Grandma and the Great Gourd: A Bengali Folktale Retold by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Illustrated by Susy Pilgrim Waters
This is a retelling of a traditional folktale about a crafty grandma who uses a giant gourd to outwit the wild jungle animals who want to eat her. I hadn’t heard this tale before, but loved it. The text is fun to read aloud with plenty of noises to make and repetitive text, accompanied by absolutely stunning illustrations. Preschooler Monkey was a little bit scared about poor grandma (“Don’t read that part!”) but rest assured there is a happy ending! We were both intrigued by the idea of a gourd so giant it could hide a person. Very cute.