New ebooks From Canadian Indies
Description
Since its publication in 2000, hundreds of thousands of children all over the world have read and loved The Breadwinner, the fictional story of eleven-year-old Parvana living in Kabul under the terror of the Taliban. But what happened to Afghanistan’s children after the fall of the Taliban in 2001? In 2011, Deborah Ellis went to Kabul to find out.
The twenty-six boys and girls featured in this book range in age from ten to seventeen, and they speak candidly about their lives now. They are still living in a country at war. Violence and oppression exist all around them. The situation for girls has improved, but it is still difficult and dangerous. And many children — boys and girls — are still supporting their families by selling items like pencils and matches on the street.
Yet these kids are weathering their lives with remarkable courage and hope, getting as much education and life experience and fun as they can.
All royalties from the sale of Kids of Kabul will go to Right to Learn Afghanistan.
Key Text Features
photographs
maps
glossary
introduction
historical context
additional information
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.6
Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.6
Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.9
Compare and contrast one author's presentation of events with that of another (e.g., a memoir written by and a biography on the same person).
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age:
- 0
- Grade:
- p to 12
- Reading age:
- 0
Awards
- Short-listed, North Carolina Young Adult Book Award
- Joint winner, South Asia Book Award
- Short-listed, TD Canadian Children's Literature Award
- Commended, USBBY Outstanding International Book List
- Commended, CCBC Choice Book
- Commended, The Bankstreet College of Education's Best Books of the Year 2013
- Commended, IRA Notable Books for a Global Society
- Winner, Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction
- Long-listed, Children's Literature Roundtables of Canada Information Book Award
Editorial Reviews
Each of their stories is introduced with relevant, contextual, cultural details from Ellis’ sharp observations.
— Smithsonian
Young readers will likely appreciate Ellis’s approach, which renders social and political trends in one of the world’s most volatile regions accessible by focusing on the experiences of kids their own age.
— Quill & Quire
With a succinctly written opening for each interview, Ellis provides valuable historical, social, political and cultural context. A beautifully written introduction, thorough glossary and a list of organizations and books for additional information further round out the book. A must have for most libraries.
— CCBN
This nuanced portrayal of adolescence in a struggling nation refrains, refreshingly, from wallowing in tragedy tourism and overwrought handwringing.
— Kirkus Reviews
It’s a gritty, poignant, and intensely personal glimpse into the effects of war and poverty.
— Publisher's Weekly
