The NCERT Class 11 English book is not one textbook but three: Hornbill, Snapshots (the supplementary reader) and Woven Words. All three are official NCERT publications, and all are listed below with their chapter counts, printed-page counts and official PDF links.
The split matters more than it looks. All three books restart their chapters at 1, so the chapter number alone cannot tell you which book to open. “Class 11 English Chapter 3” could mean three different texts — the book name identifies your chapter, not the number. This listing is maintained for the 2026-27 academic session.
The three books at a glance
The table below names each book, shows how many chapters and printed pages it holds in the edition we index, and links to its own page.
| Book | Chapters | Printed pages | Book page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hornbill | 10 | 88 | Hornbill (coming soon) |
| Snapshots Suppl Reader English | 5 | 46 | Snapshots Suppl Reader English (coming soon) |
| Woven Words | 20 | 143 | Woven Words (coming soon) |
Which CBSE Class 11 English book do you need?
Three quick checks settle it:
- By the name you were given. Your teacher or homework sheet will say Hornbill, Snapshots or Woven Words. Start there.
- By chapter number — with a trap. Every book restarts at Chapter 1. Chapter 3 is Discovering Tut: the Saga Continues in Hornbill (NCERT Hornbill, pp. 21–34), Mother’s Day in Snapshots (NCERT Snapshots, pp. 14–33) and The Rocking-horse Winner in Woven Words (NCERT Woven Words, pp. 19–36).
- By genre. Main reading texts and the writing-skills units sit in Hornbill; the supplementary stories sit in Snapshots; the short-story and poetry collection sits in Woven Words.
The common mistake is searching “Class 11 English Chapter 3” and taking the first result. Check the book name on the homework sheet first — it saves a wrong download.
What each of the three books covers
Hornbill is the main reader: six prose chapters from The Portrait of a Lady to Silk Road, then the four writing-skills units — Writing Skills, Summarising, Sub-titling and Essay-writing — all inside the same textbook, not a separate workbook. It runs 88 pages in the edition we index.
Snapshots is the supplementary reader, read alongside Hornbill. Its five additional stories — The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse, The Address, Mother’s Day, Birth and The Tale of Melon City — run 46 pages.
Woven Words is the widest of the three: eight short stories and twelve poetry chapters, from Poetry through Ajamil and the Tigers, running 143 pages. Short stories and poems that appear in no other book live here.
Where a named 11th English chapter sits
A few examples show the pattern: The Portrait of a Lady (NCERT Hornbill, pp. 1–11) and Silk Road (NCERT Hornbill, pp. 57–69) are in Hornbill; The Address (NCERT Snapshots, pp. 9–13) and Birth (NCERT Snapshots, pp. 34–38) are in Snapshots; Hawk Roosting (NCERT Woven Words, pp. 121–123) and Refugee Blues (NCERT Woven Words, pp. 129–131) are in Woven Words.
When in doubt, open the book your teacher named, not the chapter number. The complete chapter list with writers’ names is one click away on each book’s own page.
What the NCERT Class 11 English textbooks cost — and the free PDFs
NCERT prints the price on each book’s back cover, and it varies by printing, so check the copy you are buying rather than trusting an online figure.
The official PDFs are free at ncert.nic.in. The official NCERT PDF of Hornbill Chapter 1, The Portrait of a Lady, is free on ncert.nic.in — open it to confirm the edition before you download the rest of the book.
Snapshots opens with The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse; its Chapter 1 PDF is free on ncert.nic.in — the file to open if your homework names Snapshots rather than Hornbill.
Woven Words begins with its Short Stories section, and its free Chapter 1 PDF is on ncert.nic.in — open it to check you have the right collection before you read on. The PDFs linked here are the English-medium editions on this page, and every chapter’s PDF is linked from its book’s page above.
Related pages on this site
Start from the NCERT books home to browse the catalogue, or jump straight to the Class 11 hub for this class’s other NCERT books.
Sources and data verification
The chapter, page and question counts on this page come from the NCERT Class 11 English textbook editions on this page — Hornbill, Snapshots and Woven Words — using the official PDFs on ncert.nic.in.
This page covers these three books’ chapter counts, page ranges and verified exercise-question counts. It does not cover the full CBSE scheme of studies, other subjects, or syllabus weightage. Exercise question counts are withheld for the ten chapters whose extraction is flagged for review, and are published only where verified.
These figures are maintained for the academic session named in the introduction. NCERT settles textbooks, editions and PDFs; CBSE settles curriculum, syllabus and examinations. Textbook contents and the examinable syllabus are not always identical — check the current official syllabus.
Reference: NCERT Class 11 English textbooks, official editions on ncert.nic.in.
Frequently asked questions
How many NCERT books are there for Class 11 English?
Three: Hornbill (ten chapters), Snapshots (five chapters) and Woven Words (twenty chapters) — 35 chapters in all, running 277 printed pages in the editions on this page.
Which book is my Class 11 English chapter in?
Check the book name first. All three books restart at Chapter 1, so the number alone cannot tell you: Chapter 3 is Discovering Tut in Hornbill, Mother’s Day in Snapshots and The Rocking-horse Winner in Woven Words.
Are the Class 11 English book PDFs official and free?
Yes. NCERT publishes the official PDFs free at ncert.nic.in, and every chapter’s PDF is linked from its book’s page on this site.
What is the difference between Hornbill and Snapshots?
Hornbill is the main textbook — the core reading texts and the four writing-skills units. Snapshots is the supplementary reader, five additional stories read alongside Hornbill. Woven Words adds the short-story and poetry collection.
How much does the NCERT Class 11 English book cost?
The printed price is on the back cover of each book and varies by printing. The official PDFs are free.