Narsimhan up for Chocolate Lily
June 01st, 2022
Mahtab Narsimhan’s kidlit title, Valley of the Rats (Cormorant 13.95) for ages 9 to 12, has made the 2022/2023 Chocolate Lily Awards shortlist.
Valley of the Rats, with illustrations by Lee Edward Födi, was also included in the 2022 Kid Committee Summer Reading List for Silver Birch from Forest of Reading.
Valley of the Rats tells the story of book nerd Krish who goes with his father on a camping trip to Ladakh, India. They get lost in a bamboo forest teeming with black rats and germs, which Krish hates. They end up in the hidden village, Imdur that has the custom of worshipping rats. By mistake, Krish and his father break a sacred rule and the Imdura threaten to keep the two there forever.
Based on the real “rat temple,” Karni Mata in Rajasthan, India, Narsimhan’s story explores themes of family, phobias and understanding other cultures. 9781770866287
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