Jan Reynolds

#58 in my 365 Kids Books challenge. For a fuller explanation see my review for [b:101 Amazing Facts about Australia|21332402|101 Amazing Facts about Australia (Countries of the World)|Jack Goldstein|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394253825l/21332402._SY75_.jpg|25417728] You can see all the books on their own shelf

Wow, this is excellent. For one thing, Reynolds isn't presenting these women as traditionally feminine in some way, just as good at the job. show more They are calm, relaxed, confident, accurate, particularly Rashila, the focus of the work. To often women's accomplishments are dismissed, even by the women themselves, as something other than work. Compare this to [b:Cubs in the Tub: The True Story of the Bronx Zoo's First Woman Zookeeper|49659922|Cubs in the Tub The True Story of the Bronx Zoo's First Woman Zookeeper|Candace Fleming|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571695318l/49659922._SX50_SY75_.jpg|73189224] or you can wait for me to write up my review and do the comparing for you.

Too often women are trapped in a damned-if-you-do/damned-if-you-don't dilemma. Qualities and behaviors that men are praised for, and that women are explicitly encouraged to emulate, backfire in application. Dude is a maverick, a leader, a take-charge guy whereas a woman in the same position behaving in the same way is penalized for not building consensus, for being bitchy, for being pushy. Reynolds short-circuits that whole process by taking out the perception and instead just giving the impressive accomplishments of tracking, and shooting with the tranquilizer gun, lions leading to a perfect success rate in more than 1,000 rescues. Oh, and also: education of and cooperation with villagers living in and around the lion's territory, has also made the population rebound more quickly since the introduction of female rangers.

Reynolds does give a little of her own story in the book, showing the work she has put in: traveling to India to talk to the Lion Queens, to follow them, to document their experience, and to learn from them. It is empowering as the story of what one woman has accomplished despite fierce sexist opposition, and also as a story of how to talk about the work that women do. Calmly, quietly, effectively.

Library copy show less

The Vanishing Culture series is one of the best teacher resources I have found in a very long time. Beautifully illustrated and crafted stories immediately engage the students as they get to know a family in the vanishing culture. I have used the books to explore fundamental needs and to inspire critical thinking by comparing cultures. Participants also engage in problem solving as we discuss what we can learn about sustainability from these ancient cultures. They have also been a wonderful show more resource for both physical and political geography since cultures are represented in varied continents and biomes and inspire contrasts such as the mountains of Nepal to the arid country of outback Australia. There is no better way to bring a culture to life than stories about real people. Each of these books has two - a story of a family beginning with earlier generations and the story of the author's journey into the focus culture.

In Himalayas, Jan Reynolds introduces us to Yangshi and the reader follows her week as she goes to the markets, does her chores, plays, worships and celebrates. show less

tldr - Highly Recommended, especially to families with young schoolchildren, but to anyone who wants to learn more about wildlife in India.

Kudos to Reynolds for telling this concise 'story' in Rashila Vadher's own voice. After the back matter she writes a dedication: "This book was made with love and respect for Rashila Vadher, Darshana Kagada, Dinesh Sadiya, and Nalin Ramoliya. May your efforts save the Asiatic lion from extinction."

So, yeah, not OwnVoices, but not exploitive either.

I never show more even heard of Asiatic lions! And I certainly didn't realize that Indian women would be welcomed as rangers at a sanctuary. Or that the protection of the forest that led to Gir was founded about a century ago.* Also notable is that Vadher has over 1K animal rescues with 100% success rate.

I also like the matter-of-fact tone about women until just one almost throwaway statement: "We believe women make good rangers because the lion population has grown faster with female rangers working in the sanctuary. The Lion Queens are relaxed and confident around lions, and we work well with villagers." (This last is very important, as you'll read!)

*From the website: "History of Sasan Gir.
Devalia Safari Park was acknowledged as Gir National Park in 1975. It is the only national park where a large number of Asiatic Lions can be found in their natural habitat. Regardless of being ruled by the Britishers, Kings, and Nawabs prior to India’s freedom, Sasan Gir maintained its charisma. The Nawab of the princely state of Junagarh in the early 20th century “protected” and saved the lion population from getting fully disappeared." show less

Thirty years ago this was a very important book. Now it's hard to overlook the fact that it was written by an American woman. Granted, she went on walkabout with the child and two Tiwi women, and the book is illustrated with photos, but it's still not OwnVoices.

And what has happened to the Tiwi people since then? Families and other educators could do research, now that the internet has grown so much.