While Neeraj’s mother kneads dough for chapatis, she gives her young son a lump of dough to play with. Neeraj molds the dough into a snake, imagines it might bite him, and quickly rolls the dough back into a ball. He then makes a mouse that he fears will run through the house and then a cat that he fears will grow into a lion. Finally he rolls out a big round chapati, which his mother bakes for him. The illustrations show Neeraj shaping the dough and the fearsome animals he imagines he has created. Step-by-step directions for making chapatis are included. 2010 USBBY Outstanding Inter national Books List. ca