Kai: A Mission For Her Village
A novel by Dawn Thomas
Dear teachers- feel free to use this in your classroom. This novel is an excellent resource and I highly recommend it. However, a lot of work has gone into my site so I'd like to at least know that you've used it and what you thought of it. So e mail me at
Lisa Bedell
Africa 1440
New York :
Aladdin Paperbooks, 1996.
IL 3-6 RL 4.2
ISBN 0689811403
"Kai: A Mission For Her Village" is a novel by Dawn Thomas. It is set in Africa, 1440 in a village called Ife (e-fay') which is present day Nigeria. It is during a time when women are treated with some respect, especially elderly women and yet there are obvious stereotypes. Their positions, whether in the home or as head of the market, were considered valuable ones. However, there were some tasks which were considered typically male- one being sculpting. It was considered a man's job and women were not allowed to know how it was done. Thus it was that young 8 year old Kai found herself spying on them to find out how they did it- such was her interest in sculpting. She was high-spirited and felt she would rather die than never know the joy of sculpting. In this novel, we find moments to teach about gender stereotyping and men and women's expected roles and conduct; being different/ handicaps; humiliating and degrading others; beauty being equated with idleness and vanity (self-image); responsibilities and rights; sibling rivalry; racism and slavery. We can use it to compare the high-spiritedness and rebelliousness of Kai with young girls such as Harriet Tubman (The story of Minty"); "oneness" with nature/ spirituality; misjudging people; respect for the Earth; respect for animals; third world development, housing , sustainability; bullying and social justice. During this novel study, the children work on projects involving singing and dancing, drama, drumming, puppet making and putting on puppet shows. They have many choices and the projects are made so that they will work on things they enjoy doing.
In the story, Granny Nalo tells Kai and her sister that the yams in Ife are blighted and that if something is not done, they will all starve. Subsequently, the Oni sends them on a mission to Oyo, a neighboring village to ask for food.
One of our great challenges as teachers is in helping children understand, respect and value other cultures. Children have to see that everyone, no matter what background or heritage, values the same things: family, belonging, compassion, and honesty. In this way we come to realize that people are more alike than different.
The Characters
Kai- An eight year old girl from Ife in Yorubaland. She has a sister named Jamila and a brother called Bahati. She wants nothing more than to learn how to sculpt beautiful statues but she is not allowed because sculpting is considered a man's trade and women are not allowed to even know how it is done. If they are caught doing such things, they can be severely punished. Kai is very high-spirited and breaks the law by spying on the craftsmen. She is also what would be considered a "tomboy" and is teased because she can run faster than the boys. Kai's best friend is Aisha.
Jamila-She is Kai's beautiful sister. Everyone in Ife thinks she is very beautiful. However, she is very lazy and doesn't do anything productive. She figures that because of her beauty, she will marry young and will never have to worry about working! She ends up going on an important mission with Kai and we learn we have misjudged her.
Aisha-She is Kai's very best friend who was born with a handicap. Her right leg was deformed at birth. The other children tease her because she is "different". She is very loyal to Kai and tries to keep her out of trouble. Kai, in turn, tries to protect her from the cruelty of others.
Bahati-Is Kai's younger brother who is angered that his sisters should be sent on such an important mission, when he, a "stronger, smarter" young man could do it so much better! It is too important a mission for mere girls to undertake. Bahati is a herder of goats who tends to be a bit irresponsible, leaving the gate of their pen open so that they wander freely into the hut.
Baba-Kai, Jamila and Bahati's father. He seems very fair and has a sense of humor. He seems very lenient with the children, although in reality, he would have been much more stern.
Ayah-Kai, Bahati and Jamila's mother. We do not learn too much about her except that she does weaving and sewing.
Granny Nalo- Is an elder in the village who is also very close to the Oni. She is the one who has chosen to send Kai and Jamila on the mission. She is blind but "sees" what others do not. She knows that Kai and Jamila do not get along- she also knows what Kai's secret desire is. She wants them to go on the mission together so that they can learn about each other and also so that Kai can learn that rules in one village are not necessarily the same as in another. Never say never- all things are possible.
The Oni- Spiritual leader of Ife. He also seems very lenient with the girls but in reality, Kai would have been severely punished for her rebelliousness and rashness.
Here are some words found in "Kai" translated for you"
Agbo Ile- a group of houses
Oni- spiritual leader of Ife
Alafin- Leader of Oyo
Fufu- Mashed Yam dish
Ore-kori-ko-sun- Friend-not-see-not-sleep (Best friend) Kai and Aisha used this term for each other but really, it was not a term used by women- the reason for this being that when girls married, they often had to move to another village , usually never seeing their childhood friends again, so really, they couldn't have a friend for life.
Baba- Father
Ayah-Mother
Here are some ideas to follow while working on the novel.
1. After each chapter, have the children write in a journal, pretending they are Kai so they write in the first person. If applicable, they could also write as Bahati, Baba, Ayah, Jamila, Aisha or Granny Nalo, depending on the chapter. In this situation, they keep a journal, write in the first person, and learn to write paragraphs.
2. Please feel free to use the workbook. Workbook Printable sheets will be found on this site.
3. Puppet making Follow directions.
4. Visit our project site.
5. Writing puppet shows. If you enter here, you will see this year's puppet shows.
8. Read the story "Minty". This story is difficult to read as it describes a situation in which Minty (Harriet Tubman) is whipped and shows the cruelty of slavery. It is a good opportunity to speak about the roles white people played during that time and to explain that many white people were are part of the Underground Railroad and wanted to have slavery abolished. Because some little children will feel "guilty" over what people of their color did, it is also a good time to talk about the fact that we cannot accept guilt for what people in those days did but we can make sure that it never happens again. I have a difficult time reading this book to the children without crying - sometimes it is the first time the children find out what really happened during slavery.
After reading Minty, you can discuss the similarities in personality between Minty and Kai.
9 Gender stereotyping activities
Here, students learn about stereotyping of boys and girls in the media. They begin by looking at the appearance and mannerisms of boys and girls in different media and identify stereotypes that are present. They will then explore and compare these stereotypes to their own life experiences through a series of activities.
http://www.cis.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1996/1/96.01.03.x.html- Multiculturalism Through African Folk Tales And Mayan Myths, Rebecca Brown
10. Folktales http://www.aaronshep.com/stories/024.html