Rickshaw Girl [Paperback]

Mitali Perkins (Author), Jamie Hogan (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2008 | Age Range: 7 and up

A Jane Addams Honor Book

Maine Library Association Lupine Honor Book

Skipping Stones Honor Book

ALA Amelia Bloomer Project Award Book

Bank Street Best Children's Books List (Starred)

Boston Author's Club Highly Recommmended Book

Association of Children's Booksellers Best Book

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2–5—Ten-year-old Naima longs to earn money to help her poor Bangladeshi family, but her talent in painting traditional patterns, or alpanas, is no use. While considering whether she could disguise herself as a boy and try to drive her father's rickshaw, she wrecks the vehicle and its painted tin sides on a test-drive, threatening the family's sole livelihood. Her solution is to steal away, disguised as a boy, to a repair shop and offer her services painting decorations on the rickshaws. She is surprised to find that the owner is a woman. When Naima reveals herself, she is hired on the condition that her father will keep bringing her for training at the shop, so that her paintings will help the business. The future looks bright for the girl and her family. Short chapters, well-delineated characters, soft black-line pastel illustrations, and a child-appropriate solution enrich this easy-to-read chapter book that would also appeal to less-able middle school readers. The rich back matter includes an informative glossary of Bangla words, plus a valuable author's note that explains the process of microfinance and its results for poor women in rural markets.—Susan Hepler, formerly at Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Perkins draws on her family roots to tell the lively contemporary story of a young Bangladeshi girl who challenges the traditional role of women in her village so that she can help her struggling family in hard times. Naima's parents cannot afford to pay school fees for her anymore, but she wins the village prize for painting the best traditional alpana patterns. She wishes she could help her father drive his rickshaw, and one day, disguised as a boy, she drives--and crashes--it. How will they afford to fix the dents and tears? More than just a situation, this short chapter book tells a realistic story with surprises that continue until the end. Hogan's bold black-and-white sketches show the brave girl, the beautiful traditional alpana painting and rickshaw art, and the contemporary changes in the girl's rural home. An author's note and a glossary enhance the moving story. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 7 and up
  
• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing (January 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580893090
• ISBN-13: 978-1580893091
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 0.3 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #244,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I write novels for young readers, speak at conferences, schools, and libraries, and chat about writing, books, and life between cultures. Visit me on Mitali's Fire Escape (mitaliblog.com) or track me at twitter.com/mitaliperkins.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Acting and the whole "stop and think" theory February 16, 2007

By E. R. Bird HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

Consider the reading levels a child goes through. You start them out on baby board books. Slooowly you start reading them picture books. Once they've a grasp on that then they start reading on their own with easy readers. A couple years in and it's time to move on to early chapter books. Finally, and with great relief all around, they're reading thick 500-page fantasy novels and everyone is happy. Now which one of those reading levels is, to your mind, the most difficult to find? Which is to say, which reading level seriously lacks in the quality-writing-department when all is said and done? My answer would have to be the early chapter books. Picture and baby board books are a dime a dozen and if you doubt the sheer quantity of easy readers out there, come on down to my library sometime. No, it's early chapter books I worry about. Around this time you want to start luring the kids with writing that's a little more sophisticated. Sure, you could hand them #43 in the Droon series and be done with it, but wouldn't you like to hand them a fun book that talks about other cultures and features sympathetic characters and realistic concerns? Basically what I'm saying is, strong literature written in an early chapter book format is a rare beastie. "Rickshaw Girl", by Mitali Perkins therefore manages to be all he stronger when you consider how rare a title it really is. Funny, smart, and chock full of the sights, sounds, and smells of Bangladesh, Perkins offers up a delightful book that distinguishes itself from the pack.

Ask Naima the one thing she's good at doing and she'll tell you right off the bat that it's alpanas. A complicated but balanced series of designs painted on her family's path and threshold, Naima tends to win her Bangladeshi village's prize for best alpana every International Mother Language Day. This year, however, is different. This year Naima's father isn't bringing in enough money to pay for the newly redesigned rickshaw he runs. Frustrated that as a girl she can't do anything to help the family earn more money, Naima makes a crucial mistake. One that might destroy her family's dreams for good. If she's to make it right, she must summon up her courage and, with the help of her friend Saleem, use her creativity to find a solution to her problems.

