The Ghost Catcher A Bengali Folktale

Title: The Ghost Catcher – A Bengali Folktale
Authors: Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss
Illustrator: Kristen Balouch
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: August House (May 25, 2008)
ISBN-10: 0874838355
ISBN-13: 978-0874838350

Folktales have long been a satisfying way to pass on traditions and teach moral lessons. The Ghost Catcher, authored by husband and wife team Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss, is a delightful Bengali folktale. A young barber from a Bengali village loves his trade. The highlight of his day is story telling shared by his customers. But when a customer tells him a sad tale, the barber feels sorry for him and says “Keep your money. You need it more than I do.”

Needless to say, on most days the barber goes home without any money. This does not sit well with his wife. Although she loves his caring heart, she also needs money to buy food and provide shelter. One day the wife gives her husband an ultimatum. “Don’t come back until you can promise that we will not go hungry again.”

The barber decides to go to the next village, and in the evening he goes to sleep under a banyan tree. He is awakened by a gruesome ghost who lives in the banyan tree. The ghost lets out an awful screech and startles the barber. However, the barber is very clever. He holds up a mirror and screeches back “I have no fear of you. I am a ghost catcher.” The ghost has never seen his reflection before and is frightened of his own image. The barber uses quick thinking to trick the ghost into sparing his life and gains financial freedom at the same time.

The colorful illustrations are rich and vivid and provide a brilliant back drop to this amusing folk tale.

I chuckled when reading this story because of the quick wit of the barber. His actions demonstrate resourcefulness when faced with danger and also show his generosity by placing others’ needs before his own. The ending is a little overdone, but its message of caring and responsibility is conveyed in an entertaining way.

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Carma Dutra is a freelance writer and children’s writer. Learn children’s writing tips and read reviews of award winning books by visiting Carma’s Window at http://carmaswindow.blogspot.com. Download the free E-Books, Tips for Children’s Writers and Illustrators, and Unite to Write, a compilation of thirteen expert authors.