Ruskin Bond wrote his first short story, ‘Untouchable’, at the age of sixteen in 1950. Since then he has written over a hundred stories, including the classics ‘A Face in the Dark’, ‘The Kitemaker’, ‘The Tunnel’ and ‘Time Stops at Shamli’. Two of his autobiographical works, ‘Life with Father’ and ‘My Father’s Last Letter’, are also included in this selection. Filled with characteristic warmth, gentle humour and keen observations on daily life, this collection brings together some of the fi nest short fiction by one of India’s best-loved authors.

After seeing the disparity between the conditions of her father's palace and the city beyond its walls, the Emperor's daughter has the royal kitemaker build a huge kite to take her away from it all.

The Kite Maker is Brenda Peynado's science fiction novelette of how humans cope with alien contact. After aliens arrive on earth, humans do the unthinkable out of fear. When an alien walks into a human kite maker's store, coveting her kites, the human struggles with her guilt over her part in the alien massacres, while neo-Nazis draw a violent line between alien and human. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Easy-to-follow illustrated instructions show how to create more than 50 awesome, airborne objects — everything from simple bag kites to Vietnamese, Snake, Dutch, Dragon, Bullet, Delta, and Flowform flyers.

"Finally, Lee Van Auken brings us what we've been hungry for, style, wit, in-depth characterization, plus a truthful sense of women's relationships, their connections and continuities overtime". -- Patricia Roth Schwartz

Romain Gary’s bittersweet final masterpiece is “epic and empathetic” (BBC) and “one of his best” (The New York Times) The Kites begins with a young boy, Ludo, coming of age on a small farm in Normandy under the care of his eccentric kite-making Uncle Ambrose. Ludo’s life changes the day he meets Lila, a girl from the aristocratic Polish family that owns the estate next door. In a single glance, Ludo falls in love forever; Lila, on the other hand, disappears back into the woods. And so begins Ludo’s adventure of longing, passion, and love for the elusive Lila, who begins to reciprocate his feelings just as Europe descends into World War II. After Germany invades Poland, Lila and her family go missing, and Ludo’s devotion to saving her from the Nazis becomes a journey to save his love, his loved ones, his country, and ultimately himself. Filled with unforgettable characters who fling all they have into the fight to keep their hopes—and themselves—alive, The Kites is Romain Gary’s poetic call for resistance in whatever form it takes. A war hero himself, Gary embraced and fought for humanity in all its nuanced complexities, in the belief that a hero might be anyone who has the courage to love and hope.

In this beautifully illustrated parable, we (along with the title character) learn important lessons about those things in life that seem to restrict us or hold us down, and we see a moving depiction of the love and tenderness of the kitemaker. This is a story that will be enjoyed and treasured by people of all ages. Young readers will enjoy reading this book for themselves, while parents, grandparents, and teachers will want to read this story to the young children under their care.