Kali's father is a snake catcher - the best in the village. Kali knows that is really something to be proud of, but at school he sometimes gets embarrassed. The other children seem to think there is something very strange about having a snake catcher for a father and eating things like fried termites for a snack. Plus, Kali is the teacher's pet. How will he ever make friends?
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 1-3–Kali has always been proud of his father, who is the best snake catcher in their Indian village. But when he attends school, the children make fun of his Irula ways. They are disdainful of what Kali eats, and they shun him. Friendless and lonely, he dreads school. But one day the classroom is visited by a six-foot-long rat snake. With the children screaming and the teacher hiding under his desk, Kali grabs it and becomes the class hero. The text is smoothly written, with lots of cultural details. The story moves at a good pace, with excellent use of text that leaves readers anticipating what will happen when each page is turned. Natarajan's stylized illustrations are a mixture of smaller pencil drawings and luscious larger paintings that seem to be done on silk. The endpapers resemble a beautiful batik fabric. Everything works together for an evocative presentation. This book has much to offer children learning about other cultures. It could also be used to begin discussions about bullying, prejudice, and acceptance.–Mary Hazelton, Elementary Schools in Warren & Waldoboro, ME
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"A great book about friendship and being careful not to judge others." --- Kids Bookshelf
"The text is smoothly written, with lots of cultural details. The story moves at a good pace, with excellent use of text that leaves readers anticipating what will happen when each page is turned. Natarajan's stylized illustrations are a mixture of smaller pencil drawings and luscious larger paintings that seem to be done on silk. The endpapers resemble a beautiful batik fabric. Everything works together for an evocative presentation. This book has much to offer children learning about other cultures." --- School Library Journal
"...ideal for teaching children about acceptance. The sense of belonging and finding one s identity is a story that is hard to make relatable to children. This one does so without preaching." --- Toy Directory
"The text is smoothly written, with lots of cultural details. The story moves at a good pace, with excellent use of text that leaves readers anticipating what will happen when each page is turned. Natarajan's stylized illustrations are a mixture of smaller pencil drawings and luscious larger paintings that seem to be done on silk. The endpapers resemble a beautiful batik fabric. Everything works together for an evocative presentation. This book has much to offer children learning about other cultures." --- School Library Journal
"...ideal for teaching children about acceptance. The sense of belonging and finding one s identity is a story that is hard to make relatable to children. This one does so without preaching." --- Toy Directory
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Incredibly gendered,
By
This review is from: KALI AND THE RAT SNAKE (Paperback)
This book was given to my daughter as a gift because of our families Indian heritage. I wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't. It's incredibly gendered. For example, the kids go around the room and tell everyone what their father does for a living. Just the father! I want to be open-minded about different cultures, but I can't teach my daughter that the only thing that matters is what your father does for a living. This is just the biggest complaint of the many complaints I have with this book. There are many other books that show Indian culture (I recommend Mama's Saris) and many other books that deal with peer pressure. I do not recommend this book.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Review,
By
This review is from: Kali And the Rat Snake (Hardcover)
This is a great coming-of-age story, in which a loner boy, Kali, becomes prestigious in his classroom after an encounter with a scary snake. The vocabulary, grammar level, and basic sentence structure is perfect for a second level Hindi reader. I would recommend this book to all, especially those who are curious to learn one's struggles to survive in the real world. It basically teaches you how-to! If you, or someone you have trouble fitting in and finding friends, I recommend this book to him or her.
Then...sit down. Grab a snack! And enjoy reading about what happens next!
4.0 out of 5 stars
Kali and the Rate Snake is A wondeful Cultural Exploration,
By Diana Rohini LaVigne "Online Editor, Indianl... (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Kali And the Rat Snake (Hardcover)
Title: Kali and the Rat Snake
Author: Zai Whitaker Illustration: Srividya Nataranjan Published by: Kane/Miller Book Publishers ISBN 13: 978-1-933605-10-4 Review by: Diana Rohini LaVigne, Indian Life & Style Magazine Teaching kids how to deal with peer pressure is only one of the important messages that Kali and the Rat Snake by Zai Whitaker presents. The bold illustrations and expressive text starts with the tale of a boy who is struggling from the lack of acceptance of his classmates in regards to his unusual background. Children taunt the young Kali and although some children might have bad intentions, Kali only dreams of being accepted by his peers. He is loved by his teacher and otherwise living a happy life, but being new to school and having trouble making friends is forming a very unhappy side to Kali's life. A moment of crisis changes the course of his future when a snake appears in the school room threatening Kali, his teacher and his classmates. Being the son of a snake catcher, Kali takes immediate action by securing the snake without much effort. Classmates are instantly thankful to Kali for knowing how to capture the potentially dangerous wild snake. Classmate's respect opens the door for Kali to make new friendships and almost insures his acceptance with other students. The Illustrations by Srividya Nataranjan bring the story alive and help demonstrate how Kali is able to overcome his challenges and gain the respect of his fellow schoolmates. Images are truly unique and bring a level of cultural awareness to youthful readers. Kali and the Rat Snake captured my heart and will surely capture the hearts and minds of today's youth. It a beautiful and well-written book which is a solid contribution to children's cultural literature.
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