“Giraffe-Neck Girl” Make Friends with Different Cultures Winner: 2014 Beverly Hills Book Awards The women of the Padaung tribe appear to have the most unusual of all traditional customs The opportunity to wear brass neck rings for a lifetime begins for them at about four years old. The obvious discomfort and daily chore of cleaning the brass, as well as the necessity of drinking with a straw (the girls cannot tilt their heads back to empty a glass of liquid), does not trouble these tribal women; they say they are happy to carry out the tradition. We meet ten-year-old Mucha with colorful photos of children catching locusts (and eating them for snacks), of school and play, and of neighbors roasting a pig. Then go with Mucha to pick out a live duck for dinner. Adults will learn fascinating facts as the child takes notes for a school book report.