Raja’s Pet Camel: The Magic of Hope

When Raja finds a scared and lonely calf, he wants to help. Raja’s leftover lunch cements a bond of trust and friendship between the two. The calf follows Raja home, and Raja pleads to keep it as a pet, as most children would. But it is no ordinary pet – it is a camel! Bapu, Raja’s father, is against the idea, especially as in Rajasthan animals are kept for work, not as pets. Kamal, as Raja names the calf, is destructive and has an unusual fondness for consuming dates. Bapu says that Kamal has to go, but Raja has grown attached to it. Each side tries to work with the other to find a mutually agreeable solution.

The exotic setting of Rajasthan, which is located in the Thar desert in northwest India, exposes readers to a different culture. The pictures accurately depict life in Rajasthan, but there is one small exception: Raja is always dressed in his school uniform (white shirt, navy shorts, and dark tie). He is even dressed that way when they go to the fair, presumably on a day when school is out. Barring that small oversight, this read-together book shows readers that people from different cultures have strikingly familiar emotional and familial similarities.