Inspired by the first library bus in Kabul, Afghanistan, this encouraging picture book celebrates the strength, pride and enthusiasm of female Afghan students and the women who teach them.
It's Pari's first day helping her mother on Kabul's only library bus. Together, they visit a village and a refugee camp, where girls without access to schools wait to borrow books, receive supplies and be taught English. A nervous Pari, who "can't even read or write in Farsi yet," asks, "When did you learn A, C, D, Mama?" Her response--"I had to hide in the basement to study"--makes Pari grateful she will be allowed to attend school. Eager to start, Pari practices her alphabet by reading acronyms on tents: WFP and UNHCR. Asked how learning feels, an elated Pari cries, "Free!" In the final pages, mother and daughter curl together, their chadors off, letting their long hair loose, while Pari thinks of the girls she will help tomorrow.
Bahram Rahman, who worked as a gender equality activist in Afghanistan, delicately portrays in his first picture book the continued effects of the Taliban's prohibition on female education. Yet it is with profound hope and drive that Rahman depicts his characters: Pari, motivated to read; her mother, patiently repeating the same lesson; girls spilling over with excitement over a notebook and pencil. With her watercolor illustrations, Gabrielle Grimard (Stolen Words illustrator) evokes natural movement, suggests soft textures and depicts the beauty of dusty landscapes dotted with brightly painted buildings. Closed with an author's note sharing his connection to the story, The Library Bus extols the soaring spirit of those who value learning. --Samantha Zaboski, freelance editor and reviewer