Favourite Stories for Girls is a collection of eleven short stories. But if you’ve read Favourite Stories for Boys, you will notice some similarities with the latter. For instance, the first story, Plumpie and Pommy, by Chathura Rao is about India’s other national obsession — football. It was cricket in Favourite Stories for Boys, remember?

The story is a second person account, a dog’s account really, of how a neighbourhood beauty queen makes her way into an all-boys football team. And yes, she actually puts up a good show, on the field that is. The dog, by the way, belongs to one of the aforesaid footballers and gives an insider’s account of what happened.

Clueless by Poile Sengupta was written keeping all the Nancy Drew, Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple fans in mind. No wonder the girl detective is alternately called B. Holmes, Bella Drew and Bell Marple. So, okay, she isn’t from River Heights, but she has a best friend, who’s called Pari. But Bella is in school and so she limits her sleuthing skills to the Case of the Appearing Sandwiches. Sengupta adds footnotes, quite a few in fact, even when they’re not needed.

Summons for Nina by Rachna Chhabria is a pleasant surprise. The story revolves around Nina, a prankster who takes an interesting break during a boring history class.

Something from the Mountain, Something from the Stream is a sensitive story by Amruta Patil. It is the tale of 11-year-old Maggi, whose parents have recently separated and how she helps her mother heal her wounds, with “something from the mountain and something from the stream”. The nifty little sketches by the author are endearing.

Cowgirl by Deepa Agarwal, is a gutsy story about a girl from the hills and how her admiration for a TV news anchor guides her in her fight for justice. The story comes to a heart-warming end.

The Scholarship by Deeptha Khanna is a good read. Set in a small Kenyan village, it is the quintessential school story about the most brilliant student and the school bully. A simple story well told, it leaves you smiling at the end.

How Rifka Made Things Right is straight out of the stables of Joan Pinto. Filled with her versatile imagination, it is about a keen quizzer, who wakes up one morning and finds that she can make people disappear when she wants them to. This one’s for the girls, definitely.