Kali and the Rat Snake by Zai Whitaker (Kane/Miller Book Publishers, ISBN 1-933605-10-4) is different from most children’s picture books because it gives children a glimpse into what school life is like for children in Southern India. It also shows children that diversity is important for everybody everywhere.
In this storybook, we meet a boy named Kali. Kali comes from a family of snake catchers from the Irula tribe in Southern India, and his father is one of the best snake catchers.
Kali is proud of his father until the first day of school when each child has to state their name, name of their village, and their father’s occupation. The other children have fathers who are bus conductors and postmen. When Kali announced that his father is a snake catcher, all the other children giggle.
For the first time ever, Kali is embarrassed about what his father does and his family heritage.
Each day Kali walks to his school. He hates going there and wishes he could have a father with a “normal” job. Kali has no friends and he feels separate, different, from everyone else.
However, all this changes when one day a rat snake drops into the schoolroom. Now Kali gets to show his classmates what it means to be a snake catcher.
Kali and the Rat Snake is a wonderful book that teaches children that our differences can actually be strengths. It’s the perfect book for classroom and home school discussions regarding making friends, fitting in, diversity, and acceptance.
