Children's Book Trust

What Children's Book Trust does

Children's Book Trust (CBT) is a privately-held Indian literary trust established in 1957 by renowned cartoonist K. Shankar Pillai, headquartered at Nehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi. The organization is a pioneer children's book publisher in India with a catalog of over 1,000 titles across genres including picture books, short stories, ancient tales, fiction, and information books in English, Hindi, and various Indian languages. Books are priced at subsidized rates to reach average Indian children.

CBT operates an integrated portfolio of children's education and cultural activities under its own roof at Nehru House: the Children's World illustrated monthly magazine (in its 59th year since 1968), the Dr. B.C. Roy Memorial Children's Reading Room and Library (40,000+ books, opened 1967), Shankar's International Dolls Museum (7,000+ costume dolls from 85 countries, occupying 5,184.5 sq. ft.), Shankar's Academy of Art and Book Publishing (diploma courses since 1991), and Indraprastha Press (in-house printing press since 1965). The Trust also runs Shankar's International Children's Competition (SICC, ~160,000 entries from 160+ countries), the On-the-Spot Painting Competition, and the Competition for Writers of Children's Books.

The business model is diversified across six revenue streams: one-time book sales (subsidized retail through three owned book shops in New Delhi, Chennai, and Kolkata), recurring magazine subscriptions (₹550/year domestic, US$80/year international), tiered library memberships (₹700–₹2,550), magazine advertising (placement- and frequency-based tariffs), academy course fees (diploma and short-term courses), and dolls museum entry fees (₹10–25 per visitor, ₹5 group rate). Distribution spans physical retail, post/courier, and international airmail. The organization operates without external investors or PE/VC funding as a self-sustaining trust.

Name

Children's Book Trust

Legal name

Children's Book Trust

Website

https://www.childrensbooktrust.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1957

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Children's Book Trust is an Indian literary trust founded in 1957 that publishes over 1,000 children's book titles, operates the Children's World magazine (since 1968), a children's library, a dolls museum, and an art academy, serving Indian schoolchildren and international participants in its competitions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313), Libraries and Archives (51921), Fine Arts Schools (61161)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Book Printing (2732), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Early Readers & Chapter Books Publishing (MPAJAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Children’s Nonfiction Publishing (MPAJAFAE), Children’s Subscription & Book Club Publishing (MPAJAFAO)

Keywords

• Children's book publishing
• Illustrated children's magazine
• Costume dolls museum
• Children's library services
• Art and illustration academy

Headquarters

HQ city

New Delhi

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Book Sales: Sale of children's books in English and Hindi across multiple categories including Picture Books, Short Stories, Ancient Tales, Fiction, Information, and New Arrivals. Books are priced at subsidized rates to reach average Indian children.
2. Children's World Magazine: Monthly illustrated magazine for children published since 1968, now in its 59th year. Subscription-based revenue with 1-year (12 issues) and 2-year (24 issues) options. Includes advertising revenue from advertisement tariff page.
3. Library Membership: Dr. B.C. Roy Memorial Children's Reading Room and Library offers three-tier membership (Ordinary, Special, Double Special) with annual fees and security deposits, providing books to school-going children.
4. Magazine Advertising: The Children's World magazine accepts advertisements with tiered pricing based on placement (back cover, inside cover, full page, double spread) and insertion frequency (casual, 6 insertions, 12 insertions).
5. Academy Course Fees: Shankar's Academy of Art and Book Publishing offers diploma courses in Art, Book Illustration and Graphics, and short-term add-on courses in web designing.
6. Dolls Museum Entry Fees: Entry fees for Shankar's International Dolls Museum: ₹25 for adults, ₹10 for children, with concessional rates of ₹5 per child for groups of 20+.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Children's Book Trust publishes and sells children's books across multiple genres (picture books, short stories, ancient tales, fiction, information) in English, Hindi, and other Indian languages, alongside the Children's World monthly magazine. It also operates Shankar's International Dolls Museum, a children's library, an art and book illustration academy, and runs international children's competitions including SICC.

Product overview

Children's Book Trust (CBT) is a pioneering publisher of children's books in India, founded by cartoonist K. Shankar Pillai in 1957. The organization operates as a multi-faceted children's education and entertainment entity with a portfolio of interconnected products and services. The core offerings include children's books (over 1000 titles in English and Hindi across genres like picture books, fiction, ancient tales, and information books) and Children's World Magazine (a monthly illustrated magazine since 1968). CBT also runs several competitive programs including Shankar's International Children's Competition (SICC), the On-the-Spot Painting Competition, and the Writers' Competition for Children's Books. Beyond publishing, CBT operates the Dr. B.C. Roy Memorial Children's Library (40,000+ books), Shankar's International Dolls Museum (7,000+ dolls from 85 countries), and the Dolls Workshop for handcrafted Indian dolls. The Academy of Art and Book Illustrations provides training in illustration and publishing. Indraprastha Press handles in-house printing. The Trust's mission focuses on producing well-written, well-illustrated books at affordable prices for children.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Children's World: An illustrated monthly magazine for children published since 1968
• Shankar's International Children's Competition (SICC)
• Shankar's On-the-Spot Painting Competition
• Competition for Writers of Children's Books
• Shankar's International Dolls Museum
• Shankar's Academy of Art and Book Publishing
• Dr. B.C. Roy Memorial Children's Reading Room and Library
• Indraprastha Press

