The Why-Why Girl by Mahasweta Devi

Reviewed by Hania Mariën

Audience: Ages 4-9

“But why?” asks ten-year-old Moyna about life. “Why can’t fish speak? Why do stars look so small if many of them are bigger than the sun?”

In The Why-Why Girl, Mahasweta Devi, one of India’s foremost writers, introduces readers to Moyna, a ten-year-old girl who reminds us to inquire not only about the marvels of the natural world, but to interrogate social and structural inequalities.

 
Source: https://www.amazon.com/Why-Girl-Mahasweta-Devi/dp/8181460189
“Why can’t she eat rice twice a day? Why can’t school take place after she is done grazing the goats so she can learn? ”
 

While Moyna poses these questions to herself and those around her, her questions encourage readers to think about barriers to education for children in rural communities, including gender disparities and class times that conflict with a necessity to work. Ultimately, Devi’s story is one of a young change agent: a young girl who, through books, learns to harness her curiosity and give back to her community through education.

 

Read along with REACH founder and director Sarah Dryden-Peterson as part of the “Books of Belonging” series at Harvard Graduate School of Education.

 

Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this publication belong solely to the authors and do not necessarily represent those of REACH or the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Megan CanningFor Educators