Ishan (pronounced E-Shan) a third grade boy and his brother Sunil, a fourth grader, desperately want a dog. However, Mom has a “no dogs allowed” rule. Ishan goes to great lengths to try to persuade his Mom into a “dogs allowed” rule. He helps his elderly neighbor walk his dog to prove he can be responsible (ok and to also get his dog fix for the day). He tries to cook a special meal to please his mom and try to win her over. He even changes all the family pictures in the house to dog pictures. Each well intentioned act becomes more of a disaster than a gift. So much so, that Ishan is grounded to the house during a neighborhood block meeting held at his home. During the meeting an emergency involving his neighbor occurs and Ishan saves the day. Will this be the action that changes mom’s mind to allow a dog to enter the family home?
Written with realistic speech patterns and plausible scenarios this multicultural novel introduces readers to foods of India, Hindi words and social interactions of Indian culture and family life.