Grandma and the Great Gourd by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

In this retelling of a Bengali folktale, Grandma travels from her Indian village through a vast jungle fraught with dangers to visit her lonely daughter. Though Grandma is afraid, she thinks, What’s life without a little adventure?

And that’s exactly what she finds as she confronts a clever fox, a fierce bear, and a crafty tiger. Each wants to eat her, but she assures them that she will be much plumper when she returns home after visiting her daughter. Each animal agrees to let her go.

Grandma outwits them all when she returns home in a massive, hollowed-out gourd. This charming, vividly illustrated children’s picture book is told in a lyrical voice with engaging sound effects. It will have young readers cheering for Grandma. (Roaring Brook Press)