Burying the Moon
Bibliography
Poulin, A. (2021). BURYING THE MOON. Ill. by Sonali Zohra. Toronto, Canada: Groundswood Books. ISBN 9781773066042
Plot Summary
In a village called Padaram, lives a young girl named Latika. Latika lives in the village with her older sister (Ranjini), mom, aunt (Nita) and grandmother (Ammamma). All the women in her village have to use a field to go to the restroom. They have to wait until it is dark outside, so nobody sees them. Latika feels so ashamed that she hates the moon for being so bright and exposing them, that she wants to bury the moon in the ground. Latikia encounters several problems, including the loss of her aunt’s young son and her older sister having to stop attending school at the age of twelve due to lack of toilets in the school. However, everything changes when a man from the city named Mister Samir arrives at the village. He was sent to build a well for the village. Latika wanted to express her problems to Mister Samir, but because she was a girl, she was not able to speak. As a result, she decided to take some building tools and build a toilet. Although she got in trouble, she later explained her situation to Mister Samir and he was able to understand. Later Mister Samir sent several building materials to the village and had some toilets built and all of Latika’s struggles were solved.
Critical Analysis (Including Cultural Markers)
This story is written in verse and is based in a village in India. This book is considered an international book because it was published in French, but later translated into English. The characters in the story are authentically portrayed because they reflect the culture of an Indian village. This includes the experiences that the main character Latika goes through in the story, which include the impoverished village. The village had no plumbing, which meant no toilets and no running water. This contributed to the character’s problems in the story. The interactions between gender roles were also authentic to Indian culture. For example, men were the leaders and the women were not allowed to interfere with any decision making.
The setting was also authentic in the story because it depicted a village in India. The illustrations portrayed small houses made out of clay, which is consistent with the buildings in a small village in India. The illustrations also depicted the vegetation that is accurate with plants found in India. For example, the men would gather under a banyan tree and the palm trees. The illustrations of the animals that are found in India were also well showcased. For example, in the story, there were monkeys in the buildings. The illustrations of the drawings and symbols on the buildings and in the big red truck are consistent with Indian culture. Because the author included a fact sheet at the end of the book, the reader can conclude that there are still villages in India that don’t have modern plumbing and people still use outhouses and fields to do their personal business.
The story includes many cultural markers of Indian culture. For example, the women wove baskets to sell in the nearby town. Women had to do all the domestic duties, which include fetching water from the river, while the boys played. The author includes authentic illustrations that depict the culture of India. The women’s clothing (saris) are authentic to Indian culture. The elders' (sarpanch) clothing and headdress (pagri) were specific to their culture. The skin tone, piercings and bindi on the forehead were also depicted in the illustrations, which are specific to Indian culture.
The overall quality of the text was authentic to Indian culture. The text was written in verse which contributed to many literary devices (repetition, rhyme, similes). The illustrations accurately portrayed Indian culture.
Review Excerpts
Finalist: Governor General’s Award and TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award
USBBY: In this powerful novel in verse, Latika wishes for moonless nights ... and toilets. Beautifully illustrated, the story reveals the challenges females in Latika's village face due to lack of sanitation facilities, as well as one girl's commitment to make a change.
Connections
This novel is great to teach literary elements like repetition, rhyme and smilies. It is also great to teach the importance of sanitation.
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