{"id":72864,"date":"2026-09-12T21:37:26","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T16:07:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/12\/all-praises-for-shanti-and-amani-the-no-1-bestseller-kids-and-parents-cant-stop-talking-about-is-out-with-the-sequel\/"},"modified":"2026-10-02T01:12:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T19:42:18","slug":"all-praises-for-shanti-and-amani-the-no-1-bestseller-kids-and-parents-cant-stop-talking-about-is-out-with-the-sequel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newswiredelhi.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/12\/all-praises-for-shanti-and-amani-the-no-1-bestseller-kids-and-parents-cant-stop-talking-about-is-out-with-the-sequel\/","title":{"rendered":"All Praises for Shanti and Amani: The No. 1 Bestseller Kids and Parents Can\u2019t Stop Talking About is out with the Sequel"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Now in full colour, and back with the sequel \u2014 the series proving that screens and heritage don\u2019t have to compete<\/em><\/p>\n

New Delhi [India], September 11: <\/strong>Ask any parent what it\u2019s like competing with a phone screen for their child\u2019s attention, and they\u2019ll tell you it\u2019s one of the great puzzles of raising kids today. It\u2019s exactly this puzzle that the Shanti and Amani series \u2014 written by\u00a0Yesha\u00a0Gambhir\u00a0Mirza, illustrated by\u00a0Priyanka\u00a0Pachpande\u00a0and published by Simon & Schuster India \u2014 has set out to solve, and readers, educators and child-welfare voices alike are responding.<\/p>\n

When\u00a0Zafrin\u00a0Chowdhury, Chief of Communication, Advocacy & Partnership at UNICEF India, says that series opener Secret of the Pickled Dream \u201c\u2026delivers a timeless truth: life\u2019s most meaningful treasures are learned, lived, and shared, not bought,\u201d she is speaking to exactly what has made the book a runaway favourite \u2014 and propelled it to #1 bestseller status.<\/p>\n

Archana\u00a0Pandey, Principal of The Vivekananda School, agrees that the book does more than entertain. As she puts it, \u201c\u2026the story serves as both a mirror and a guide \u2014 helping young readers develop emotional sensitivity\u2026\u201d\u00a0Meetu\u00a0Rathore, Principal of Army Public School, sees a similar significance in the series\u2019 place on young readers\u2019 shelves, noting that \u201ccharacters like Shanti and Amani occupy a vital space in children\u2019s literature, helping young readers explore cultural values\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

For\u00a0Gurleena\u00a0Sikka, Senior School English Teacher at Delhi Public School, the series\u2019 real achievement is the bridge it builds across generations: \u201c\u2026the book offers young readers a bridge between heritage and modernity.\u201d\u00a0Emine\u00a0Sharma, Senior Elementary Teacher and Author at the American Embassy School, puts it even more simply: \u201cFinally, a book for the youth that passes down tradition.\u201d The praise has travelled well beyond the classroom, too \u2014 celebrity chef\u00a0Ranveer\u00a0Brar, known for championing India\u2019s food heritage, recently shared Secret of the Pickled Dream with his followers on\u00a0Instagram, spotlighting the book\u2019s mango-achaar-making tradition as exactly the kind of everyday heritage worth celebrating and passing on.<\/p>\n

It is this chorus of praise, from\u00a0child-welfare advocates to educators to a celebrated chef, that has helped carry Secret of the Pickled Dream to #1 bestseller status \u2014 and Simon & Schuster India is marking that success with a series of exciting updates. The book is now available in a completely reimagined third edition \u2014 transformed from its original black-and-white illustrations into a rich, full-colour edition \u2014 and the celebrations continue with the release of the second book in the series, My Birthday Wish, which is officially out now.<\/p>\n

A #1 Bestseller, Reborn in Colour<\/strong><\/p>\n

First published in 2025, Secret of the Pickled Dream introduces eleven-year-old Amani, whose obsession with unboxing videos and shopping hauls is upended when her late great-grandmother,\u00a0Bebe\u00a0Shanti, appears to her\u00a0in a dream. Through an old family recipe for mango\u00a0achaar\u00a0(pickle),\u00a0Bebe\u00a0teaches Amani that the truest treasures \u2014 love, patience and\u00a0vand-chhakna, the joy of sharing \u2014 are the ones you cannot buy from an app.<\/p>\n

The book\u2019s message has resonated widely with readers,\u00a0propelling it to #1 bestseller status. Marking this success, Simon & Schuster India has released a brand-new third edition of Secret of the Pickled Dream, upgrading the book\u2019s illustrations from black-and-white to a warm, full-colour treatment that brings\u00a0Bebe\u00a0Shanti\u2019s kitchen, Amani\u2019s world and the story\u2019s gentle magic to life on every page.<\/p>\n

Out Now: My Birthday Wish<\/strong><\/p>\n

In My Birthday Wish, the newly released second instalment of the series, Amani is back \u2014 a little older, a little more herself, and still delightfully dramatic. All she wants for her birthday is a dog. What she gets instead is\u00a0Mithu, a sassy talking parrot with the extraordinary gift of inherited memory, who pulls her into a moving journey of empathy and action.<\/p>\n

