Kalabashee

About the Book

Kalabashee decides he definitely has too many sisters, until something frightful happens to one of them. His little fatherless family struggles to survive in a Bangladesh fishing village nestled between the jungle and the Bay of Bengal, noted for its great storms. This is the story of the adventures of a plucky 11-year-old who barely reads as he tackles the predicaments befalling his family—from keeping the rice bowl filled to rallying against the fearsome forces of nature.

For today´s young readers who are destined to travel, study or perhaps work in the far corners of the world, this new juvenile novel will give them an early exposure to a foreign culture starkly different from their own. Through following the engrossing story with its 23 illustrations, they will gain some understanding of what life is like for children living on the edge—of extreme poverty,a perilous environment, and a modernizing society.

About the Author

Betty Williams, a writer and editor, lived on the Indian Subcontinent for four years. One of the highlights was a trip to Bangladesh and a memorable boat trip into the watery jungles bordering the Bay of Bengal. In Kalabashee and His Sisters the author creates a real-life adventure to help young readers better understand and care about children of another culture, children like themselves but who live in desperate poverty and a treacherous environment.