The Ghost Catcher - Hardcover

Hamilton Beauty & The Beast, Martha; Weiss Beauty & The Beast, Mitch

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0874838355 ISBN 13: 9780874838350

Publisher: August House, 2007

Synopsis

Bank Street Best Children's Books of the Year

A barber in Bengal is so generous to others that sometimes he has nothing left for his own family. When he comes home empty-handed once again, his wife, tired of going hungry, sends him packing until he finds a way to feed the family. As the barber rests under a banyan tree he is terrorized by a ghost. Through his cleverness, though, he turns the frightening encounter into a solution to his problems.

When he returns home to his grateful wife, their money worries are over, and the barber can continue to share with those in need. In a hilarious turn of events, the barber discovers a way to scare the ghost into doing what he says.

Kristen Balouch's crisp and colorful illustrations transport us to a world where the living bargain and bluff with the dead, where the communities gather under sprawling banyan trees, and where generosity prevails. This colorful, Indian folktale will teach readers the importance of courage, resourcefulness and trustworthiness.

About this title

About the Author:

Martha and Mitch Weiss Bio:

Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss are a husband-and-wife writing and storytelling team known as "Beauty and the Beast Storytellers." They have traveled the world sharing their passion for the oral tradition and the art of telling great stories. They have co-authored thirteen books and two audio recordings with August House. A number of their books have won numerous awards including Irma Simonton Black and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children's Literature (awarded by Bank Street College of Education), Parents' Choice, National Parenting Publications Awards, and Storytelling World. Mitch and Martha's story collections include world tales that they tell in a conversational manner so that children can easily comprehend and then share the stories by telling them to other students. Parents and teachers can find a wealth of information on how to get children excited about reading, telling world tales, and making up their own stories at Mitch and Martha's website.

Kristen Balouch Bio:

Kristen Balouch was born in Chicago and she turned out to be sort of a dreamy child with an even more colorful interior world. She always loved making things and using her hands to create whatever she imagined. At 17, she packed a bag and moved to Brooklyn, New York where she landed at Pratt Institute and felt right at home in a world of creative misfits. Since then she's been creating beautiful things whenever and wherever she can.

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 3—A fluid retelling of a traditional folktale. A good-hearted barber, who sets up his business under a tree "in a small village in Bengal," does not like to charge customers who are down on their luck. His angry wife finally tells him not to return home without money. He goes to the next village and spends the night under a tree, where he encounters a ghost who threatens to eat him. The barber holds up a mirror and scares the ghost into bringing him a pot of gold and building a house filled with rice. When the ghost's uncle appears, the clever barber manages to frighten him with the same trick and ends up with a second building filled with rice and more gold. At the end, the man is back under his village tree with enough riches to share, surrounded by people who tell him stories while he trims their beards or cuts their hair. Digitally created illustrations in solid colors are printed on fabric, lending texture and depth to the artwork. The ghosts' whimsical facial expressions effectively show their gullibility, and the background colors shine through their bodies to emphasize their ethereal nature. However, the depiction of a generic Indian background in the outdoor scenes misses the opportunity to showcase Bengal-specific details of setting or clothes. A background note includes sources.—Monika Schroeder, American Embassy School Library, New Delhi, India
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About this edition

• Publisher: August House
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0874838355
• ISBN 13: 9780874838350
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Balouch Kristen