The Diya House
Cover of The Bell That Rang at Midnight: a gold temple bell inside a carved arch on a midnight-blue background.

The Wonder Notebook · Book 1

The Bell That Rang at Midnight

At exactly midnight, the brass bell on the family mandir rings all by itself. By morning, Ganesha has turned to face the stairs and Jalebi the dog didn’t bark once.

Seven-year-old Tara notices everything. So she opens her Wonder Notebook and starts a list.

Ages 5–98 short chaptersPaperback & KindleBy P. R. Kalola
Get it on Amazon Tell me when Book 2 is out

How Tara solves things

Three columns for every big question

Kids ask why Ganesha has an elephant head at 9:47 on a school night. Tara’s notebook gives families a way to answer honestly, without having to have every answer.

We know

  • The bell rang three nights in a row.
  • Jalebi doesn’t bark at family.
  • One loose bulb can cause a whole week of mystery.
Things we can check.

We believe

  • Dadi believes Ganesha helps with obstacles.
  • Our family believes stories can teach true things.
What our families and traditions teach us.

We wonder

  • Did the race around the world really happen?
  • Why does Kabir think Ganesha “did a visit”?
Questions that are allowed to stay open.

Meet the family

Loud, loving, and a little bit chaotic

T

Tara

Age 7 · the detective

Autistic, ADHD, and the best noticer in the house. Keeps her markers in rainbow order. Purple is her best color.

P

Pari

Age 5 · the little sister

Nineteen stuffed animals, one tiny voice, and much braver than anyone guesses.

K

Kabir

Age 2 · the wild card

Calls every bread “roti,” even pizza. Insists Ganesha “did a visit.”

J

Jalebi

The dog

Black, fluffy, shaped like a mop that came alive. Has stolen pizza four times.

Plus Mama and Papa, who argue sometimes and always make up where the kids can see; Dada, who says “Hmm” and wins every game of Uno; Dadi, who performs her bedtime stories over video call; and Nani and Nanu, who prefer chai to almost everything.

The Wonder Notebook series

One mystery, one tradition, one big question per book

Book 1

The Bell That Rang at Midnight

Who is ringing the mandir bell at midnight? A mystery about Ganesha, sisters, and being scared of the dark.

Coming before Diwali
Book 2

The Line Down the Middle

Blue tape splits the sisters’ room in half, and things start disappearing. Can people who fight still be a team?

Coming next
Book 3

Pari’s Big Sleep

Pari’s turn to be brave.

In the works

For grown-ups

Made for reading together

Every book is a real mystery with fair clues, wrapped around a tradition from our Gujarati and Punjabi families and one big question kids actually ask.

You don’t need to be Hindu, Indian or religious to share these books. Every new word is explained in the story and in Tara’s Word List at the back, and each book ends with a short page of questions to talk about together.