RAJA'S PET CAMEL

A wary Bapu agrees to allow the camel to stay until they can find the animal a permanent home. Delighted, Raja is hopeful that he can convince his father to allow Kamal to stay with them forever. Unfortunately, however, Kamal is “a wild camel with wild ways” and becomes so destructive and disruptive that Bapu insists on selling the camel at an upcoming fair. In a last-ditch effort to keep Kamal, Raja tries to train his new pet to participate in the annual camel race, thinking that if Kamal wins the large cash prize, Bapu will change his mind and allow the animal to stay. But at the fair and the race, Kamal misbehaves again, making it impossible for Bapu to sell her. The book’s ending is more of a cliffhanger than a real conclusion to its meandering plot, and readers are left guessing whether or not Raja will keep Kamal forever. The illustrations are equally confusing, pairing mostly turbaned, traditionally dressed adults with a bareheaded protagonist clad in button-down shirt and shorts. The only women depicted appear in the occasional background. The book ends with “10 Facts About the Thar Desert in India” that are both exoticizing and overgeneralized, consistently referring to “Indian” practice and tradition despite the geographically specific heading.