by Jeanette Winter
Beach Lane Books
10/6/09, hardcover
SKU: 9781416994374
Renowned picture book creator Jeanette Winter tells the story of a young girl in Afghanistan who attends a secret school for girls.
Young Nasreen has not spoken a word to anyone since her parents disappeared.
In despair, her grandmother risks everything to enroll Nasreen in a secret school for girls. Will a devoted teacher, a new friend, and the worlds she discovers in books be enough to draw Nasreen out of her shell of sadness?
Based on a true story from Afghanistan, this inspiring book will touch readers deeply as it affirms both the life-changing power of education and the healing power of love.
Target age: 7 to 9
Reviews:
"Winter's precise acrylics tell this story in matter-of-fact images: Taliban soldiers coming down the mountain to the city of Herat, "where art and music and learning once flourished"; a girl called Nasreen sitting at home, silent since her parents disappeared, forbidden to attend school; the grandmother, who tells the story, taking her to a secret girls' school in a private home. The students' brightly colored headscarves stand in for their bravery and eagerness to learn." -- The New York Times Book Review
Winter tells another powerful story, based on true events, of an individual activist whose singular courage brings social change... Winter artfully distills enormous concepts into spare, potent sentences that celebrate Herat's rich cultural, Islamic history... even as they detail the harrowing realities of Taliban rule. And in her signature style of deceptively simple compositions and rich, opaque colors, Winter's acrylic paintings give a palpable sense of both Nasreen's everyday terror and the expansive joy that she finds in learning. -- Booklist
About the Author:
Jeanette Winter is a celebrated picture book creator whose acclaimed works include Diego; Oil; and The Secret Project, all written by Jonah Winter, and her own Sisters: Venus & Serena Williams; The World Is Not a Rectangle: A Portrait of Architect Zaha Hadid; Nanuk the Ice Bear; Malala, a Brave Girl from Pakistan/Iqbal, a Brave Boy from Pakistan: Two Stories of Bravery; Henri's Scissors; Biblioburro: A True Story from Colombia; Nasreen's Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan; and The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq.