History Hunters: New children's book in unique way

As a young man comes to their rescue and takes them to his teacher's school in Takshashila, the flabbergasted foursome has no choice but to deal with non-stop challenges on the way, including villainous soldiers, deadly snakes and floating buffalo carcasses

New Delhi: Bestselling authors Archana Garodia Gupta and Shruti Garodia are back with their new children's book, 'History Hunters', an action-packed tale where the protagonists take a trip back in time and bump into historical figures during the most dramatic events in India's past.

First in the upcoming time-travel series, the book, published by Hachette India, contains a 24-page 'Fact Tracker' section with fascinating info-snippets about the era the story is set in. It is peppered with vivid illustrations by Priya Kuriyan. "As children growing up, we often imagined how it would feel to travel back in time, encounter people who created history and witness milestone events first-hand. Now as authors we bring the past alive and give children a thrilling taste of actually living in it!," said Shruti, who has also co-authored the highly successful "A History of India for Children" Volumes I & II, in a statement.

The book is the story of four friends - Zoya, Noor, Ansh and Rohan and their elephant Elfu, who all set to enjoy a picnic by a picturesque waterfall in Goa suddenly find themselves flung back in a whole new world 2,350 years ago. As a young man comes to their rescue and takes them to his teacher's school in Takshashila, the flabbergasted foursome has no choice but to deal with non-stop challenges on the way, including villainous soldiers, deadly snakes and floating buffalo carcasses.

"The 'History Hunters' are faced with surprises and dangers on their first adventure in the thrilling – and sometimes chilling – world of Chandragupta Maurya, the future emperor, and Chanakya, the kingmaker," read the description of the book. According to co-author Archana, a leading national quizzer, to make the series an exciting trip of discovery for young readers, they did detailed research on "how people lived in the past, what they wore, what they ate, and how different types of people interacted with one another".

"Emperors, princes, courtiers, acharyas, battles and conspiracies . . . they are all there. Add to the mix four children with minds of their own, and you get the most exhilarating adventures – along with fun lessons in history and problem-solving," she added. The book is currently available for sale across online and offline stores.