The Magic Of The Lost Temple: Illustrated, easy to read and much-loved first full length children’s fiction novel by Sudha Murty for ages 8–12

The physical condition of book was very good as expected and the delivery was on time as always. The story is very nice. I read it in three days. I bought it for my daughter but before her, I read it, out of curiosity and kept reading once started and finished it in three days. It makes you nostalgic. No words to describe the book. Though the title suggests that, this book is about some lost temple, its actually a stepwell and temples around it. And please note that, do not read this book by expecting that from start to end it will be only about the quest for the temple. Yes it is, but that temple part appears only after 60% book is over. But, it really doesn't matter. This story tells us about the value of Indian culture, tradition and people especially in villages of south India. Everything is explained in such a way that children in the age group of 7 to 17 can easily understand. The protagonist of this novel is a teenage girl Anoushka (a.k.a. Nooni) who goes for two months in her Summer vacations to her grandparents' house in a village called Somanahalli. This is my first book of Sudha Murty in English. Earlier I read her books but all were translated in Marathi. After reading her book in English, I would recommend everyone to read her books in English only because only then you will be able to understand and admire the writer's simple yet magical way of storytelling. Definitely, I will read more of her books in future in English. Her books teach us a lot. We simply get engrossed into reading. No single word in her writing is extra or useless. Every word is beautifully crafted and magically written. Give this book to every child in small and big cities and they will definitely become impressed and mesmerized. Such books should be written in more numbers and by more and more writers, no matter what language!

A good book! Thank you, Murthy Ma'am

A book that I and my niece truly enjoyed reading together!

Nice book

I love this Book 🫶 ,I gone to my childhood with my imaginations like she goes to her grandparents home and the village culture🥰 and many things to know There, like everything was beautiful and knowing more interesting with all children 🤗as we think some stories about our villages here gone true 😅 many tyoe of stories my grandma also telling whenever am in childhood I remember those all when I reading these Book thank you !!✨

Very good book

Everyone should read this book..If you want to gift something to your kids this is the one...without a second thought go for it...i bought it for my daughter but she is just 4 so i had to read ..but after reading this book i felt like i wish i could get this book in my childhood..this story has friendships, beautiful history, bravery, enthusiasm and what not...go for it

I recommend this book for ages 8 and above. It has such a beautiful storyline that I don’t even know where to begin my review! But one thing I truly feel is that the book should not have ended here. It deserves a part 2, with another exciting adventure in the village—this time again with Nooni, her friends, and Mahadeva, the kind leader who always guided and protected them during their explorations. Sudha Murthy is an amazing writer and one of my all-time favourite authors. Her writing style is simple, smooth, and straight to the point—and that is what I love the most. The story begins with Nooni’s parents deciding to send her to Somanhalli, her grandparents’ village, because her mother needed to attend training in Delhi and her father was busy at the hospital. Since it was Nooni’s vacation, they finally chose to send her to the village after a lot of thinking. In Somanhalli, Nooni learns many things from Ajja and Ajji. She asks endless questions about Ajji’s beautiful garden. At night, Ajji tells her the story of Somanayaka, who built a stepwell filled with nectar-sweet water, and how a tragedy happened when the queen broke the rules. It was such a magical folklore. Nooni also makes new friends, learns to cycle, explores the village, and visits the farm with Ajja. There, she hears another version of King Somanayaka’s story from him. One day, after a heavy storm, they go to visit the Varada Hills through the forest route. During their break in the forest, Nooni discovers an interesting mud spot. Hidden under it is a mysterious cave—she feels it might be the ancient stepwell built by Somanayaka. What is it really? What happens next? To find out, you must read this book!