Sometimes it's nice to hear the story of a screw-up. No one's perfect, sure. We know that. But how often do you read a book in which the main character does something so cringeworthy that it has the readers, regardless of age, suffering the shame of a well-deserved embarrassment right along with the heroine? What Naima does (and I'm not going to give it away) is wrong. Yet she's a character you want to believe in. Her family situation is actually pretty dire, all things considered, and what with having a heroine who is less than perfect, you really feel you can root for Naima. Perkins has the enviable talent of knowing how to connect a reader to a character. There's a spark there. An understand that takes place. Alongside the believable and consistently interesting storyline, the book comes across as a keeper.

Now anyone can write a work of fiction off the top of their heads. And a couple people might even be able to make that work of fiction halfway decent reading. Imagine then the difficulties involved when one must write not only something interesting and well-put together, and not only an early chapter title, but also a Glossary of unfamiliar terms paired with illustrated images, and an Author's Note giving additional background on Bangladesh and the author's connection to it. All these things are greatly appreciated and easy to understand. And while a Bibliography or website or two wouldn't have been out of place, what we do have here is doggone swell.

Illustrator Jamie Hogan remains a bit of a mystery to me. A relative newcomer to the children's literary scene, Hogan's work makes me want to thump Charlesbridge Publishers soundly on the back in thanks. What a fruitful pairing. Hogan's style tends to be pastels on Canson paper, though they appear black and white in the book. It's almost an affected style. You can see the texture of the paper beneath the images she draws. Yet her characters are pitch perfect 100% of the time. In an interesting twist, Hogan chooses never to show the faces of Naima's mother and father. You see her sister, her pal Saleem, and even a random boy on the street, but the only glimpse you get of the parents is their hands. Only one adult appears in this story, and she's definitely not related to Naima in any way. So in a sense, Hogan has chosen to throw in her lot with the children. Her heroine is a strong girl with natural energy. When she sticks out her tongue in one scene, it is exactly the way a kid WOULD stick out their tongue. Hogan knows how to capture kids at their most natural. It shows in the story.

If there's a moral to this book it may be, "Stop and think before you act." Sound advice, by and large. In an age of high fantasy and the aforementioned 500 plus page texts, slim realistic novels like, "Rickshaw Girl", have to be especially good to get any of the attention they so richly deserve. I think Perkins and Hogan together accomplish that requirement with a seeming effortlessness. Consider this a necessary purchase to any library system, irregardless of collection size. A keeper through and through.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Early Chapter Book June 7, 2007

By Kris Bordessa

Format:Hardcover

There is a dearth of books for kids who are just taking off with their reading skills, which makes this story all the more welcome. Readers will meet Naima, a young Bangladeshi who is struggling with her family's financial troubles and her place in the family as a girl. Traditionally, girls are not allowed to work or earn money, but her father sure could use the help. Naima cleverly devises a way to help her family and empowers herself along the way.

Set in Bangladesh, readers will get a glimpse of life in a foreign land and a culture quite different from the American standard. With Bangla words interspersed in the text, readers are introduced to a new language, as well.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Rutgers University Project on Economics and Children August 15, 2008

By Yana V. Rodgers

Format:Paperback

Stifled by Bangladeshi social norms that restricted her ability to engage in the community and work for pay, Naima felt frustrated that she could not earn money to help her family. Without enough money to pay for school fees, her parents had already withdrawn Naima from school, and now her younger sister faced the same fate. Her father had to work from dawn until midnight everyday as a rickshaw driver to generate enough earnings to also cover the loan payments on his new rickshaw.

These pressures, combined with her creativity, audacity, and cleverness, led Naima to decide that she would disguise herself as a boy and earn money by driving the rickshaw. Her first attempt to operate the vehicle would have marked an adventurous first step in this bold plan were it not for the long hill, sharp curve, and thick thorn bushes. Naima escaped unharmed, but Father's brand new rickshaw was badly damaged. Naima is devastated, and quite some time passes before she comes up with a new plan that better utilizes her talents.

Rickshaw Girl gets top ratings for delivering an entertaining story that is chock full of valuable economics lessons. The reader experiences a poignant account of the challenges associated with living in poverty in a country where traditional customs still limit women's economic and social opportunities. Also woven in are lessons about entrepreneurship, the need for financial capital to start a business, and the importance of microfinance for individuals - such as the woman who owned the rickshaw repair shop - who otherwise may not have been able to secure a loan. Weighty issues perhaps, but most children will be enthralled by the plight of a spunky girl who damages her father's most valuable possession and needs to make amends.