ravenous
: very hungry
1
: rapacious <ravenous wolves>
2
: very eager or greedy for food, satisfaction, or gratification <a ravenous appetite>
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ravenous
“The Shawl” by Cynthia Ozick Page 517 Paragraph 3
“Rosa gave almost all her food to Magda, Stella gave nothing; Stella was ravenous, a growing child herself, but not growing much.”
I understand that ravenous used here means that as a growing child, Stella was greedy for food and very hungry. She was so hungry that she even looked like she wanted to eat her baby sister Magda.
