"In the Koran, the first thing God said to Muhammad was 'Read.'" -Alia Muhammad Baker
On April 6, 2003, America's invasion of Iraq reached Basra. In The Librarian of Basra, Jeannette Winter tells the story uncovered by New York Times reporter Shaila K. Dewan about the brave rescue of over 30,000 books from the city library. Despite the governor's unwillingness to help, Alia Muhammad Baker's love and appreciation for these books lead her to smuggle them out of the library and into neighboring homes and business. Only a few days later, a fire burns the library to the ground. Alia now must wait for the war to end-hoping and dreaming of a new library.
Winter's picture book tells this story in a simple yet powerful way that appeals to a wide range of readers. This book is a valuable tool for teachers of both elementary and secondary school wanting to build awareness of current events related to the war in Iraq.
On April 6, 2003, America's invasion of Iraq reached Basra. In The Librarian of Basra, Jeannette Winter tells the story uncovered by New York Times reporter Shaila K. Dewan about the brave rescue of over 30,000 books from the city library. Despite the governor's unwillingness to help, Alia Muhammad Baker's love and appreciation for these books lead her to smuggle them out of the library and into neighboring homes and business. Only a few days later, a fire burns the library to the ground. Alia now must wait for the war to end-hoping and dreaming of a new library.
Winter's picture book tells this story in a simple yet powerful way that appeals to a wide range of readers. This book is a valuable tool for teachers of both elementary and secondary school wanting to build awareness of current events related to the war in Iraq.
This book sounds very inspiring! Picture books always seem to get across a very bold and strong statement through the art that a regular textbook cannot.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds great! Sounds like it really gives a different focus and perspective on the war than we're used to seeing. I think it's also so important to include picture books in a text set in order to reach many levels of readers.
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