tuck away and revisit on quieter days. At the World Book Fair 2026, the most anticipated picture for me wasn’t about crowds or shelves stacked high with stories, but about standing beside Mansi Dhanraj Shetty, the person who has always guided me toward the finest children’s literature with such care and warmth. Our conversation flowed easily, drifting between upcoming books and old favourites from the Penguin Random House Children’s collection, the kind of talk that reminds you why books feel like home. She was especially sweet today, the kind of sweetness that stays with you long after the moment passes. And then came a gift that instantly became precious, a book that already feels special simply because of the thought behind it. A signed copy of UNCODED: A Technological History of Independent India by Meghaa Gupta. Some meetings leave you smiling. Some gifts leave you grateful. And sometimes, both come together and quietly turn into a memory you’ll always cherish. #readwithak

This Friendship Day, laugh with Firoza and Aasama, problem solve with Velu and Akif, fight and make up with Anna and Kichu and learn to look out for each other with boy and bear. Here's a delightful selection of four stories packed in this beautifully produced book, Get Hooked to Friends by @chatura_rao_writer , @kavithapunniyamurthi , @yaminivijayan and @adithiraoauthor . Available where books are sold.

Join distinguished children's authors Aparna Kapur, Samina Mishra, and Sayoni Basu for a roundtable on books and reading. 🎈 Parents & Teachers 🗓️ 20th July, 2025 (Sunday) 🕔 4:00-5:30 PM 📌 Eureka! Bookstore, M-75, M-Block Market, GK II ENTRY FREE. Register from the link in bio. #childrensliterature #childrenstories #childrensbooks #childrenbookstore #childrensbookstagram #bookreader #bookrecommendations #bookforkids #bookstore #booklovers #bookstagram #booktok #viral #fyp #explore #explorepage #viral #illustration #illustrator #parentingtips #parent #parentchild #readingbooks #parentchildclasses

A Small Glimpse from the Book Launch of: An Absence of Squirrels by @aparna_k published by @penguinindia Thank you @mansig84 for getting this beautiful book to us and help us get this event together! . . Thank you to @fictionarybooks for being the loving home of books and events🤍 Do check the book out and we promise you, if you’re an adult you will get out of a reading slump or you might take some great life lessons from the book! . . . #paperbacktalks #paperbacktalksbookclub #bookcommunity #booksbooksbooks #anabsenceofsquirrels #penguinindia #booklaunch #aparnakapur #writer #indianauthors #kidlit #bethegood

The best arrival in today's mail! A whole bunch of @grantdraws titles to read and obsess over. #weekendisallbooked

Nieces and nephews dropping by for their summer holidays? Or looking for the perfect books that your older one can entertain your younger child with? Try these Hook Books from Duckbill (@penguinsters ). Love the relatable stories and the adorable illustrations filled with humor and a touch of whimsy. I love the series and often flip through some of my favourites shown here. Have you heard about the Hook Book Series? Let me know in the comments below! #gethookedtoreading #hookbooks

Mansi Shetty ( General Manager — Marketing, Children’s And Penguin Select ) visited the becoming exhibition and shared her experience at the exhibition☺️ Thank you for being a part of Becoming!

About three years ago, I landed my dream job at @penguinsters and was introduced to the magic of picture books by @jheenius At that time my reading was largely textual and she encouraged and guided me into becoming a visual reader. One who slowly began to understand the play between words and visuals and who understood where one stopped and the other picked up. Thanks to her initiation, I searched for a picture book to convey any and every emotion and situation. A quick fix for when your heart was broken or for a little pick me up. I explored the worlds created by @pickleyolkbooks @pratham.books , @tara_books , @tulikabooks and the like. I started hoarding them, turning to them when I needed a break. Today when I went to Becoming, a tribute to a 130 years of picture book art curated by the picture perfect @richajharj — I was overwhelmed. It felt that the carefully selected pages had come forward to talk to you. The many books forming a connection they have so long waited to share. The session with @archu6591 was so immersive that it didn't even strike me once to take a shot while she was talking. It was only when @ruchshah.work started talking about her book ‘I Am So Much More Than The Colour of My Skin’ that I realised I wanted to capture it. I look forward to going back next weekend and I urge all you based in Delhi who enjoy books and art to go visit and spend a few hours there. It's on till May 6, between 11am to 7pm at @iicdelhi

