The Elephant Keeper's Daughter (Shilpa Raj)

 

I love stories of women changed by education.

It is almost unbelievable to read about the lives women lead around the world. There is more work to do to create equality. Education is the key.

This is a great read.




"Women in these families have little or no control over their destinies; they suffer innumerable cruelties and lead lives regulated strictky by men. This way of life is not something I amp prepared to accept as a natural order"

“I see myself as a product of two disparate worlds, and each has given me a reason to love, to be kind, and to grow strong. My education has given me the ability to choose what I want for myself and the confidence to aspire to greater goodness. I have chosen to favour my new world, and hope to change the one I left behind.”

Goodreads says:

Saved by her grandmother from being killed at birth for having been born a female, Shilpa’s life took many unexpected turns and twists through her early years. She faced abandonment by her mother, the formidable constraints placed on her by her family, and the barbs of village elders bound by hundreds of years of oppressive practices and customs that subjugate women. Shilpa is torn between the contrasting lives she leads: one of servitude and injustice experienced by her family; the other of opportunity and empowerment offered by a good education in a school started by a philanthropist.

Just when all seems settled, an unforeseen death under mysterious circumstances shatters whatever stability remains in her life. Pulled in opposite directions, and torn between despair and dreams, Shilpa finally makes a choice for her future. Is she strong enough to stand up to the people she loves, and pursue what she wants?

At its heart The Elephant Chaser’s Daughter is about hope, when all seems lost. Written with raw honesty and grit, this is a deeply moving memoir of a young girl confronting her ‘untouchable’ status in a caste-based society, and her aspirations for modernity.

Malala's Magic Pencil (Malala Yousafzai)

 

I picked this story because we are learning about India in Social Studies. This is not a story to rush through! We stopped and had all the girls leave their desks so we could see what it would be like in our classroom if all the girls could not come to school. It was impactful! My students knew that Malala had been shot and the page that talks about how the Taliban tried to stop her was profound for us. At the end of the book, they gave it a round of applause. Appropriate! 

Goodreads says:

Nobel Peace Prize winner and New York Times bestselling author Malala Yousafzai's first picture book, inspired by her own childhood.

Malala's first picture book will inspire young readers everywhere to find the magic all around them.

As a child in Pakistan, Malala made a wish for a magic pencil. She would use it to make everyone happy, to erase the smell of garbage from her city, to sleep an extra hour in the morning. But as she grew older, Malala saw that there were more important things to wish for. She saw a world that needed fixing. And even if she never found a magic pencil, Malala realized that she could still work hard every day to make her wishes come true.

This beautifully illustrated volume tells Malala's story for a younger audience and shows them the worldview that allowed Malala to hold on to hope even in the most difficult of times.