The Secret Kingdom: Nek Chand, a Changing India, and a Hidden World of Art is a nonfiction children's picture book by American author Barb Rosenstock and illustrated by Claire A. Nivola.

The book tells the story of Nek Chand, an artist who preserved his culture by creating the Chandigarh Rock Garden after fleeing violence following the India-Pakistan partition of 1947.

[1] Publishers’ Weekly describes it as a “gratifying” story, conveying art’s power to “revitalize and restore.”[2] The Secret Kingdom received the NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor and the South Asian Book Award in 2019.

[9] Through the continuous presentation of Chand’s difficulties and ability to overcome them throughout the book, Barb Rosenstock contends the virtues of resilience, and emphasizes the significance in community and the power of story in making that possible.

Even though he had nothing else, those stories sustained him and helped him remember the community that he loved, which he began to “rebuild a tribute”[11] to through the rock garden that he built, as Rosenstock describes on her website.

[10] By developing the power of story in Chand’s life within this book, Rosenstock teaches children about the significant impact that learning from and cherishing the experiences of others can have on their lives.