A much-anticipated read, Yoko Ogawa’s ‘Mina’s Matchbox’ is a quiet, reflective read, prioritising the journey of life over a dramatic plot. The narrative gently unfolds as twelve-year Tomoko comes to live with her aunt in Ashiya while her mother takes a year to study in Tokyo. Starting in the spring of 1972, when Tomoko moves in her aunt’s colonial mansion, the book draws you in Tomoko’s daily life and the evolving relationships she forms with the intriguing members of the household and otherwise. With eccentric characters like a German grandmother, an aunt who is obsessed with finding typographical errors, Tomoko's frail cousin Mina who is constantly wracked by asthma attacks, a pygmy hippo and a mostly absent uncle, the cast pretty much resembles a Studio Ghibli anime. With its picaresque descriptions of the Ashiya countryside and the household, you can almost walk around the place and the mansion as Tomoko navigates the year. Adding depth to the narrative is the subtle mirroring of real-world events like the Munich Olympics and the Gioacobini meteor shower and the responses of Tomoko and the household. As winter approaches, the year starts winding down and it is time for Tomoko to depart. Almost on cue, we see characters gracefully bowing out of the journey, each exit feeling as organic and poignant as only Ogawa can make it. While the year comes to an end, the friendship formed between the cousins Tomoko and Mina doesn’t. Years later we see the cousins correspond reminiscing the year they shared together in the Ashiya Mansion. Ultimately, the book is a rewarding read for those who appreciate exquisite writing and a focus on atmosphere and character. It’s important to approach ‘Mina’s Matchbox’ not expecting a plot-driven narrative with significant twists, but rather an immersive journey into a year of subtle observations and quietly developing relationships. #readintranslation #japanesefiction #yokoogawa

Imagine a society where the biological imperative of procreation has become almost obsolete, leading to seismic shifts in marriage and societal norms. Sounds ludicrious, right? Enter Sayaka Murata’s new book where she toys with the idea of a world where this is ‘normal’. As we follow Amane through the book, we witness the unsettling personal impact of these changes. Her upbringing clashes starkly with the realities of the world she is coming to understand, forcing her to confront deeply ingrained beliefs about love, family, and what it considered normal. A raw and visceral take on society, marriage, children and the role of women in it, Murata’s Vanishing World makes you question your own sexuality and sexual needs with respect to what is accepted by society at large. The dystopian world built by Murata is at cusp of that change, from old to the new to what the world would look like when familial needs could be filled outside the home — where every child calls everyone mother and every mother (male or female) contributes to the upbringing of children. In this world, would there would be a family unit at all if men didn’t need women to have a child? Prepare to be unsettled as you follow Amane's journey through a world teetering on the edge of the familiar. In signature Murata style, don't expect neat resolutions. Instead, be ready to confront uncomfortable questions about our own assumptions of where humanity is headed, all through the intensely personal lens of one woman's evolving understanding of her world. Thank you @meenakshikainth_ for a review copy. #sayakamurata #newbook #vanishingworld

First time I saw their menu was at @begreenr , Vasant Vihar and all of a sudden, Nun Kun Bakery/Cafe popped up everywhere on Instagram. Friends were sharing it, shared it with @barefootsouthindian and after a month of planning we finally made it this afternoon. Loved the food, beside the puff and the coffees, we did gorge on their sandwiches and dessert. Overall would love to go back again. Clean, flavourful food. #nunkunbakery

#NationalScienceDay Found it truly satisfying speaking to school kids about the contributions of everyone involved in creating Raman and Chandrasekhar: Lighting Up the Stars, and discussing my motivations for the book. In a nutshell: In the book on #Ramanujan, I had to find creative ways to talk about gender, caste and hierarchies in general. But in the young #Chandrasekhar, I had a socially conscious protagonist. On his sisters’ being forced to stop school (after being married off In their early teens), Chandra recounted to biographer Kameshwar C. Wali, “It shattered her and it shattered me. As a young boy, I realised that something that was making these girls unhappy was being done. And somehow or other, it made me very angry. My mother’s unhappiness also affected my deeply. I sensed the injustice done to my sisters and my inability to do anything … Looking back all those years, [I know that] my personal warmth for my father was somehow diminished. I may not have so recognised it at the time, but I do remember how totally distraught I was that this kind of unfairness was going on.” What also made young Chandra unhappy was how his grand-aunt—a widow—was treated and felt that ‘she was so much sinned against’. Chandra knew the masons who constructed the family home (when he was in his teens) by name. He writes of them in a letter to his niece decades later at the age of 46: “charming, carefree men and women whose joyous faces I can still recall”. And of course, the book presented an opportunity to discuss the scientific way of thinking. I think #CVRaman would have approved!