
Jai the Albino Cow: Jai Ng’ombe Zeruzeru by Gloria D. Gonsalve is a short and sweet children’s story designed to pass on the morals of kindness, love, understanding and tolerance for those different to ourselves. Told in dual languages, English and Swahili, it is told through the eyes of Jai, an albino cow who is different to the other cows. When the rest of the herd witnesses the dance of the Cattle Kings, Jai is persuaded to dance also. She is reluctant to do so because she is different, she is not a male and she is shy because of her differences. With the assurances of her siblings and her parents that she is indeed special and has the “blood of the Gods” within her, Jai reluctasntly agrees to participate in this special undertaking.
With a serious nod to the story of “The Ugly Duckling”, Jai the Albino Cow: Jai Ng’ombe Zeruzeru, by Gloria D. Gonsalve is a lovely message for children to receive, that we should revel and celebrate our differences rather than shun and hide them. How appropriate this message is in today’s world of divide and hate. I read this book on Kindle, as I do with all my books. It is not designed for Kindle and the pictures and page backgrounds were unable to be displayed. By looking at the PDF file of the book I was able to see the sweet and delightful drawings that accompanied the text. This is definitely a book you need to get in paperback for the full enjoyment to be had by the children and/or the adults reading to them. The messages inherent in the author’s word are valuable lessons for our younger ones and the bilingual nature of the book just added to its appeal. This is an excellent book for imparting some strong morals on our youngsters.
