[Reader-list] Nasreen's Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan

[Chintan Girish Modi]

From
http://www.amazon.com/Nasreens-Secret-School-Story-Afghanistan/dp/1416994378/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b

This story begins with an author's note that succinctly explains the drastic
changes that occurred when the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in 1996.
The focus is primarily on the regime's impact on women, who were no longer
allowed to attend school or leave home without a male chaperone, and had to
cover their heads and bodies with a burqa.

After Nasreen's parents disappeared, the child neither spoke nor smiled. Her
grandmother, the story's narrator, took her to a secret school, where she
slowly discovered a world of art, literature, and history obscured by the
harsh prohibitions of the Taliban.

As she did in The Librarian of Basra (Harcourt, 2005), Winter manages to
achieve that delicate balance that is respectful of the seriousness of the
experience, yet presents it in a way that is appropriate for young children.
Winter's acrylic paintings make effective use of color, with dramatic
purples and grays, with clouds and shadows dominating the scenes in which
the Taliban are featured, and light, hopeful pinks both framing and featured
in the scenes at school.

This is an important book that makes events in a faraway place immediate and
real. It is a true testament to the remarkable, inspiring courage of
individuals when placed in such dire circumstances.—Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche
Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