AUTHOR - ADVENTURER - ADVOCATE
The Drawing Game, a novel for children 8-12 years, is about a Bangladeshi girl and boy who save themselves from child trafficking through a drawing game. While written for kids, quite a few parents and grandparents have enjoyed it as well.
THE DRAWING GAME
The Drawing Game is a story of two eleven-year old Bangladeshi children, Nadiha and Fayaz, whose friendship grows from a passion for drawing. A wily relative tricked Nadiha's rural village parents into selling her to work as a servant in the capitol. Fayaz, a young boy in the new neighborhood, reaches out to her, although his family socially prohibits it. So the two meet in secret to pose challenges for a drawing game and to keep score on which drawing wins the competition.
These brief times with Fayaz are the bright spot in Nadiha's life of drudgery. Unfortunately, Fayaz falls into a plight worse than Nadiha's. He is kidnapped and held in a remote seaside camp forced to clean seashells for tourist shops. Connected through their sketch pads and a magical fairy-bluebird, each child embarks on an adventure. While attempting to save others, they ultimately save themselves and find that in their drawing game everyone wins.
Meanwhile, two American children, Ivy and Beau, move to Bangladesh due to their parent's work. As they pursue their own interests in drawing and photography, they cross paths with imperiled Nadiha and Fayaz. Can they do anything to help? Ultimately the lives of the four children intersect in a terrifying and heartwarming climax. This story teaches us that children, like adults, can also face enormous challenges in their lives. By being clever, kind and brave children have the power to tackle big problems and make the world a better place.
A Born Filmaker
Young readers can experience the story's setting in Old Dhaka by watching a video that my son, Chas, produced when he was in a school film club, much like that of the character Beau. This is a photo of Chas (with guitar) at the time he made the video. The second photo is Chas at 7, who some say was born with a camera in his hand.
Dedication
The book is dedicated to my son, Chas, and his closest Bangladeshi friend, Faiyaz Khan
"A compelling book that takes readers through the heartbreak of child trafficking."
Amazon Reviewer
"It must be difficult to write a novel with plots and themes as dark as child trafficking and the disparate lives of the privileged and the poor in Bangladesh. But Deborah Llewellyn has done so, and she has done so by imbuing her characters, child and adult, with the courage to change and to reach, always, for hope."
Amazon Reviewer
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"…richly and colorfully detailed story of the determination and creativity of Bangladeshi children."
Amazon Reviewer
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"…the only way we ever right wrongs that have become an accepted part of a culture is to open the eyes of young people. THE DRAWING GAME does that in a gentle and loving way."
Amazon Reviewer
