From correspondents in Haryana, India, 05:30 PM IST

A princess rode on a flying bull and found her white parrot that was stolen by a wicked witch doctor. It all happened Saturday in a magical world spun around 200 kids listening to extracts from 'Pokiri Parrot and the Needle Nosed Ojha' at the book's launch here.

The book, written by Meenakshi Bharadwaj for children aged eight to 10, has been brought out by publishing house and NGO Katha.

Filled with colourful illustrations by Stephen Aitken, 'Pokiri Parrot and the Needle Nosed Ojha' tries to educate children about historical monuments and natural wonders in India through the princess's journey across the Himalayas, Silent Valley National Park, Nilgiri hills, ghats of Varanasi and Qutub minar, among others.

Author and ornithologist Ranjit Lal, who launched the book, interacted with the children who had been invited from various schools in Gurgaon and told them about various facts regarding birds.

Storyteller Nupur Awasthi kept the session alive by keeping the children glued to the interactive story telling session.

'Storytellers make any story enjoyable and meaningful. Children have to get addicted to reading. The best gift parents can give their children is stories,' Awasthi said.

After the session, the children were asked to share interesting stories from their own lives.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)