GRANDMA AND THE GREAT GOURD (2013)

Once upon a time, in a little village in India, there lived an old woman. Everyone in the village called her Grandma. One day, Grandma received a letter from her daughter, who lived on the other side of the jungle. “Please come and visit me,” said the letter. “I haven’t seen you in so long. I miss you.” And so, Grandma begins a perilous journey to the far side of the jungle.  Can she use her keen wit to escape the jungle animals and make it safely home?

Chitra Divakaruni’s sharp, rhythmic retelling of this Bengali folktale is complemented perfectly by Susy Pilgrim Waters’s brightly colored, captivating illustrations.

Chitra Divakaruni’s first book in the Brotherhood of the Conch series, The Conch Bearer, was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, and a Booklist Editors’ Choice.

Praise For Grandma and the Great Gourd…

"Colorful in more than one sense of the word." -- Booklist

"This fresh new version will soon have young listeners and readers telling the story themselves." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Clever and crafty, this well-told tale will be a fun addition to most collections." -- School Library Journal

"Grandma’s witty resourcefulness and the opportunity to compare cross-cultural story traditions make this a useful resource and a good readaloud."-- Publishers Weekly

"The acclaimed poet and novelist makes her picture-book debut with a Bengali folktale she remembers hearing from her grandfather in India." -- The Horn Book