As Amani travels through\u00a0Mithu\u2019s\u00a0memories, she comes face to face with a truth much closer to home than she expected:\u00a0Pinki, the daughter of her family\u2019s\u00a0longtime\u00a0household help, is being pushed toward an early marriage instead of the nursing career she has worked so hard for. What begins as a wish for a pet turns into Amani\u2019s first real experience of standing up for someone else \u2014 using nothing more than her voice, her phone and the courage\u00a0Bebe\u00a0Shanti has been quietly teaching her all along.<\/p>\n

My Birthday Wish weaves together themes of gratitude, privilege, girls\u2019 education and the freedom to dream, alongside Amani\u2019s continuing adventures with Heritage Haulers, the social media account she runs with her best friend to blend family tradition with modern content creation. It is, at its heart, a story about growing from noticing the world to acting in it.<\/p>\n

Where Screens Meet Storytelling<\/strong><\/p>\n

What sets the Shanti and Amani series apart is its refusal to treat tradition and modernity as opposites. Amani is unmistakably a child of today \u2014 she scrolls, she\u00a0vlogs, she wants a mixer she saw on\u00a0Instagram\u00a0\u2014 and yet the emotional truths she learns from\u00a0Bebe\u00a0Shanti\u2019s memories are as old as family itself: that belonging is built in shared kitchens and shared stories, that responsibility is a form of love, and that real change often starts with one person choosing to notice and to speak up.<\/p>\n

In My Birthday Wish, this digital-native identity is written directly into the story: Amani runs Heritage Haulers, a social media account with her best friend where they turn family traditions into content \u2014 proof that the series doesn\u2019t just tolerate a child\u2019s online life, it treats it as a genuine creative outlet, right alongside the wisdom Amani is absorbing from\u00a0Bebe\u00a0Shanti.<\/p>\n

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For parents, that combination is the appeal. By anchoring intergenerational wisdom in the concerns young readers actually live with today \u2014 social media, friendship, family expectations and, increasingly, the wider world around them \u2014 the series gives\u00a0children a bridge between their grandparents\u2019 values and their own everyday lives, without asking them to give up either. It\u2019s a rare children\u2019s book that doesn\u2019t feel like it\u2019s fighting the phone for a child\u2019s attention \u2014 it feels like it understands it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want to write a book that competes with my kids\u2019 phones. I wanted to write one that understands why they love them \u2014 and shows them something even their favourite app can\u2019t give them: a story that\u2019s actually theirs.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Yesha\u00a0Gambhir\u00a0Mirza, author (suggested quote \u2014 please review and edit before use)<\/p>\n

About the Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shanti and Amani is a debut series of six planned novellas following Amani\u2019s journey from age eleven to sixteen, as mystical encounters with her great-grandmother,\u00a0Bebe\u00a0Shanti, guide\u00a0her through the real dilemmas of growing up \u2014 friendship, family, identity and now, social responsibility. Book One, Secret of the Pickled Dream, and Book Two, My Birthday Wish, are available now in paperback and eBook editions from Simon & Schuster India.<\/p>\n

About the Author<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yesha\u00a0Gambhir\u00a0Mirza\u00a0is an author crafting Indian literature that nurtures mental health and social development. Whether acing her child development studies at Stanford University or tending to her organic garden,\u00a0Yesha\u00a0approaches life\u00a0with empathy and curiosity. Her debut series, Shanti and Amani, follows eleven-year-old Amani\u2019s journey to the age of sixteen through six novellas that weave magical realism with real-life dilemmas. Through mystical encounters with her great-grandmother,\u00a0Bebe\u00a0Shanti, Amani embarks on her greatest adventures and discovers how to bridge traditional wisdom with modern life. Each of these stories has been tested by\u00a0Yesha\u2019s\u00a0toughest critics \u2014 her teen twins \u2014 who have been left yearning for more.<\/p>\n

Follow\u00a0Yesha\u00a0on\u00a0Instagram: @yeshagambhirmirza\u00a0and @shantiandamani, or visit www.yeshagambhirmirza.com.<\/p>\n

Availability<\/strong><\/p>\n

Secret of the Pickled Dream (Book One) \u2014 Third Edition, Full Colour<\/p>\n

Paperback ISBN: 978-81-989077-7-6 |\u00a0eBook ISBN: 978-81-989077-1-4<\/p>\n

My Birthday Wish (Book Two) \u2014 Out Now<\/p>\n

Paperback ISBN: 978-93-90343-72-0 |\u00a0eBook ISBN: 978-93-90343-05-8<\/p>\n

Both titles are published by Simon & Schuster India and are available now on Amazon and at bookstores nationwide.<\/p>\n

About Simon & Schuster India<\/strong><\/p>\n

Simon & Schuster India, based in New Delhi, publishes a wide range of fiction and non-fiction for readers of all ages, bringing distinctive Indian and global voices to bookshelves across the country and beyond.<\/p>\n

If you object to the content of this press release, please notify us at pr.error.rectification@gmail.com. We will respond and rectify the situation within 24 hours.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n