Coral reefs in India, primarily in the Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands, are considered one of the most ancient and dynamic ecosystems. Not so long ago, these reefs were full of colour and clamour, swaying with currents, alive with coral polyps, parrotfish, turtles and time. Today, a lot of them are fading. Bleached. Broken. Forgotten. What remains is mostly silence – and a few stories.

It’s telling that there are so few children’s books in India about coral reefs. Maybe it’s because the reefs themselves are slipping away. Or, perhaps, we didn’t notice them enough when they were still around. That a disappearing world hasn’t found space in more pages is an irony hard to miss.

Still, the books that do exist offer glimmers of their wonder and the hope of their conservation. They act as small windows into large underwater worlds, enough to begin a conversation.

Visuals Galore

Given the visual splendour of coral reefs, it’s not surprising to find several picture books that capture this vibrant world. Rajiv Eipe’s Dive! does what few books do with such few words. A child dives. Encounters marine life. Comes up again. That’s all. But in that arc is the fullness of experience — curiosity, caution, connection. The illustrations carry the weight of the narrative, full of movement and quiet awe.

In Zayn & Zoey Explore Coral Reefs, the two young protagonists go underwater and learn what a coral reef really is. The tone is explanatory, the pace brisk — ideal for young readers taking their first curious plunge into marine science. Meanwhile, in Kalpana Subramaniam and Prashant Miranda’s board book, If There Was One Place I Could Be, one of the places the young narrator dreams of is a reef – full of anemones, angelfish and coral gardens.

Originally written in Japanese by Daisaku Ikeda, The Prince and the Coral Sea is a quieter book. A dreamlike tale of a prince who finds himself underwater, among corals and creatures. The text captures his wonderment: The coral looked like a forest under the sea… If he could fly through the sky and look down on the woods, it would look just like this. A mysterious forest where the trees were white and green, blue, red and yellow! 

Deep Dives

The illustrated biography Coral Woman by Lubaina Bandukwala and Sanket Pethkar places an adult protagonist at the centre of its narrative – Chennai-based artist Uma Mani, who learned to dive in her late 40s. The book is as much about discovery as it is about the discomfort of seeing what we’ve done to the sea. Its acrylics and ink swirl with life and grief, allowing children to feel both awe and accountability at once. 

Zai Whitaker’s Magic Islands covers everything from the history and geography to the life and culture in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago. It explains the four-layer ecosystem of the islands, home to rainforests, mangroves, beaches and reefs. The vivid illustrations by Amitava Sengupta make the book even more readable. At a time when the islands inch closer to a development disaster, the need to read such a book is greater than ever.

Surprisingly, the rich world of coral reefs has not made its way into Indian children’s fiction. A rare exception is Deepak Dalal’s Lakshadweep Adventure. Part of his Vikram-Aditya series, the book chronicles the adventures of two boys, Vikram and Aditya, who are holidaying in Lakshadweep islands. While discovering the enchanting underwater world and its many mysteries, they stumble upon a kidnapping plan and things take a sinister turn. Dalal’s descriptions of the colourful corals, reefs, lagoons and trivia about the species of the underwater world make nature a character by itself.

Hope floats eternal

Existing books on this theme do not pretend to capture the vast, complex and fragile ecosystem of a coral reef. But they try. And in their effort lies hope.

Children’s literature can create memory before experience. It can teach children to care for things they haven’t seen. We need more books that swim closer to the reef. Books that name the fish, describe the texture of bleached coral, explain acidification without apology. Books that say this world mattered – and still does.

Because when a reef is gone, it’s not just a habitat that is lost. It’s a future that goes with it. And the children reading these books might just be the ones who remember where the reefs once were. Or the ones who take action to make a difference, so that more children can witness this marvellous world!

Bibliography

1. Dive! (Pratham Books)
2. Zayn & Zoey Explore Coral Reefs (Curious Concepts Pvt Ltd)
3. If There Was One Place I Could Be (Little Latitude)
4. The Prince and the Coral Sea (National Book Trust)
5. Coral Woman (Harper Collins)
6. Magic Islands (National Book Trust)
7. Lakshadweep Adventure (Penguin)
8. The Deep (Tara Books)

Image from Dive!/Rajiv Eipe (Pratham Books)

About the author:

After a corporate career of over a decade, Richa Chadda now chases her dream of working with children and books. From organising literary events to writing about children’s books and promoting the reading habit, she loves it all.