The Queen of the Jungle

A Children’s Illustrated Adventure Novel

Deep inside a living, breathing jungle — where animals speak through instinct and trees remember old secrets — lives a young girl the forest itself has chosen.

She is not born into royalty.
She does not wear a crown.
Yet the jungle knows her as the Queen.

Her story begins with loss and unfolds into belonging. Raised far from towns and cities, she grows up learning the rhythms of nature — how animals warn instead of attack, how forests protect before they punish, and how strength can exist without cruelty.

The wild becomes her home.
Animals become her companions.
The jungle becomes her teacher.

As she grows, the balance of this world is threatened. Poachers arrive. Fear spreads. Human greed seeps into places it does not belong. Civilization presses against wilderness — and the jungle must decide how to respond.

This is not a story about conquering nature.
It is a story about coexisting with it.

Through courage without aggression, compassion without weakness, and loyalty without ownership, the Queen of the Jungle gently introduces young readers to the idea that true leadership is earned through care, not control.

Tigers, elephants, forests, rivers, and fire are not monsters here — they are living forces that respond to respect. The greatest dangers do not come from the wild, but from humans who forget how to live alongside it.

A Story with a Living Legacy

The Queen of the Jungle is a revival of illustrated stories originally created in the 1980s by Dasharath Sonar — the author’s father, a painter and storyteller whose black-and-white jungle narratives were published in regional Marathi newspapers.

Decades later, those fragile newspaper cuttings have been carefully preserved and re-imagined by his son — not as reinterpretation, but as continuation. Each illustration is recreated with patience and restraint, honoring the emotional tone, simplicity, and wonder of the original work while making it accessible to today’s children.

This project is not a remake.
It is a conversation across generations — between a father who drew stories for his time, and a son who carries them forward for the next.

Each illustration is recreated with patience and reverence, honoring memory, craft, and imagination in equal measure.

Who This Book Is For

Children who love animals, forests, and adventure
Parents seeking meaningful, value-driven stories
Educators introducing ecology, empathy, and responsibility
Young readers who believe heroes don’t always carry weapons

The Queen of the Jungle does not rule by force.
She belongs to the forest.

And in doing so, she reminds us of something quietly powerful — that nature listens, remembers, and protects those who protect it.

Creative Lineage Note

Raiba and the Queen of the Jungle is an imaginative extension of this world, written later by the author to explore the jungle’s mythology through a human child’s journey. While The Queen of the Jungle centers on belonging, balance, and nature’s quiet authority, the Raiba narrative introduces additional adventure, conflict, and human perspective — expanding the universe without altering its original spirit.