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Monday, August 22, 2016

The Librarian of Basra - A True Story from Iraq - Jeanette Winter

Children need to know that fundamentally, people are all the same.  No matter where we live, humans have similar feelings, hopes and dreams.  This a wonderful book to share with younger children.  It illustrates that people in far away places may seem different; they may have different religions and traditions; we are actually all very similar.

This librarian exists.  I'm always interested in stories about librarians, which is why this book stood out.  Beyond the fact that it's about a librarian and she loves her books, its about a fear of war and hope for peace.  We sometimes lose sight of the fact that people in the Middle East do not want to be at war.

This book can also start a discussion about Muslims.  They value education - another universal belief and this too, is important for students to understand.

"In the Koran, the first thing God said to Muhammad was 'Read.'" - Alia Muhammad Baker

This book has simple text and pictures, but the content is quite serious.  I would read it to a group of mature grade two students and up.

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