The Snake King of the Kalinago

This book is the creative result of a class project by some of the children of Atkinson School, Dominica, who, with the help of imaginative teachers and supportive comments and ideas from school children in London, give us their own reworking of a traditional myth of the Kalinago people (also known as Caribs). It’s an interesting project and the background to how the book came to be written, as well as some information about the myth itself, are neatly summarised at the beginning to set the context for us. Bakwa, a magical snake living in a cave in the mountains of Dominica, is visited by a Kalinago farmer seeking three wishes. These are granted and duly come true but when strangers arrive making demands on the Kalinago people, things begin to change. The story is well told and illustrated with paintings by members of a Carib community group. These are bold colour paintings and I like the way they are arranged with the text, partly because they support the story content and partly because they are placed on the page in a variety of ways. It lends the book a lively feel in tune with the telling of the tale. Some words within the text also appear in colour – another sign of the children’s imagination and excitement in making this book.