Are you looking for a good story about breaking the gender barrier with a subject not many might know about. The First Girl on Stage: Tunga Dances the Yakshagana by Shruthi Rao and illustrator Devika Joglekar might be what you are looking for.
The girl of the story becomes obsessed with the dances she sees on stage. The swirling, the costumes, the colors, the excitement she copies all the time. At first, her family finds it amusing, then not so much, as she continues to do it. You see, the Yakshagana are for males only. Girls are considered too delicate to handle the intensity of things. But, she does not give up. She pushes, learns in secret and finally is taken on as a student by the local teacher. But things are not smooth by a long shot. Tackling the preconceived notions of her culture, our young girl grows up to eventually teach as well.
When I finished my online reader (though currently available) I was excited to learn about someone and something I did not know much, if anything, about. This is a great story to add to your women’s history collection, world culture and Southern India. The only issue I have (unfortunately) though is that while I enjoyed the colors and simpler detailed illustrations, I was not loving the more computer looking part of the illustrations. It did take away from my enjoyment a bit. However, the photographs included (as extras and not part of the actual story) are the perfect additional touch.