Unique Wordless Folding Book brings back a Harmonious World
Anantjeet Kaur tells tales without using words. For her accordion-style folding book Terrace Tales - A Celebration of Indian Rooftops, she gave herself a single constraint: just three colors to depict cascading scenes synonymous with the sights, scents, and sounds of Punjab — an experiment that recently went on to win her an award.
Missing India’s communal rooftop spaces while studying in the UK, she felt inspired to illustrate the essence of her homeland through all the activities people do on rooftops. It is often a place where one may be completely alone or in company, but is simultaneously connected to everything around them.
Her MA in Children's Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art encouraged her to develop a unique "visual voice". In Terrace Tales, this takes the form of a vibrant urban landscape rendered in screen- printed visuals, in true analogue vintage fashion. The book comprises 10 connected panels that open out like a concertina in a continuous scene, flowing uninterrupted from morning to night. Details in each panel invite nonlinear reading at the reader's own pace, conjuring a world that for many was a lived reality just a decade or two ago.
Like any good children’s book, Terrace Tales speaks to all ages. Younger readers will revel in the patterns and details of what each person is up to, while older ones might be reminded of similar scenes from their own life, or perhaps glimpsed in a Bollywood movie.
Winner of the Batsford Prize 2026
The Delhi-born author-illustrator who lives in Patiala, received the Batsford Prize 2026 for book illustration on May 13, 2026 - the prize’s 13th annual edition. A Sikh, she is the first person of Indian heritage to be recognized at the Batsford Gallery in East London. Over 500 entries from nine UK colleges and universities competed across categories like Fine Art, Applied Art and Textiles, Book Illustration, and Architecture, with 2026's theme being "Connections."
Chair of Judges, Vaughan Grylls, praised the quality of the competition submissions saying, “The standard of entries this year was exceptionally high across all categories. This demonstrates how boundary-pushing, outward-looking and alive with human creativity visual arts in the UK remains.”
Founder of Spring Literary and sponsor of the Book Illustration prize, judge Neil Dunnicliffe, remarked, “‘Terrace Tales’ by Anantjeet Kaur is a beautifully resolved piece of bookmaking, where form, process and theme come together seamlessly. Its unfolding, wordless narrative captures the quiet, everyday connections that shape communal life with warmth, clarity, and originality.”
In the words of the judges, the work is "a panorama that captures the quiet rhythms of community life on the rooftop terraces of India" — one that also soundlessly portrays the unceasing clamor of humanity in one of the world's most heavily populated countries, where privacy is a privilege achieved through mutual respect. Additionally the limited colour palette brings together the vibrancy and intensity of the Indian experience cohesively through design and composition.
Publishing History
Anantjeet Kaur has already worked on eight illustrated books for children ranging from toddlers, early readers to older ages. Her books include:
● “One Amazing Sikh at a Time”, a collection of 51 inspiring one-page biographies of notable Sikhs, authored by Seerat Kaur Gill.
● “Learning Gurmukhi Through Phonics”, written by Manpreet Singh Ahuja and designed/illustrated by Anantjeet Kaur.
● “Tuhade Kol Kee Hai” and “Teg Singh da Pizza” are board books in Punjabi connecting toddlers and early readers to Punjabi heritage.
Hopes and Dreams
Now branching out into writing, Anantjeet Kaur has several projects underway. Having completed her studies in the UK, she is set on returning to Punjab, with a dream to bring its beauty and culture to children around the world. She hopes to represent the multiplicity of India through quality books that excite and engage children at a time when reading is losing ground to electronics. She strongly believes that "books have immense power to influence an individual, especially at a young age in a way video content does not — a child can set their own pace of reading, while in a video, visuals only hurtle toward them as they sit helplessly drinking it all in, good or bad."
Terrace Tales embodies this philosophy: a book that transcends language, offering engagement that deepens with each successive reading, vividly stimulating the imagination. It is ultimately the readers — with their own words, memory, and experience — who bring its wordless stories fully to life.
For purchasing a copy, ‘Terrace Tales’ will soon be available on Anantjeet’s website anantjeetkaur.com. Anantjeet is currently seeking literary agents to represent her work. She is also figuring out a way to build a thriving children’s library in Patiala and can be reached through instagram (@ananthralled) or her website (anantjeetkaur.com).