Rickshaw Girl by Mitali Perkins illustrated by Jamie Hogan

I am always so pleased when my friend - who is a wonderful Teacher-Librarian - asks me to read one of the books from her extensive collection. This is especially exciting when she wants my opinion about a book. You can see from my four stars that this book is terrific.

Blurb from the back cover: "Naima loves to create the traditional alpana patterns Bangladeshi women and girls paint in their homes for special celebrations. Her designs are always the best in the village. But Naima wishes she could help earn money for her family. Her friend Saleem can drive his father's rickshaw. 'If only I had been born a boy,' Naima thinks."

The burb is a good jumping off point to explain this story:

• Naima is one of two daughters in this family - there are no sons.
• The roles of boys and girls are strictly defined in this Bangladesh village.
• Alpana patterns look like this. Creating art is Niama's happy place but she often so busy with household chores there is little time for art and the family are so poor that even sheets of paper are scarce.

• Naima is so worried about her father. He drives his rickshaw for over 15 hours a day and he is constantly exhausted. The family have gone into debt to buy this new rickshaw which means the family are desperate to repay the loan. So desperate, that Naima's sister Rashida will soon have to leave school as they cannot afford the fee.
• Saleen is Naima's best friend. Watching him help his family gives Naima an idea. If she disguised herself as a boy she could take over part of her father's shift but when she tries out the rickshaw without permission it crashes and is badly damaged. 
• There is a new repair place in the next village. Naima is good at art. Can she stay disguised as a boy and offer to work painting rickshaws? When Naima arrives at Hassan's Rickshaw Repair Shop she makes an amazing discovery about the owner.

All of this happens (and more) in just 79 pages. At the back of the book there is a glossary of terms and an author note which explains, in simple terms, microfinance and the way this is used by women in developing nations. Rickshaw Girl was first published in 2008 but I am pleased to see it is still available in paperback. I think this book should be an essential purchase for any Primary school library. It is ideal to use as an Asian focus text which is part of our Australian syllabus but this story also provides an excellent insight into cultural differences and the role of girls in other countries. In 2016 The Bay Area Children's Theatre in Oakland, California presented this story as a theatre production. Here is the web site for Mitali Perkins.

A child-eye’s view of Bangladesh that makes a strong and accessible statement about heritage, tradition and the changing role of women, Naima’s story will be relished by students and teachers alike. Kirkus

I would pair this book with The Paper House.

Another book about working children is this one Silk Umbrellas by Carolyn Marsden. 

You might also read this picture book about microfinance:

Brave by Stacy McAnulty illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff

A few days ago I talked about Beautiful. Here is the companion volume, Brave. This is another deceptively simply book with minimal text but once again the power here is the juxtaposition of text and illustration. 

What does it mean to be brave?
The brave kid has super strength - here is the illustration:

A brave kid "never gives up". - the illustration shows a running race with a wheelchair competitor and he is winning!  The kids in the crowd hold banners "my hero"; "you can do it."

A brave kid "fights the toughest battles" - here is the illustration.

Image source The Picture Book Review

I think the best page of all comes at the end. We see two kids holding violins standing backstage looking quite nervous. The girl is smiling at the boy and offering encouragement and then when you turn the page you see the boy on the stage playing with a smile - he is brave!

Here are some teaching ideas.

"Thoughtful text from Stacy McAnulty paired with vibrant illustrations from Joanne Lew-Vriethoff encourage kids to be brave in all the ways they can: trying new things, speaking their mind, confronting bullies, and more. This book will inspire kids to follow their hearts and to have courage, no matter the situation. Running Press"