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

Grandma and the Great Gourd is a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2013

For children ages 5-8 years | 1-2nd grade |

Click here to purchase on Amazon.

See Erica’s website What Do We Do All Day for diverse book lists, reading lists and “screen-free” ideas for families and their children.