Rickshaw Girl by Mitali Perkins

In a small village in Bangladesh, girls are only good for helping around the house. There is no way for them to help the family earn money. Naima's mother is always lamenting the fact that she has two girls and no sons. Her husband has to work long hours on his rickshaw just to make ends meet. Naima wishes girls were allowed to drive rickshaws so she could help her father. While practicing driving (without her parent's permission) there is an accident and her father's beautiful rickshaw is damaged. Naima is even more determined to stretch the accepted boundaries for women in her community and embarks on a new career path. Rickshaw Girl is beautifully illustrated by Jamie Hogan. Her black and white art gives an authentic cultural flair to the novel.

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