Products and services

• Children's Books Children's books published across multiple genres including picture books, short stories, ancient tales, fiction, science fiction, information, Indian history/heritage, natural history, travelogue, popular science, short plays/dramas, and read-aloud books. The Trust has published over 1,000 titles in English, Hindi, and various Indian languages, priced at subsidized rates to reach average Indian children. Designed for school-going children aged 5-17 years, organized into three age groups (Group A up to 8 years, Group B 9-12 years, Group C 13-17 years).
• Children's World Magazine Illustrated monthly magazine for children published since 1968, currently in its 59th year. Encourages creative talent by publishing children's poems, stories, features, and drawings. Available via 1-year (12 issues at ₹550) and 2-year (24 issues at ₹1,000) subscriptions, with single copies at ₹50. International subscriptions available by airmail at US$80 per year. Includes the 'Your Pages' competition where winning entries are published in the November special issue.
• Shankar's International Children's Competition (SICC) Annual international competition for children below 16 years of age, inviting paintings, drawings, and written works from children worldwide. Organized into three age groups. The competition receives approximately 160,000 entries from over 160 countries annually, making it one of the largest children's art and writing competitions globally.
• Shankar's On-the-Spot Painting Competition Annual on-the-spot painting competition for children aged 5-16 years, organized into three age groups (Group A up to 8 years, Group B 9-12 years, Group C 13-17 years). Resumed in 2022 after a hiatus, with around 3,000 participants in the resumed edition.
• Dr. B.C. Roy Memorial Children's Reading Room and Library Children's library with a collection of over 40,000-45,000 books on varied subjects in English and Hindi. Offers three-tier membership: Ordinary (₹700 total), Special (₹1,350 total), and Double Special (₹2,550 total), with annual fees and refundable security deposits. Exclusively for school-going children up to school completion age.
• Shankar's International Dolls Museum Museum housing over 7,000 costume dolls from approximately 85 countries, considered one of the largest collections of costume dolls in the world. Won first prize (Golden Peacock Feather) at the Dolls Biennale in Cracow, Poland in 1980. Entry fees: ₹25 for adults, ₹10 for children, with concessional rate of ₹5 per child for groups of 20+.
• Shankar's Academy of Art and Book Publishing Training academy established in 1991 to train students in art, book illustration, and graphics. Conducts a Diploma Course in Art, Book Illustration and Graphics, and short-term add-on courses in web designing. Located in Nehru House, New Delhi.
• Competition for Writers of Children's Books Annual writing competition for children's book authors launched in 1978, held in both English and Hindi. Accepts entries in fiction, science fiction, short stories, plays, picture books, and concept books, aimed at diversifying subject matter in children's literature.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1000 published titles in multiple languages
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Scholastic India: Indian arm of Scholastic, the world's largest children's book publisher and operator of book fairs in schools. Directly comparable to CBT as a children's trade publisher with school-channel distribution, though it operates at significantly larger scale and with broader commercial pricing.
• Pratham Books: India-focused non-profit children's publisher aiming to make affordable books available to all Indian children, similar in mission and subsidized pricing model to CBT. Operates StoryWeaver open digital platform, contrasting CBT's primarily print focus.
• Karadi Tales: Mumbai-based independent children's publisher focused on picture books rooted in Indian culture and heritage. Closely comparable on genre (picture books, Indian stories), language approach, and cultural-heritage positioning, though smaller and without CBT's magazine/museum ecosystem.
• Tulika Books: Chennai-based independent children's publisher producing multilingual picture books and fiction in Indian languages. Comparable to CBT on language diversity and fiction/picture book genre, though Tulika operates with fewer titles and no magazine/library/museum assets.
• Amar Chitra Katha (ACK Media): Iconic Indian children's publisher of illustrated stories on Indian mythology, history, and culture. Direct competitor in culturally-rooted children's content; ACK has stronger comic/graphic format while CBT focuses more on prose/picture books, and ACK has more aggressive digital distribution.
• Duckbill Books (Penguin Random House India imprint): Indian children's imprint publishing middle-grade and YA fiction. Directly comparable genre (children's fiction, contemporary Indian stories), though backed by a large multinational parent and lacking CBT's cultural-heritage or magazine/museum assets.

Broad incumbents

• National Book Trust, India: Government of India body publishing books across genres including children's titles, often at subsidized rates. Comparable mission of affordable Indian-language publishing and government backing, but much broader scope than CBT's children-only focus.
• Penguin Random House India: Largest English-language trade publisher in India with a growing children's list. Comparable as a children's publisher serving Indian schools and families, but operates as a broad incumbent with adult publishing as core revenue, contrasting CBT's exclusive children's focus.
• Scholastic Corporation: Global leader in children's books, school book fairs, and education publishing. Comparable category leader globally, though operates at vastly larger scale with international mass-market distribution, contrasting CBT's India-rooted mission and ecosystem model.

Emerging players

• Campfire Graphic Novels: Indian publisher of graphic novels adapted from classics, mythology, and original stories for children and young adults. Comparable on Indian-heritage children's content aimed at school-aged readers, though format (graphic novel) differs from CBT's prose/picture books.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@childrensbooktrust.newdelhi
• Facebookfacebook.com/childrensworldmagazine
• Instagraminstagram.com/childrensbooktrust
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/childrens-book-trust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Children's Book Trust