Children's book Review

Kali Leads the Way
by Nancy West
ISBN-10: 0978672208
Review by Heather Froeschl

Where danger lies, heroes lead the way. Sometimes those heroes are dedicated animals. In "Kali Leads the Way" by Nancy West, readers are introduced to one hero with four paws in the land mine strewn countryside of Cambodia.

Kali is a young Labrador Retriever in training to be a humanitarian mine detection dog. Her job is to use her keen sense of smell to detect buried land mines. Her challenge is to overcome her non-work related curiosity. Kali is distracted by butterflies and her trainer decides that she is not yet ready for work. She soon proves herself when her companion work dogs fail to find something that she spots easily...a live mine near the training site. When the monsoon season arrives in Cambodia the other dogs are brought to a nearby city to wait it out. The dogs cannot work in the heavy rain. Kali remains with her trainer to watch over the training grounds. One night, after many rain soaked days, the clouds clear and a knock is heard at the door. A man carries his young son, desperately in need of medical care, and hopes that Kali can lead them over the mountain to the city. Kali is able to focus on her work, and ignore temptation, but will she safely guide the group around a buried mine and the other dangers that lurk in the forest?

This beautifully illustrated book shows the dedicated service dogs like Kali provide. It also gently explains what land mines are and the dangers that farmers and others face having to live with this very real unknown threat. Educators looking to introduce this sad product of war will find this book to be a perfect blend of fact and hopeful outlook. Information on what can be done about land mines is provided at the back of the book.

Nancy West takes a tragic situation and turns it into something we can all hope for. Showing the growth of the dog's sense of duty puts the developing hero in a relatable light. Children will cheer her on as she ignores the monkeys and sticks to her task. Adult readers will be touched by the sense of need and desire for help. Kali is leading the world in showing compassion and taking control, and that's just what we all need more of. Well done!