Bye, Bye, Motabhai is the first in a series about Pavan the camel. Pavan is Motabhai’s camel. They live in Ahmedabad, India. Life in Ahmedabad, especially for a camel, is tough. Pavan dreams of other places. He wants to escape Motabhai and move to Dubai.
He gets the opportunity when Motabhai volunteers him to transfer some kids to school. Yes, his work is already hard enough and then Motabhai does this? Unfair. When both Motabhai and the children’s father turn around for a moment, he takes off… with the children still on his back.
When Bijili the donkey spots Pavan and the kids, he decides to join him. Obviously, Motabhai, the children’s father, and the donkey’s owner aren’t going to let them get away. So while the animals and kids try to escape and hide, the others are on their tail. Their journey takes them throughout the city of Ahmedabad while they stop, hide, and run along some of the city’s most popular sites.
The publishers, Yali Books, sent me a copy of Bye, Bye, Motabhai for review. Thoughts are all my own!
A review of Bye, Bye, Motabhai
This series is perfect for those interested in learning more about India. As we visit each of the cities Pavan will eventually travel through (the next book takes him to Jaipur), the antics of this crazy crew keeps it fun. The beautiful illustration by Ambika Sambasivan brings the city to life.
For those of us not familiar with Indian names and places, the glossary of the terms at the beginning is a huge help. Spend some time to get to learn what same of the Hindi and Gujarati words you will soon encounter mean.
Buy Bye, Bye, Morabhai on Amazon now and learn more about India.
What situations can a camel, donkey, and kids get into in Ahmedabad? Find out here. Click To TweetReader’s Guide for Bye, Bye, Motabhai
If you have the book and would like to learn more about some of the spots Pavan, Bijili, and the children pass in Ahmedabad, here are some links for you!
Here’s where Ahmedabad is in India:
Here’s a sampling of the places you will see in Bye, Bye, Motabhai. Click on the name to find out more information about each of the sites.
- Ellis Bridge: links to a Youtube video by Wild Films India
- Sabarmati River: details of the river from the Sabarmati Riverfront
- Bhadra Kila: Wikipedia’s entry about the Bhadra Fort
- Dilli Darwaza: More information about this, and many other gates, in Ahmedabad
- Teen Darwaza: The following video shows life around the three gates of Teen Darwaza
Food in Bye, Bye, Motabhai (and Ahmedabad)
In the image from the book included above, Pavan tries some samosas and jelebis. Here’s a recipe for jelebis that you may want to attempt after reading the book.
Final notes
This book is not only part of a series, but is published by the South Asian publishers Yali Books. Their catalog of books offers many titles that appeal to all kinds of people. Another book by them that I have reviewed, A Puzzling Tour of India, gives kids a hands-on experience without having hop on a long flight. They have also published the second book in this series, Jaipur Jamboree, where we follow the characters as they travel through Jaipur on their way to Dubai. Check them out.
More information
Age Range: 6+
Author: Kala Sambasivan
Illustrator: Ambika Sambasivan
Publisher: Yali Books
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-0989061506
